Show Hn: I Built A Dashboard To Compare Mortgage Rates Across 120...
Buying a home or refinancing a mortgage is tough enough without confusing ads from banks and big lenders. Credit unions can offer competitive rates compared to big banks because they’re member-owned, non-profit institutions. They focus on serving their members, not maximizing profits for shareholders.
But without big budgets and marketing departments, credit union rates aren’t always easy to find or compare. That’s why we built a daily-updated comparison of mortgage rates from over 120 credit unions across the United States.
Note: These rates are informational and not a commitment to lend. FinFam has no institutional affiliation and does not receive any referral fees.
When we bought our home, the big bank I’d been using for years tried to sell me on a mortgage with 7% APR. Turns out a local credit union was offering 5.5% for the exact same mortgage.
What surprised me most wasn’t that there were cheaper options, but that two mortgages can be exactly the same product, just with different packaging.
In the USA, the government buys almost all mortgages, requiring them to be standardized. So why the price difference? As explored in this Bloomberg Odd Lots episode about credit card rates, higher rates are mostly to pay for advertising and marketing. Big banks have marketing departments that non-profit credit unions don’t have.
That “exclusive” inbox offer from Chase or Wells Fargo isn’t generosity. It’s a bet that you won’t shop around. My goal with this tool is simple: help people realize they have options and potentially save thousands of dollars a year.
Some rates (around a dozen) are hidden by default because they’re statistical outliers: likely errors or ultra-specialized products. Toggle “Show outliers” in the filters if you want to see them anyway.
Our dashboard can only take you so far. Your actual rate depends on: credit score, down payment (20%+ is ideal), property type (primary residence gets best rates), and whether you pay points for a lower rate (always compare APR).
Next step: Get quotes from multiple lenders by using the rate table above to contact institutions.
Source: HackerNews
