Just How High Could Mortgage Rates Go?

Mortgage rates have been rising and that trend is likely to continue.

Mortgage rates have been rising in 2022, topping 5.00% for the first time in years. As homeowners look at rapidly increasing rates, many are probably wondering just how high rates could go. While this is difficult to predict, you can check out today's average rates for April 14, 2022 below to see what you'd pay now for a home loan.

Data source: The Ascent's national mortgage interest rate tracking.

30-year mortgage rates

The average 30-year mortgage rate today is 5.141%. Your rate may be higher or lower than this average, depending on your financial credentials.

20-year mortgage rates

The average 20-year mortgage rate today is 4.825%. Although the rate is lower than on the 30-year loan, monthly payments will be higher due to the shortened time for paying the loan back.

15-year mortgage rates

The average 15-year mortgage rate today is 4.260%. Over time, this loan will cost you less than longer term loans because you won't pay interest as long and the rate is much lower. But monthly payments can be very high -- especially since the rate is much higher now than it was at the start of the year.

5/1 ARMs

The average 5/1 ARM rate is 3.989%. You will only be guaranteed this rate for the first five years and it can change once per year after that. This could mean your loan grows much more expensive if rates continue to rise when your mortgage begins adjusting.

How high could mortgage rates go?

If you're thinking about buying a home and are concerned with the rapid increase in rates that has occurred this year, you may be wondering if things will get worse.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the trend towards more expensive home loans is likely to continue throughout the year. That's the case for many reasons including the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates again, as well as rising inflation and likely uncertainty in the financial markets stemming from the war in the Ukraine.

No one can predict exactly how high rates will go, but they have a ways to go before hitting some of the recent records. In fact, in 2007 and 2008, annual average rates topped 6.00%.

Borrowers concerned about what rising rates could mean for them may wish to act quickly by getting quotes from some of the best mortgage lenders and locking in at the current rates.