Mortgage rates can be unpredictable, making it tricky for homebuyers and homeowners who are refinancing to decide whether to lock in a rate with their mortgage lender, or gamble that they’ll do better if they wait a week or two.
Mortgage-news website The Mortgage Reports has rolled out a weekly contest designed to help prospective buyers get a better sense of where rates are headed, while providing a platform for real estate agents to boost their street cred alongside other professionals in the industry.
“It’s an excellent way for real estate agents to publicize themselves,” said Dan Green, chief publishing office of The Mortgage Report, about the new contest.
To play “The Mortgage Rate Game,” contestants sign up for a free account and vote each week on whether they think mortgage rates will move up or down over the next two weeks.
Winners are determined based on benchmarks supplied by Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
Screenshot showing The Mortgage Rate Game “leaderboard.”
The goal is “to provide consumers and mortgage rate shoppers with real-time mortgage rate forecasting from some of the brightest mortgage minds nationwide,” Green said.
“For years, consumers have had to rely on Wall Street to tell them where mortgage rates are headed next but Wall Street’s not always right,” he said. “With The Mortgage Rate Game, we expect ‘Main Street’ to show the world just how much it knows.”
Participants who rack up the best voting records can receive publicity.
They’ll appear prominently on the contest’s page and in quarterly press releases. And they’ll earn badges that can be displayed on newsletters, websites and through social media, potentially offering another whistle that mortgage-whispering real estate agents can slap onto their marketing.
Even contestants with less-than-stellar voting records get visibility on the contest’s “player commentary” page if they supplement their votes with predictions.
Green said he’s been cherry picking some of the comments to feature in his weekly “What’s next for mortgage rates” posts as well.
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