JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mortgage rates have eased into the 5% range for the first time since 2023, and local lenders say buyers in Northeast Florida are taking notice.
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According to national data, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate is averaging around 5.72% today, with 15-year fixed near 5.32%. Shorter-term and specialty loan rates vary but remain relatively low compared with recent years.
What lenders are seeing
“This is a big deal,” Jason Kindler, president of First Coast Mortgage Funding said. “It can save homeowners, you know, hundreds of dollars, and we’re seeing a huge increase in applications recently too.”
Kindler noted that while rates dipped into the low 6 % range toward the end of last year, they hadn’t truly hit the 5s, until now.
“It was the most insane for applications,” Kindler said of January activity, noting his office saw a roughly 60% year-over-year increase in applications. Buyers are recognizing potential savings and acting on them.
Affordability on the rise
New data from the Northeast Florida Association of REALTORS® shows the home affordability index climbed to 92 last month — the first time it hit the 90s since April 2022. The index measures whether a median-income family can afford a median-priced home, with 100 representing exact affordability.
Kindler says many buyers realize rates likely won’t return to the ultra-low 3% and 4% levels seen earlier in the decade.
“So they’re looking at it going, okay, maybe now’s the time,” he said. “Because when there’s an influx of applications, home prices eventually are going to start going back up. So inventory is going to deplete.”
Asked whether rates could keep falling, Kindler joked he doesn’t have a crystal ball then offered his outlook anyway.
“I think this will be the year that we start to decrease. … Some of the reports have us in the low fives. But if we can get down a little bit, I think that it is going to continue to drive activity.”
Falling mortgage rates and improving affordability are motivating more people to explore buying or refinancing, but experts caution that inventory levels and overall housing market conditions still play a major role in how quickly deals get done.