Latest news with #GregMcBride
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Can a bank close your account without warning? Here's what to do if it happens.
We rely on our bank accounts to pay bills and manage finances, but your bank can close it -- whether it's a checking, savings, or even credit card -- at any moment without warning. It can be a financial headache, but there are steps you can take to try to resolve it or avoid it from happening again. Bankrate's Greg McBride explains that banks have the right to close accounts based on their discretion and policies. There are various reasons it might happen, he said. "It could be long periods of inactivity, having a zero balance in the account, or even a negative balance," McBride said. "If you've had excessive overdrafts, even suspicious or fraudulent activity, that could be cause for sudden account closure." McBride says banks generally consider an account inactive if there has been little to no activity over several years. Negative balances from fees caused by frequent overdrafts can also trigger closure. Additionally if your bank suspects you're either a victim of fraud or engaging in fraud, it can close your account, he said. If the closure is due to suspected fraud or unpaid balances, your bank may report it to something called ChexSystems, McBride said. It's like a credit report, and banks use it in their application process, so it could impact your ability to open an account somewhere else. But also like a credit report, you are entitled to a free copy of your ChexSystems report annually, and you do have the right to dispute it. When a bank closes your account, you will receive any remaining balances, according to Bankrate. You'll want to be sure you know how the bank will get you your funds. It's also important to know that any scheduled transactions or direct deposits will fail, which could result in late fees or missing income. If a bank closes your account it's important to act quickly: If you feel your account was wrongly closed, you can file a complaint with a federal agency like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the Office of the Comptroller's Customers Assistance Group. McBride said you can avoid account closure by being proactive and maintaining account activity, avoiding transactions banks might consider high-risk like online gambling, and staying in communication with your bank about any planned large deposits or other significant financial changes.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why the 'lock-in' phenomenon is gripping American homeowners
Americans are increasingly cautious about selling their homes in 2025 compared to years past, a new survey from Bankrate found. More than half of U.S. homeowners said they would be uncomfortable selling their home this year no matter what the mortgage rate is, an increase of 12 percentage points from last year's survey, according to Bankrate. Shop Top Mortgage Rates Personalized rates in minutes A quicker path to financial freedom Your Path to Homeownership Homeowners with low, fixed-rate mortgages may be reluctant to sell their homes because they would have to give up their low interest rates. This is known as the "lock-in" phenomenon, according to the report. 'Mortgage rates haven't been below 6% in nearly three years, so buyers and sellers alike have reluctantly adjusted to high rates," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate. Current homeowners aren't looking to buy. Why not? Nearly 40% of homeowners say mortgage rates would need to drop below 6% for them to be comfortable buying a home this year, the survey found. 'While many would-be buyers are holding out for lower mortgage rates, what constitutes 'lower' has evolved. Many that were pining for a return to 3% or 4% rates would probably jump for joy if rates fell into the fives," McBride said in a statement. 'With so many homeowners having bought or refinanced at sub 5-percent rates prior to 2022, there isn't much of an appetite or incentive to refinance at today's comparatively high rates,' McBride added. The bank of mom and dad: Parents are helping their adult children become homeowners What is the current mortgage rate? In the week ending July 17, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.75%, Freddie Mac announced. That's close to the fixed-mortgage rate from a year prior. Those figures don't include fees or points, and rates in some parts of the country may be higher or lower than the national average. CONTRIBUTING Rachel Barber, Andrea Riquier, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Americans reluctant to sell their homes in 2025. Here's why. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
21-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Why the 'lock-in' phenomenon is gripping American homeowners
Americans are increasingly cautious about selling their homes in 2025 compared to years past, a new survey from Bankrate found. More than half of U.S. homeowners said they would be uncomfortable selling their home this year no matter what the mortgage rate is, an increase of 12 percentage points from last year's survey, according to Bankrate. Homeowners with low, fixed-rate mortgages may be reluctant to sell their homes because they would have to give up their low interest rates. This is known as the "lock-in" phenomenon, according to the report. 'Mortgage rates haven't been below 6% in nearly three years, so buyers and sellers alike have reluctantly adjusted to high rates," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate. Current homeowners aren't looking to buy. Why not? Nearly 40% of homeowners say mortgage rates would need to drop below 6% for them to be comfortable buying a home this year, the survey found. 'While many would-be buyers are holding out for lower mortgage rates, what constitutes 'lower' has evolved. Many that were pining for a return to 3% or 4% rates would probably jump for joy if rates fell into the fives," McBride said in a statement. 'With so many homeowners having bought or refinanced at sub 5-percent rates prior to 2022, there isn't much of an appetite or incentive to refinance at today's comparatively high rates,' McBride added. The bank of mom and dad: Parents are helping their adult children become homeowners What is the current mortgage rate? In the week ending July 17, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.75%, Freddie Mac announced. That's close to the fixed-mortgage rate from a year prior. Those figures don't include fees or points, and rates in some parts of the country may be higher or lower than the national average. CONTRIBUTING Rachel Barber, Andrea Riquier, USA TODAY
