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Adjustable-Rate Mortgages Are Popular Again. Should You Get One?

The loans are now significantly cheaper than fixed-rate mortgages, but there are strings attached. 

A prospective home buyer views a basement during a tour of a house for sale in Dunlap, Illinois.Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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Adjustable-rate mortgages are back in style, as homebuyers opt for lower interest rates now in exchange for the risk of higher payments in the future.

The adjustable-rate option currently makes up the largest share of US mortgages since 2008, comprising 10.8% of total home-loan applications in the week ended May 6, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. That’s up from 3.1% at the beginning of the year.