Are home mortgage interest rates falling? Not so fast in these states

Doctors are no strangers to investing in real estate. Buying a house is a huge financial commitment and – hopefully – a good investment.

But it has been difficult lately because the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates in hopes of slowing inflation that took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, when interest rates were at record lows. The Fed lowered its key interest rate in September, but that came after mortgage interest rates generally were rising earlier this year.

“It’s a difficult time to buy a house, given that home prices have risen astronomically over the past few years and housing shortages make it hard to find the right place even if you have the money,” said Chip Lupo, analyst for WalletHub, the online financial information provider.

“Consumers’ home-buying struggles are exacerbated by the fact that the average mortgage interest rate increased in all but six states between Q1 2024 and Q2 2024,” Lupo said in a report on WalletHub’s latest study of interest rates. “Although interest rates are still down a bit from the highs we saw last year, they’re a far cry from the historic lows during the pandemic.”

Where are the worst places for the cost of a home loan?

This slideshow presents the 10 states where interest rates spiked at least 2% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2024. All data come from the WalletHub report, “States Where Mortgage Interest Rates Are Increasing the Most,” published online Oct. 3.

If you're looking for low interest rates, check out this slideshow of states where rates were steady or declining, based on the same data.