CNBC
06-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Getting to Europe is cheaper this summer — but everything costs more when you're there
A last-minute summer flight to London or Rome costs less than it did a year ago, but the good news ends at the customs checkpoint. U.S. travelers to the U.K. and Europe are finding their dollars don't go as far as they did just months ago. Exchange rates haven't been kind to Americans abroad this year. The dollar index — which tracks the greenback against a handful of other major currencies — has plunged 10.3% so far this year, its worst half-year performance since 1973, largely due to President Donald Trump's ongoing global trade war. While some analysts expect a partial rebound later this month, €1 now buys only about $0.85 today, versus $0.93 a year ago. In Britain, £1 fetches some $0.73, about 6 cents less than in early July 2024. Some of the currency swings have been quite recent. A ticket to a London play that cost £100, or about $135, at the beginning of June would cost $137 now. A three-night Barcelona hotel bill of €850, about $965 a month ago, will set you back $1,002 today. Fortunately, cheaper airfares are cushioning the blow. Tickets to Europe and Asia are down 10% and 13%, respectively, since last year at this time and have returned to pre-pandemic pricing, according to the booking platform Hopper. And travel experts at recently found some of the lowest-ever deals for certain flights to Sydney, Rio de Janeiro and Dublin this fall. Many consumers appear to be taking advantage of bargain tickets. Even as international travelers pull back on visiting the U.S., Americans are venturing abroad. Travel volumes among U.S. citizens returning home at major airports' passport control were up about 2% over the 28 days through June 21 since the same period a year ago, according to Tourism Economics, a market research firm. While budget considerations are affecting who's deciding to vacation abroad and how to spend when they do, consumer finance experts and travel industry analysts say broader economic uncertainty is playing a bigger role. "If you're going to cancel an international trip, it's not going to be because of the dollar," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. "It's going to be because you're worried about getting laid off, you're worried about geopolitical issues, or don't have the money saved up and the only way to pay for it is to put it on the credit card and finance it at 20% interest." For any travelers with heartburn over the weaker dollar, McBride noted that it "still compares pretty favorably to levels we saw in 2021, and it's still better than pretty much anytime between 2003 and 2014." Indeed, Tourism Economics found travel spending by U.S. residents abroad rose 8.6% in the first four months of the year from the same period a year earlier. "This indicates continued U.S. outbound demand," the firm said. While the economy and household finances always influence travel demand, "today those factors are looking to have more of a negative impact than positive one," said Nicki Zink, deputy head of industry analysis at the market research firm Morning Consult. In the group's recent survey, 31% of consumers said both the state of the U.S. economy and personal financial pressures are reducing their interest in leisure travel in the next three months, "higher than any other factor we survey about," said Zink. For its own part, the tourism market research firm Future Partners found 47% of American travelers are likely to venture abroad in the next 12 months, but 35% said uncertainty around U.S. policy changes had already caused them to reconsider or delay those plans. And in a NerdWallet survey last month, 11% of consumers said they'd scrapped international travel plans this year over global relations or economic uncertainty. Plenty of Americans are still packing their passports, though. Millennials, for example, "are increasingly considering international destinations, despite the higher cost compared with domestic trips," said Zink, adding that interest in destinations across South and Central America, the Caribbean and northern Europe have risen this year. Wealthy travelers are also still traveling with gusto, extending a trend that has intensified since the recovery from the pandemic. "Our affluent clients are still going after those bucket-list adventures and once-in-a-lifetime experiences," said Mandee Migliaccio, CEO of the New Jersey-based agency Stepping Out Travel Services. "While they're definitely keeping an eye on the headlines, they typically won't change plans unless a destination really becomes unstable." Migliaccio acknowledged she has seen some subtle shifts lately, with some clients asking to trim flight costs or deciding to skip a stop to keep things more efficient. "It's not so much 'I can't go' as it is, 'How can I make this work for me?'" she said. "People are being strategic, spending where it matters most, and opting for curated experiences over excess."
