Finance

Mortgage rates are still above 7% and home prices remain high

Published

1 year ago

April 26, 2024

Business Finance News

Rates continued to rise this past week and still hover above 7%. (iStock)

Mortgage rates increased this week again, marking the second week in a row rates were above 7%. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 7.17%, up from last week when the average was 7.1%, Freddie Mac reported.

Last year at this time, 30-year mortgages were slightly better off, but not by much. The average rate was 6.43%.

“Mortgage rates continued rising this week,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a press release.

“Despite rates increasing more than half a percent since the first week of the year, purchase demand remains steady,” Khater said. “With rates staying higher for longer, many homebuyers are adjusting, as evidenced by this week’s report that sales of newly built homes saw the biggest increase since December 2022.”

Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages aren’t faring much better than 30-year mortgages. The average interest rate this week was 6.44%, up from 6.39%. Last year, 15-year rates were below 6% at 5.71%.

If you’re looking to purchase a home in today’s market, you can explore your mortgage options by visiting Credible to compare rates and lenders and get a mortgage preapproval letter in minutes.

SPRING HOMEBUYING SEASON BRINGS SLIGHTLY MORE OPTIMISM AS LISTINGS CONTINUE TO RISE

Home prices are still rising, but at a slower rate

Housing prices still haven’t recovered from their all-time high during the pandemic. From 2020 to now, the average sale price rose 27.5%, Rocket Mortgage reported.

Home prices are still high but are starting to cool slightly. Home values are predicted to grow by 1.9% this year, Zillow found. This is slower than home prices have grown over the last few years. However, home sales are expected to dip this year, largely due to rising interest rates. An expected 4.06 million existing homes will sell in 2024, Zillow forecasts. This is down slightly from the 4.09 million that sold in 2023.

The limited number of listings also contributes to the prediction of lower home sales. New listings rose by 21% in February, but dropped to just 4% in March, signaling a tight market for prospective homebuyers.

If you think you’re ready to shop around for a home loan, consider using Credible to help you easily compare interest rates from multiple lenders in minutes.

MILLIONS OF HOMEOWNERS DON’T HAVE HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE DUE TO HIGH COSTS

Certain areas of the country face continual homeowners insurance rate hikes

Rising homeowners insurance costs affect the country as a whole, but prices are higher in specific parts of the country.

California, Texas and Florida have all had their fair share of price hikes, paired with insurers pulling their insurance from parts of the state. Now, Iowa is dealing with the same high home and auto insurance rates.

Rate hikes have been closely tied to the effects of climate change. More frequent severe storms have led to a higher number of claims, leading to serious losses for insurance companies. Iowa is no different. From 2020 to 2021, hail and windstorms across the state caused insurers to raise rates, which have now trickled down to homeowners.

“Iowa and the Midwest are a wreck right now when it comes to home insurance,” Jeff Weddle, general manager of Guardian Mutual Insurance Association in Dallas Center said.

Iowa’s current home insurance situation is “probably pretty close” to that of Texas and California, Weddle said.

Having enough homeowners insurance is vital. To ensure your insurance is suitable for your circumstances, visit Credible to check out plans, providers and costs.

MILLIONS HAVE MOVED OUT OF CERTAIN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY NOW DESIGNATED “CLIMATE ABANDONMENT AREAS”

Have a finance-related question, but don’t know who to ask? Email The Credible Money Expert at [email protected] and your question might be answered by Credible in our Money Expert column.

Finance

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Published

9 hours ago

June 9, 2025

Business Finance News

Finance

Walmart taps own fintech firm for credit cards after Capital One exit

Published

10 hours ago

June 9, 2025

Business Finance News

A Capital One Walmart credit card sign is seen at a store in Mountain View, California, United States on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.

Yichuan Cao | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Walmart‘s majority-owned fintech startup OnePay said Monday it was launching a pair of new credit cards for customers of the world’s biggest retailer.

OnePay is partnering with Synchrony, a major behind-the-scenes player in retail cards, which will issue the cards and handle underwriting decisions starting in the fall, the companies said.

OnePay, which was created by Walmart in 2021 with venture firm Ribbit Capital, will handle the customer experience for the card program through its mobile app.

Walmart had leaned on Capital One as the exclusive provider of its credit cards since 2018, but sued the bank in 2023 so that it could exit the relationship years ahead of schedule. At the time, Capital One accused Walmart of seeking to end its partnership so that it could move transactions to OnePay.

The Walmart card program had 10 million customers and roughly $8.5 billion in loans outstanding last year, when the partnership with Capital One ended, according to Fitch Ratings.

For Walmart and its fintech firm, the arrangement shows that, in seeking to quickly scale up in financial services, OnePay is opting to partner with established players rather than going it alone.

In March, OnePay announced that it was tapping Swedish fintech firm Klarna to handle buy now, pay later loans at the retailer, even after testing its own installment loan program.

One-stop shop

In its quest to become a one-stop shop for Americans underserved by traditional banks, OnePay has methodically built out its offerings, which now include debit cards, high-yield savings accounts and a digital wallet with peer-to-peer payments.

OnePay is rolling out two options: a general-purpose credit card that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted and a store card that will only allow Walmart purchases.

Customers whose credit profiles don’t allow them to qualify for the general-purpose card will be offered the store card, according to a person with knowledge of the program.

OnePay didn’t yet disclose the rewards expected with the cards, though the general-purpose card is expected to provide a stronger value, said this person, who declined to be identified speaking ahead of the product’s release. The Synchrony partnership was reported earlier by Bloomberg.

“Our goal with this credit card program is to deliver an experience for consumers that’s transparent, rewarding, and easy to use,” OnePay CEO Omer Ismail said in the Monday release.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Synchrony to launch a program at Walmart that checks each of those boxes and will help serve millions of people,” Ismail said.