June 15, 2016
All eyes were on the Fed on Wednesday for a much anticipated announcement about the future of interest rate hikes. As a June 15 2016 USA Today article mentions, “The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and predicted more gradual hikes the next few years amid somewhat slower economic growth and persistent headwinds to a more vibrant economy.”
The Fed issued a statement following a two-day meeting, and while there is no indication the Fed definitely will NOT raise rates in July, recent economic data release leads some to believe that July is too early for the Fed to make that move.
As the USA Today article states, Fed Chair Janet Yellin was quoted on Wednesday saying, “We need to assure ourselves that the underlying momentum in the economy has not diminished,” Yellen said at a news conference. “I don’t know what the timetable will be to gain that assurance.”
A July interest rate hike is, in Yellin’s words, “not impossible” but such language does tend to make some believe it is unlikely. In the wake of the Fed announcement Wednesday mortgage rates (best execution) vary depending on the lender, but in general we’re still seeing reports of best execution rates on 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages between 3.625% and 3.5%. FHA mortgage loan rates remain in their best execution comfort zone range between 3.25% and 3.5%.
As always, the rates listed here are best execution rates and assume ideal conditions. Your experience may vary depending on financial qualifications, the lender, and other factors. The rates seen here are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders.
We’re giving more coverage to mortgage rates this week because of the potential for scheduled events like Wednesday’s Fed announcement to move rates in the short term. There are many other factors aside from the Fed that have the potential to influence rates this week and next, including the debate of whether England should leave the EU.
This overseas economic and political issue has great potential to affect mortgage loan rates and other financials in the USA, so many are looking to the “Brexit” issue as a potential x-factor for mortgage rates over the short term. If you are on the fence about locking or floating this week, discuss the possibilities with your loan officer and get some sound advice. There are many variables that could affect rates in the next week or so.
Do you work in residential real estate? You should know about the free tool offered by FHA.com. It is designed especially for real estate websites; a widget that displays FHA loan limits for the counties serviced by those sites. It is simple to spend a few seconds customizing the state, counties, and widget size for the tool; you can copy the code and paste it into your website with ease. Get yours today:
http://www.fha.com/fha_loan_limits_widget
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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