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
History of monthly mortgage payments: Comparing costs then and now
In 1971, George Lucas released his first feature-length movie, the Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl V and the average 30-year mortgage rate was 7.54 percent. That rate is pretty close to what we're seeing today. Home prices back then, not so much. In 1971, the typical home sale price averaged $25,225, according to Census data, or about $195,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars in 2024. Last year, however, the typical home sale price actually averaged $418,975. Meanwhile, the median household income rose from around $10,300 annually in 1971 to roughly $80,600 in 2023. Over the years, a shifting combination of mortgage rates, home prices, incomes and inflation has made it ever more challenging to become a homeowner, and mortgage payments now take up much more of the typical budget. Here's a look at how they've increased over the years. The typical monthly mortgage payment has climbed dramatically in recent years, from about $1,100 in 2020 to double that — $2,207 — in 2024 (when not adjusted for inflation). When adjusted for inflation, the increase still works out to near an additional $800 a month. Home prices rose precipitously during the pandemic, from an average sale price of $328,150 in 2020 to $418,975 in 2024. At the same time, mortgage rates on 30-year fixed loans shot up. 'Today's homebuyer is financing $100,000 more than the buyer five years ago and doing so at a rate of 7 percent instead of 3 percent,' says Greg McBride, CFA, chief financial analyst for Bankrate. Similarly, mortgage payments rose 50 years ago, too. Between 1971 and 1981 — also boosted by prices and rates — the typical monthly mortgage payment went from around $1,100 to $2,650 in inflation-adjusted dollars in 2024. By 1981, the average sale price was $68,950, or about $238,450 in inflation-adjusted dollars in 2024. Monthly mortgage payments by year Year Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate Typical monthly mortgage payment 1971 7.54% $141.65 1972 7.38% $152.16 1973 8.04% $192.09 1974 9.19% $236.01 1975 9.05% $253.94 1976 8.86% $281.12 1977 8.85% $310.56 1978 9.64% $380.27 1979 11.20% $485.67 1980 13.74% $603.12 1981 16.67% $771.64 1982 16.06% $747.41 1983 13.24% $678.37 1984 13.88% $751.77 1985 11.85% $685.72 1986 10.39% $667.38 1987 10.40% $759.93 1988 10.38% $813.21 1989 10.25% $863.30 1990 9.97% $856.45 1991 9.09% $778.50 1992 8.27% $730.85 1993 7.17% $684.88 1994 8.28% $786.07 1995 7.86% $773.12 1996 7.76% $804.59 1997 7.57% $816.66 1998 6.91% $801.28 1999 7.46% $892.19 2000 8.08% $991.02 2001 7.01% $922.24 2002 6.57% $947.51 2003 5.89% $910.67 2004 5.88% $1,032.91 2005 5.93% $1,126.09 2006 6.47% $1,228.69 2007 6.40% $1,225.74 2008 6.23% $1,128.32 2009 5.38% $966.60 2010 4.86% $941.22 2011 4.65% $927.73 2012 3.88% $919.97 2013 4.16% $1,036.54 2014 4.31% $1,132.72 2015 3.99% $1,122.10 2016 3.79% $1,136.01 2017 4.14% $1,252.35 2018 4.70% $1,349.60 2019 4.13% $1,242.42 2020 3.38% $1,161.32 2021 3.15% $1,316.71 2022 5.53% $1,973.12 2023 7.00% $2,270.15 2024 6.90% $2,207.36 The other piece: incomes. From 1984 to 2021, the median household income went from $58,930 to $79,260, according to Census estimates. In that 37-year window, mortgage payments accounted for less than 20 percent of household incomes in all but five of those years. That changed in 2022, when both home prices and mortgage costs rapidly rose. That