Frequently Asked Questions
What determines today's mortgage rates?

Overall, mortgage rates are outside your control. A wide range of complex factors determines today's rates, including how the economy is doing, government economic policies, and the secondary market that packages mortgages together to sell them.

However, you can control how prepared you are to qualify for the best rates available, understand what steps will get you a better rate, and then do what you need to get a better rate.

Mortgage rates can change daily or even during the day. A rate you see advertised is not guaranteed to be the rate that is available when you speak with a lender. Even if you speak with a lender and are quoted a rate during a pre-qualification, the quoted rate is not binding. You wouldn't know your rate until you submit a loan application, the lender approves your request, and the lender formally locks it.