In the San Francisco Bay Area, where the median home price is $718,000, good credit goes a long way. If a person can improve his or her credit score from 671 to 721, the expected mortgage rate drops from 4.29 percent to 3.72 percent, which equates to $87,000 in savings over 30 years.
SmartAsset ranked the cities where homeowners could best save on their mortgages by raising their credit scores by 50 points. Unsurprisingly, buyers can save the most in the most expensive markets, which includes Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Seattle.
Our data shows just how important mortgage rates are. For example by raising credit scores by 50 points the average resident across our top 10 cities can save an average of $58,900.