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The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: Ariel Skelley/Getty Images June 20, 2022 Ruben Çağınalp is an associate writer for Bankrate, focusing on mortgage topics. Suzanne De Vita is the mortgage editor for Bankrate, focusing on mortgage and real estate topics for homebuyers, homeowners, investors and renters. Bankrate logo

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Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our mortgage reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the latest rates, the best lenders, navigating the homebuying process, refinancing your mortgage and more — so you can feel confident when you make decisions as a homebuyer and a homeowner. Bankrate logo

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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. recently shot up to , all but drying up the pool of homeowners who’d benefit from refinancing. Mortgage technology and data provider Black Knight reports just 472,000 homeowners — mostly borrowers who obtained mortgages in 2008 or earlier — have an opportunity to save by refinancing. That’s down immensely from the roughly 20 million homeowners in 2020 who were able to take advantage of rock-bottom rates. The data provider estimates these borrowers could save an average of $309 per month if they refinanced today. Black Knight categorizes these borrowers as “high-quality refinance candidates,” meaning they have credit scores of 720 or higher, at least 20 percent equity in their homes, are current on their mortgage payments and stand to shave at least 0.75 of a percentage point off their existing mortgage rate. While are currently lower than those on purchases, they’re still significantly higher than they were even just six months ago. Currently, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage refinance is , according to Bankrate.

What you can do

If you’re one of the few with an older loan and considering a refinance: Shop around. Refinance rates and vary by mortgage lender, so get at least three bids. Understand the breakeven point. That’s the moment at which the savings in monthly payments offset the closing costs. This can help you decide. Don’t chase the lowest rate. While the goal, of course, is a lower rate, make sure that benefit isn’t overwhelmed by closing costs. In this rising-rate environment, some lenders are now charging costly in order to offer more attractive rates. SHARE: Ruben Çağınalp is an associate writer for Bankrate, focusing on mortgage topics. Suzanne De Vita is the mortgage editor for Bankrate, focusing on mortgage and real estate topics for homebuyers, homeowners, investors and renters.

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