BATON ROUGE - Record low mortgage rates are a major incentive for home-buyers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This could be the best time to buy or refinance a home in decades.

Senior loan officer Brad Johnson with GMFS Mortgage in Baton Rouge says the lower rates are dropping average mortgage payments by $200-$300 per month and gives buyers more for their money. He says he has not seen home mortgage rates this low in his entire career.

"Borrowers who could qualify for a $350,000 house in the past, a year ago, might be able to go up to a $450,000 house now and get the same payment," Johnson said.

According to Johnson, his office set records for the last three months in a row for the number of loans they have closed. So far, they have closed over three times the amount in 2020 than they did at this time last year. 

Although these historically low rates are amid the global pandemic, Johnson says there are other contributing factors.

"The pandemic might be helping keep [the mortgage rates] at a low pace where they are staying at a 3% range. I think a lot of it has to do with the election, though," Johnson said.

The loan market can be unpredictable, so there is no guarantee that these rates will remain low. Johnson said they fluctuate daily.