Freelance writer

Angela Brown

Federal funds rate: The Fed raises and lowers the federal funds rate to maintain economic stability. Lenders often add a margin to it as part of their prime rate calculation.
Inflation rate: Inflation reduces the purchasing power of money, including lenders’ profits on loans they make. They might offset that lower purchasing power by increasing rates.
Competition: Lenders use pricing as a marketing strategy to stay competitive within their markets.&nbsp;
Supply and demand: Lenders might increase rates when demand for homes outpaces supply; they might lower mortgage rates when supply outpaces demand.
Investment markets: Lenders often increase and decrease rates as the markets change — in particular, the market for mortgage-backed securities, which are bonds made up of bundled mortgage loans.

6+ years in personal finance.
Work has appeared on LendingTree, FinanceBuzz, and Yahoo Finance.

Bio and experience

Angela Brown is a freelance writer in Bloomington, Indiana, with more than six years of experience covering personal finance. She is an expert on reverse mortgages, real estate, student and personal loans, and debt management.

Angela was a reporter at the Upper Valley Standard Journals and the Millcreek Journal early in her career. She then worked as a content writer at SFG Media Group for over three years, covering health, beauty, cooking, and science. She was also a freelance B2B content writer at Gold Research, Inc., covering shopper insights and market research.

Angela wrote content for Wasatch Home and Estates, highlighting the hottest neighborhoods in Salt Lake City, and worked as a finance contributor to Fox Business, Angi, Brick, LendingTree, and FinanceBuzz. Currently, Angela is a contributing writer at Insurify.