Mortgage and Refinance Rates in Alaska

Today's Alaska Mortgage Rates

Looking for the lowest Alaska mortgage rates? The journey to getting the best rates on Alaska home loans involves several steps:

• Developing your financial goals and expectations.
• Familiarizing yourself with different types of mortgage loans
• Check to see what rates and terms are being offered by various lenders
• Consider your options
• Obtain personalized rate quotes from multiple lenders before making your choice

This can seem like a rugged journey, like venturing deep into the backcountry. But like any journey, it's easier if you're well-prepared and have markers to show you the way. Here at MortgageLoan.com, we can be your outfitter on your journey to find the right loan for you with the best home mortgage rates in Alaska. With helpful articles and tips, an assortment of mortgage calculators and access to free personalized quotes for current Alaska mortgage rates from multiple lenders, we can help set you on the right path to your new home – or to refinancing your current one.

About Alaska Mortgage Rates

Current Alaska mortgage rates for some of the most popular loans are list above. But understand that these are averages. The rate you pay will likely differ. For one thing, Alaska and USA mortgage rates change daily, sometimes several times a day. The rates listed today may be higher or lower than those offered tomorrow or next week.

The other thing to understand is that mortgage rates vary from borrower to borrower. You may pay a higher or lower rate than other customers depending on your credit score, size of the loan, down payment, whether you buy discount points and other factors. Your rate is tailored to you – that's why it's important to get personalized quotes from lenders when shopping for a home loan, rather than just seeing who's advertising the lowest rates.

Another thing to remember – the lowest Alaska or USA mortgage rates may not be the best deal. The rate is only part of what you pay – there are closing costs as well, which can amount to 2-6 percent of the amount you're seeking to borrow. A loan with a low rate but high fees could cost you more than one with a higher rate but fewer fees – so check closely.

Pay particularly attention to discount points. Discount points are a fee you can pay up front to buy a lower mortgage rate. Each point you buy costs 1 percent of the loan amount and reduces your rate by a certain amount, often one-eighth to one-quarter of a percentage point. Buying discount points can often save you money over the long run, but they can also be used to hide the true cost of a loan. An unusually low rate that includes multiple discount points may not be the great deal it seems.

APR – a Handy Guide

A better way to check the cost of Alaska home loans is to compare the APR on different loans rather than the mortgage rate. APR, or annual percentage rate, is a way of expressing the total cost of a loan, both the mortgage rate and the closing costs, in terms of an annual percentage. It's basically the rate that would produce the same mortgage payment as rolling all the closing costs into the loan itself. By law, the APR must be included with any advertisement for or offer of a mortgage rate, so it's easy to check.

APR is less useful with adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), as the rate can vary over time. It's also less accurate if you sell or refinance before a fixed-rate loan is paid off, as it's based on the full term of the loan. If you think that might be the case for you, you can use one of our mortgage calculators to crunch the numbers yourself and compare the costs that way.

Fixed-rate Mortgages

Fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) appeal to Alaska borrowers who don't want the risk of rising payments and interest rates. Since the payment, interest rate, and payoff schedule of a FRM doesn't change, borrowers can confidently budget a FRM into the long term. There are no balloon payments or unexpected changes to the loan that would require a borrower to refinance. A fixed-rate borrower may choose to refinance if market rates decline significantly.

Adjustable-rate Mortgages

Unlike fixed-rate loans, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have rates that change along with market conditions. This allows them to have lower initial rates than fixed-rate loans, though the rate may go up or down over time.

Most Alaska home loans with ARMs start out with a fixed rate for several years, usually 3, 5, 7 or 10 years, before the rate starts to adjust. This provides a degree of predictability starting out. Then the rate adjusts at regular intervals, perhaps every one or two years. That's why ARMs are described with names like 5/1, 7/2 and the like – the first number is the number of years the rate stays fixed, and the second how often it adjusts after that, in years.

15 vs. 30-year Loans

One of the things that will have a big effect on your mortgage rate is the length of the loan. Alaska home loan programs give you a variety of options for how quickly you want to pay your loan off. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is the most popular type among Alaska home loans for buying a home, but loans of 10, 15 and 20 years are also available. And the shorter the loan, the lower your mortgage rate.

15-year loans are a popular option for refinancing, as they usually offer a significantly lower rate than 30-year loans. As a result, a borrower who has been paying on a 30-year loan for a number of years can often refinance to 15 years and cut several years off the loan without a big increase in their monthly payment. And a shorter loan can mean big savings in interest over the term of the loan.

Compare Mortgages

In order to save money on your Alaska mortgage, you'll want to solicit offers from competing lenders. To do this, you can contact individual lenders directly, or you can use our rate request form at the top of the page. Or do both. With our rate request form, you get personalized rate quotes based on your borrower profile from lenders seeking your business. You can get quotes for conventional mortgages, FHA loans and VA loans, for a purchase or refinance. You can even get quotes for home equity loans, if that's what you're seeking.

They say the state of Alaska is "Beyond Your Dreams, Within Your Reach." The same can be said for finding the right mortgage loan for you and your future.