August 18, 2015
Mortgage loan rates have been trading higher days with lower days; Monday say rates move low enough to wipe out the losses seen on Friday, but Tuesday had rates moving higher, erasing Monday’s progress.
For Tuesday, rates moved higher partially in anticipation of the Fed minutes release scheduled for Wednesday. Those minutes will have details of the July Fed meeting and we may gain a bit of insight as to the Fed’s posture on the upcoming meeting. There’s been a lot of “Will they or won’t they?” type talk about a Fed interest rate hike, and any discussion of that hike is a potential market mover.
So there’s been a bit of advice against floating into the release of those Fed minutes tomorrow, and it’s easy to see why, given the recent history with market ups and downs as discussion of a possible rate hike unfolds.
For now, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loans are reported at 4.0% best execution. Today’s upward movement in rates is likely to be seen in the form of higher closing costs depending on the lender. FHA mortgage loan rates are still in their 3.75% comfort zone and borrowers may notice different closing costs with the upward trend in rates today.
FHA mortgage rates tend to vary more among participating lenders than their 30-year fixed rate conventional counterparts, so it’s good to compare rates before you choose a lender.
Remember, best execution rates assume ideal conditions such as outstanding FICO scores and loan repayment history. Your experience may vary; these rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders.
Keep an eye peeled for the Fed minutes release tomorrow; depending on the content of those minutes and investor reaction to them we could see rates shift once more. The going advice is against floating into Wednesday as we previously mentioned. Those with a higher tolerance for risk may choose to ignore that advice, but it’s a decision only the borrower can make–get some advice from your lender before you proceed for best results.
Do you have questions about FHA 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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