Mortgage rates can vary across the country. LendingTree, an online loan marketplace, analyzed just how much mortgage rates could vary across state lines.
The average offered interest rate for all 50 states is 4.84 percent and the average offered loan amount is $224,297, the study found. But homeowners in California, New Jersey, Washington, and Massachusetts tend to snag the lowest interest rates. The average interest rate in California is 4.74 percent, followed by 4.75 percent in New Jersey and 4.76 percent in Washington and Massachusetts.
On the other hand, homeowners in New York, Iowa, and Arkansas tend to have the highest mortgage rates. In New York, the average mortgage rate is 4.96 percent, followed by 4.93 percent in Iowa and 4.92 percent in Arkansas.
“Potential buyers should never forget that they can often save money by shopping around before settling on a loan,” LendingTree notes in its study. For example, they found that buyers who gathered quotes for four different loans saw an average 0.42 percent difference between the highest APR and the lowest. Those who shopped around for five saw an even greater average spread of 0.53 percent. “These differences could translate to savings of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a loan,” LendingTree reports.
Source: “LendingTree Compares Mortgage Rates by State,” LendingTree (Feb. 8, 2019)
