Mortgage and Refinance Rates in Indiana
Use our comparison table to compare refinance and mortgage rates in Indiana
Today's Rates In Indiana
Looking to buy a home or refinance a mortgage in the Hoosier State? Then you'll want to check into current Indiana mortgage rates for starters. But the average Indiana mortgage rates won't necessarily tell you what you'll pay for a home loan – or what the best rates will be. For that, you're going to have to do a little digging. But we can help you.
The mortgage rate you pay depends on a lot of factors, including the current market rate, your credit score, down payment, type of loan, the lender you choose and the fees you pay as part of the loan – particularly discount points. Sorting through all that to find the best Indiana mortgage rate and type of loan for you can be a challenge. So we've put together some resources to help you do that.
For starters, we've got a database of informative consumer articles on practically every aspect of mortgages and home buying to give you the information you need to be a savvy consumer. Our more than 100 mortgage and financial calculators can help you not only figure out your mortgage payments, but can also help you figure out the real cost of competing loan offers, figure what you can afford, whether it makes sense to refinance and more. You can also use the convenient forms on this page to get fast, personalized rate quotes from lenders that are tailored specifically to you!
Indiana mortgage rates
Current mortgage rates for Indiana for a variety of loan types are listed at the top of this page. But what determines the rate you'll pay?
You probably know that mortgage rates vary from day to day and week to week, depending on market conditions. That's the starting point. Those are averages, based on what borrowers are currently paying for those types of loans. But the rate you pay will be affected by a variety of factors. Among the most important ones:
Your credit score: Your credit score can affect the mortgage rate you pay, especially if you have a low score. A lower credit score means more risk for the lender, so they charge their rates accordingly. However, some types of loans are less affected by your credit score than others – Indiana FHA loans, for example, aren't as affected by credit score as conventional mortgages are.
Your down payment: Your down payment can also affect your mortgage rate, as a smaller down payment means more risk for the lender. The best rates usually go to borrowers who can put down 25 percent or more. You can put down as little as 3 percent on a conventional mortgage, but expect to pay a higher rate as a result. When refinancing, your home equity plays the same role as your down payment.
Type of loan: Different types of Indiana home loans have different mortgage rates. Jumbo loans tend to have higher rates than conventional loans. Indiana FHA loans have a different rate structure as well. VA loans have their own rates. If you're looking for a home equity loan, you'll find there are different rates for standard home equity loans and HELOCs. 15-year mortgage rates are lower than those on 30-year loans. And so forth.
The lender: Different lenders charge different rates for the same type of loan. You need to shop around to find the one where you can find the best mortgage rates for you. Some lenders may offer a better rate on certain types of loans or to certain kinds of customers than others will.
Fees: The fees that a lender charges you can affect the rate you get. A lender may charge higher fees to offset the lower rate they're offering. And each lender has their own fee structure, with their own mix of fees and terminology that can make it a challenge to make head-to-head comparisons.
Discount points: Discount points are a special type of fee that allow you to buy a lower rate by pre-paying some mortgage interest. They can often save you money, especially if you have the loan for many years without selling the home or refinancing. But they can also be used to disguise the true cost of a loan, particularly in advertisements. An unusually low rate that includes two or more points may not be quite as good a deal as you think.
Using APR to compare Indiana mortgage rates
Sorting through all of that may seem a bit intimidating. Fortunately, there's a tool to help you cut through the clutter. The annual percentage rate (APR) is a figure that takes the cost of a loan, both the mortgage rate and fees, and expresses it as a percentage. The higher the figure, the more costly the loan.
By law, the APR on a loan must be included in any loan advertisements that offer an interest rate and with any offers to lend at a specific rate. The APR is basically the interest rate that, applied to the loan amount, would produce the same monthly payment as the mortgage rate applied to the loan amount with the fees rolled in to the loan.
The APR is a convenient way to compare loan offers, but it isn't perfect. It doesn't work very well with adjustable-rate loans, for instance, and assumes that you'll pay off the loan over the full term, rather than refinancing or selling the home at some point before that. It also doesn't take into account the cost of monthly mortgage insurance payments, which you have to make on loans with less than 20 percent down and which differs between conventional loans and FHA loans. So it can be helpful to use one of our mortgage calculators to make a more detailed comparison and work the numbers out for yourself.
For first-time homebuyers
Relaxed credit requirements and low down payments make FHA loans a popular choice for first-time homebuyers in Indiana or anyone with less-than-ideal credit or limited finances. FHA loan requirements allow Indiana borrowers to qualify for a mortgage with credit scores of 600 and below, depending on the lender, while down payments can be as little as 3.5 percent. In addition, borrowers with weaker credit can usually get better mortgage rates with an FHA loan than they can on a conventional mortgage
But if they've got good credit, first-time homebuyers in Indiana should definitely consider conventional loans. Overall costs are usually lower than on FHA loans for borrowers with good-to-excellent credit scores, and down payments of as little as 3 percent are allowed as well (though a larger down payment will get you a lower rate). It's also easier to cancel mortgage insurance on conventional loans once you accumulate 20 percent equity; on FHA loans, you can only cancel it by refinancing if you put down less than 10 percent initially.
Home Equity Loans
Do you have equity in your home that you'd like to turn into cash? A home equity loan will do just that. The home equity loan is a fixed-rate second mortgage. They're commonly used to fund a one-time expense. Since a refinance can accomplish the same thing, homeowners often find themselves choosing between one and the other. A home equity loan makes sense when you already have a competitively priced mortgage, or when you want to save on closing costs.
Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
Indiana borrowers, who are low on buying power in the short-term, might consider an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or refinance mortgage. This is because ARMs begin with a low monthly payment that remains in force for a certain time period. Once that period expires, the rate becomes variable, and is adjusted at regular intervals. It's important for ARM borrowers to have the ability to absorb any potential rate increases that occur after the initial rate expires.
Getting quotes
When you're shopping for a loan, be sure to get quotes from several different lenders. You can contact them individually, or you can obtain multiple quotes from different Indiana lenders by using the one of the forms at the top of this page. Each quote is personalized based on your borrower information and the type of loan you're looking for, and comes from lenders seeking to do business with customers like yourself.