year, the average sales price was $432,950 and mortgage payments ate up around 31 percent of the $77,540 median household income. In 2023, that share increased to almost 34 percent. Currently, prospective homebuyers need an annual household income of nearly $117,000 to afford a median-priced home in the U.S., according to Bankrate's 2025 Housing Affordability Study. Mortgage payment share of monthly income by year Year Median household income Mortgage payment share of monthly income 1984 $58,930 15.31% 1985 $60,050 13.70% 1986 $62,280 12.86% 1987 $63,060 14.46% 1988 $63,530 15.36% 1989 $64,610 16.03% 1990 $63,830 16.10% 1991 $61,960 15.08% 1992 $61,450 14.27% 1993 $61,150 13.44% 1994 $61,800 15.26% 1995 $63,770 14.55% 1996 $64,710 14.92% 1997 $66,050 14.84% 1998 $68,470 14.04% 1999 $70,210 15.25% 2000 $70,020 16.98% 2001 $68,870 16.07% 2002 $68,310 16.64% 2003 $68,350 15.99% 2004 $68,250 18.16% 2005 $69,310 19.50% 2006 $70,080 21.04% 2007 $71,210 20.66% 2008 $68,780 19.69% 2009 $68,340 16.97% 2010 $66,730 16.93% 2011 $65,750 16.93% 2012 $65,740 16.79% 2013 $68,220 18.23% 2014 $67,360 20.18% 2015 $71,000 18.97% 2016 $73,520 18.54% 2017 $74,810 20.09% 2018 $75,790 21.37% 2019 $81,210 18.36% 2020 $79,560 17.52% 2021 $79,260 19.94% 2022 $77,540 30.54% 2023 $80,610 33.79% Other housing costs keep rising, too. Let's break down some aspects of homeownership: Property taxes: From 2019 to 2024, property taxes went up by 27 percent on average, according to CoreLogic. In some states, the increase has been much higher: Tax bills in Colorado and Georgia, for example, rose by more than 50 percent in the last five years. Homeowners insurance: As of July 2025, the national average homeowners insurance cost was $2,466 annually for a policy with a $300,000 dwelling limit, according to Bankrate data. 'Hidden' expenses: The typical single-family home costs more than $21,000 a year to own and maintain, according to Bankrate's 2025 Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study. Aside from insurance and taxes, those expenses include cable, energy and internet costs. Buyer's remorse: A full 16 percent of homeowners with at least one regret about their home purchase say their mortgage payment is too high, according to Bankrate's 2025 Home Affordability Report. The jump in mortgage payments in recent years isn't lost on me. In 2021, my wife and I bought a new house for our expanding family and work-from-home careers. After more than six months looking, we signed a purchase agreement and got a mortgage at 2.99 percent. We closed two weeks before our son was born, in early 2022. If the sale fell through, or we had decided to wait to buy until after our son arrived, that same home would've been completely out of reach for us later in the year. We would've been shopping for mortgages at rates close to 7 percent, and our payment would've increased by several hundred dollars a month. We're proof of the 'lock-in effect' that's keeping homeowners from moving and taking a new loan — especially one that'd double our monthly housing costs. Still, life happens. Incomes change, and the housing market does, too. 'In the absence of continually lower mortgage rates, home prices cannot rise faster than homebuyer incomes in perpetuity,' McBride says. 'After the outsized home price appreciation exiting the pandemic, most markets are likely looking at a very tepid pace of home price appreciation in the next few years as incomes, and the buying power of households, closes some of that gap.'
