{"id":239298,"date":"2026-03-27T14:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T14:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/239298\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T14:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T14:37:07","slug":"can-southern-california-house-hunters-handle-mortgage-rates-at-6-month-high-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/239298\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Southern California house hunters handle mortgage rates at 6-month high? \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mortgage rates\u00a0hit a six-month high as the war in Iran boosted oil prices and rekindled inflation fears.<\/p>\n

Freddie Mac reported on Thursday, March 26, that its weekly average for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.38%<\/a>, the highest since Sept. 4, when it was 6.5%<\/a>. This benchmark rate had dipped to 5.98% at the end of February, just before the war started, the lowest rate since September 2022.<\/p>\n

My trusty spreadsheet looked at what the recent rate climb would mean for housing payments for a typical Southern California homebuyer. An estimated monthly cost was calculated based on the 6.38% loan rate and a buyer paying the six-county region\u2019s January median selling price of $785,000, according to\u00a0Attom. This math also assumes a 20% down payment.<\/p>\n

The $3,928 monthly payment using the new rate is now $90 higher than recent lows. So, the conflict\u2019s initial hit to house hunters\u2019 budgets is only a 2% increase. Note that this payment estimate is also $409, or 9%, below the May 2024 peak.<\/p>\n

And a $157,000 down payment is needed, too.<\/p>\n

Those are key reasons why it\u2019s so tough to afford a home in the area.<\/p>\n

Remember, this is an overpriced housing market that needs some discounting. The prewar decline in mortgage rates stirred hopes of a robust spring selling season.<\/p>\n

The year started, however, with the second-slowest sales pace for a January<\/a> in Attom records dating to 2005.\u00a0Let\u2019s not forget that this financial burden has increased by 90% in six years.<\/p>\n

Plus, these mortgage payment estimates don\u2019t include property taxes, insurance, association fees or maintenance costs that owners incur.<\/p>\n

Counting counties<\/p>\n

Look at mortgage payment swings across the six counties, ranked by payment size \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 Orange: $5,880 monthly for January\u2019s $1,175,000 median. That\u2019s up $227 a month, or 4%, versus recent lows, but $501 below, or 8%, the June 2024 high. The burden\u2019s up 109% in six years. Down payment? $235,000.<\/p>\n

\u2022 San Diego: $4,429 monthly for January\u2019s $885,000 median. That\u2019s up $172 a month, or 4%, versus recent lows, but $431 below, or 9%, the June 2024 high. The burden\u2019s up 98% in six years. Down payment? $177,000.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Los Angeles: $4,365 monthly for January\u2019s $872,250 median. That\u2019s up $100 a month, or 2% versus recent lows, but $418 below the June 2025 high, or 9%. The burden\u2019s up 82% in six years. Down payment? $174,500<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ventura: $4,253 monthly for January\u2019s $850,000 median. That\u2019s up $133 a month, or 3%, versus recent lows, but $426 below, or 9%, the June 2024 high. The burden\u2019s up 80% in six years. Down payment? $170,000.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Riverside: $2,877 monthly for January\u2019s $575,000 median. That\u2019s up $66 a month, or 2%, versus recent lows, but $356 below, or 11%, the May 2024 high. The burden\u2019s up 92% in six years. Down payment? $115,000.<\/p>\n

\u2022 San Bernardino: $2,580 monthly for January\u2019s $515,500 median. That\u2019s up $59 a month, or 2% versus recent lows, but $245 below, or 9%, the November 2023 high. The burden\u2019s up 100% in six years. Down payment? $103,100.<\/p>\n

The big pictures<\/p>\n

Statewide, the latest rate would cost $3,489 per month for January\u2019s $697,250 median-priced home. That\u2019s up $80 a month, or 2%, versus recent lows, but $499 below, or 13% versus June 2024\u2019s high. The burden\u2019s up 82% in six years. Down payment? $139,500.<\/p>\n

And nationally? That\u2019s a $1,776 monthly payment for a $355,000 median. That\u2019s up $41 a month, or 2%, versus recent lows, but $164 below, or 8%, June 2024\u2019s high. The burden\u2019s up 98% in six years. Down payment? $71,000.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mortgage rates\u00a0hit a six-month high as the war in Iran boosted oil prices and rekindled inflation fears. Freddie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[387,7,9,8,1011,15198,100,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-239298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-california-headlines","11":"tag-california-news","12":"tag-housing","13":"tag-mortgages","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-top-stories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}