[andyk]

Now I get it. Your level of wealth is determined by how much you spend on a house!

[Steely Tom]

Wholesale always costs less than retail.

I wonder how much effort the MSM will put into trying to get the LIV population riled up over a difference of 0.01% (one part in ten thousand).

On a loan amount of $165K, 30 years, the difference between a rate of 5.00% and 5.01% is $1.01 per month.

Meantime, the tax rate on a $200K house (for which one would have to borrow the $165K after a 15% down payment) would be about $800 per month.

So an LIV is supposed to get irate about $1 per month he gets “stung” for against a “rich guy,” but about the $800 per month his local politicians take to buy votes, he’s supposed to say “oh well, that’s life.”

[DManA]

The real rate isn’t changing. Inflation is rising.

[KarlInOhio]

So the normal mortgage market is now controlled by the government while the jumbo market is a relatively free market. And while the government through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are piling up the pain on the common home buyer, those who can avoid them do better. I wonder if things get worse, will banks give buyers with great credit loans which don't go through the government? And will this cause a cascade of failure as that will drive up costs on the rest of the borrowers with low credit scores, the best of whom will then get independent loans which further drives up the cost on the rest driving out the best of the remaining borrowers...

[Alex Murphy]

Most ordinary homebuyers are paying the same or higher rates than the fortunate few who can afford much more. Rates for a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage are averaging 4.48 percent, according to Bankrate. For “jumbo” mortgages—those above $417,000 in much of the country—the average is 4.47 percent.

People are complaining about one-hundredth of one percent? Get back to me when we hit those high-teens double-digit interest rates that highlighted the Carter administration.

[SampleMan]

If you are middle-class, there is a 50-50 chance your mortgage will be a jumbo loan. So once again the AP misses the point.

[familyop]

To some, appearances are everything, and debt, nothing. To others, lower taxes and other costs are very important. Want to look rich? Get a big loan. Want to get rich? Learn to build a tiny, efficient house where property taxes are very low and lots, cheap. Then do it, no matter how long it takes.