Show HN: I built a dashboard to compare mortgage rates across 120 credit unions

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction to the dashboard

  • Many commenters praise the tool as “fantastic” and a welcome alternative to cluttered sites like Bankrate.
  • People especially like: no signup, no ads, no referral fees, and the ability to compare APRs across many credit unions.
  • Minor UX issues are reported (e.g., a filter not working with uBlock, control wrapping on mobile), but overall sentiment is very positive.

Data sourcing, coverage, and implementation

  • Data comes largely from public rate pages of credit unions, with partial automation; scraping is “more manual” than many expected.
  • The Credit Union Mortgage Association portal is cited as a key starting point; not all members or large CUs (e.g., some of the biggest in the US) are currently included, raising questions about completeness and selection criteria.
  • The dashboard focuses on APR to standardize total cost under Truth in Lending rules, but users must click through to each CU for exact quotes and conditions.

Credit unions vs big banks

  • Several users report markedly better rates, customer service, and simpler online banking from credit unions, plus features like proper 2FA.
  • Others note downsides: weaker mobile apps, over-aggressive card fraud systems, and the fact that big banks can have cheaper products for high-credit or wealthy borrowers due to volume pricing from Fannie/Freddie and specialization.
  • There is debate over why some people resist credit unions: unfamiliarity, contrarianism toward enthusiastic advocates, or concerns about “too good to be true.”

Mortgage structures and housing-market effects

  • Long US 30‑year fixed mortgages are contrasted with shorter fixed terms or frequent refis in Australia, UK, and Europe.
  • One large subthread argues that long fixed-rate loans:
    • Enable buyers to bid up prices when rates are low (monthly-payment–driven budgets).
    • Create “lock-in” when rates rise, reducing housing supply and dampening price drops, producing an upward ratchet.
  • Others respond that 30‑year fixed loans are already priced into the system, and the real issue is people stretching to the maximum loan they can qualify for.

Rate comparability and assumptions

  • Commenters note that posted rates often assume specific scenarios (e.g., high equity, large down payment) and may not match many borrowers’ reality (e.g., FHA with low down).
  • The tool uses a $400k home, 20% down, and default tax/insurance/closing-cost assumptions as a baseline; these are adjustable and meant as generic medians, not precise local estimates.

Policy, discoverability, and future ideas

  • Some advocate for a government-run, API-accessible central database of mortgage, deposit, and utility offers; a now-defunct CFPB rate tool is mentioned as a partial precedent.
  • Another builder describes a similar rate-comparison project that lost almost all traffic after Google’s “Helpful Content Update,” arguing that consumer tools like this are fragile if they rely on SEO.
  • Suggested extensions include: commercial/DSCR loans, investment-property rates, and paid alert services when better rates appear.