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There are a lot of mortgage myths that Americans confuse for truth.  One of them is that adjustable-rate mortgages always carry lower rates than fixed-rate mortgages. 

As the chart shows us, that's false. 

But even when ARMs are lower than fixed-rate, that doesn't mean they're the better "low payment" option.

Two weeks ago, for example, choosing a fixed-rate mortgage over an adjustable-rate one made a lot of sense.  The interest rate spread was between the loan types was 1/8 percent.

For a few extra dollars each month, in other words, mortgage lenders guaranteed unchanging mortgage payments for the life of the loan.  This can be a relatively cheap insurance policy for homeowners.

Today, however, the market looks different. 

Since the Federal Reserve hinted its rate-cutting cycle may be over, the Fixed-ARM spread has widened to 0.500 percent, and the comparison is much different.  The "fixed-rate insurance policy" is much more expensive.

Mortgage markets change every single day so before locking your ARM or your fixed mortgage rate, check with your loan officer about how each is pricing out with Wall Street.

Don't have a loan officer?  Call this guy.  I have it on good authority that he knows what he's doing.

Dan Green is an active loan officer. Email or call 513-443-2020. Dan is on Twitter at @mortgagereports.