At a high level, mortgage rates are determined by economic forces that influence the bond market. You can’t do anything about that, but it’s worth knowing: bad economic or global political worries can move mortgage rates lower. Good news can push rates higher.

Mortgage rates not only vary from day to day, but hour to hour. You don’t want the rate to skyrocket right before closing, so at some point, you lock the rate. A mortgage rate lock is the lender’s guarantee that you’ll pay the agreed-upon interest rate if you close by a certain date. Your locked rate won’t change, no matter what happens to interest rates in the meantime.

You can lock your rate when you have an accepted offer (under contract) and have completed a full loan application.

Mortgage rates are often changing daily, and sometimes it can change more than once a day. However, lenders like Alexdoesloans have to advise how current the rates are in order for you to check when they were last updated.

Your credit score definitely has impact on the mortgage rate you could get. Most likely, lower credit scores have higher interest rates. Not only does it apply to mortgages but to all kinds of credit too.

Personalized mortgage rate is calculated depending on the personal details including, but not limited to, your credit score and income. The price of the home, your downpayment and your loan type are considered when you are planning on buying a home.

Interest rate refers to the percentage you pay to borrow money from a lender for a certain amount of time. On the other hand, APR or annual percentage rate sums up your interest rate including additional fees and expenses associated with taking out your loan.