Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The National Association of Realtors reported this week that pending home sales fell 7.3% in September.
Down 11.3% on the year, that number is at the lowest it's been since tracking began in 2001. A big part of the decline has been the steady increase in mortgage rates, which sit at 7.4% after starting the year at 6%.
All the numbers have Mark Hamrick, financial reporter at The Hamrick Brief, telling people that now more than ever it's important to shop around.
"I know situations where folks sometimes when they're in a transaction, they take what the realtor lines up for them," Hamrick said. "This is a situation where, as a buyer, you really need to own this transaction yourself and do your own shopping for a lower mortgage rate."
The savings can be substantial.
The move up from just under 6%, where rates were at the beginning of February, to 7.4%, for someone borrowing $300,000 on a 30 year mortgage, could add up to about $280 more a month in principal and interest.
Even the Buffalo-Cheektowaga housing market, one of the 10 strongest in the country, saw at 5.6% decrease in pending home sales.
You can read more analysis from The Hamrick Brief here:.
"As a buyer, you really need to own this transaction yourself and do your own shopping for a lower mortgage rate"
"As a buyer, you really need to own this transaction yourself and do your own shopping for a lower mortgage rate"
