January 23, 2015
Mortgage rates this week were mixed and there has been some volatility that had potential to move the numbers higher–Thursday, for example, was a big day with a quantitative easing program announced by the European Central Bank.
That had big potential to move rates depending on investor reaction to that announcement, but on Thursday mortgage loan rates in general held steady. This issue still has the power to affect mortgage loan rates in the U.S. depending on conditions and is a factor worth paying attention to.
In general, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages are still considered low, even though the best execution rates have moved away from the 3.5% territory we saw earlier for the most qualified borrowers and back into a range that tops out, best execution, at 3.75% at the time of this writing.
FHA loan rates are still in their comfort zone, best execution, at 3.25%. It may take some dramatic movement, or several days of sustained change to push the rates out of this zone, at least in the short term.
There is more variation among participating FHA lenders for mortgage loan interest rates, so your experience may vary and it pays to shop around. Also, best execution rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders–your FICO scores and other credit qualifications may play a big part in your access to such rates.
The next week should be interesting to watch–some industry pros are telling people to float cautiously, but floating always carries a degree of risk, so if you have not committed to an FHA mortgage loan rate yet and are wondering whether to wait, make the most informed choice you can and know that this week’s rate behavior may be further influenced by market volatility depending on conditions.
Do you have questions about FHA home loans? Ask us in the comments section.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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