FINANCIAL HOUSEKEEPING | Compare mortgage types to pick the best option
Consumers typically look at one mortgage type and then the next, picking the best option based mostly on affordability.
But getting the best mortgage deal is about more than payment size. The Federal Reserve Board has created an online Mortgage Comparison Calculator that allows consumers to compare monthly mortgage payments and the amount of equity they build for up to six types of fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages.
The calculator is accessible at www.federalreserve.gov/apps/mortcalc/ and it allows homebuyers to compare different types of mortgages – seven different types of adjustables and several different styles of fixed-rate loans – to determine which deal is best.
SHORT COURSE | Goldilocks economy
This term was popular in the mid-to-late 1990s, when it was used to describe the U.S. economy before the bull market run. As in the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the idea is to have economic conditions that are “not too hot, not too cold, but just right.”
Generally speaking, most consumers – and many economists – consider these conditions optimal, allowing the government to stand pat on policy, rather than being forced to take steps that would improve economic performance.
Today, the term “soft landing” is used most often to describe similar conditions. Soft-landing conditions have enough economic growth to avoid recession, but not so much growth that inflation and higher interest rates become problematic.
