February 6, 2017
Last week, mortgage rate numbers basically see-sawed within the range we’ve been looking at ever since the new year began. Mortgage rates began last week lower, but moved up and down from Wednesday on due to a variety of economic data releases and investor reaction to them. The Fed also made a statement last week that negatively affected rates.
The causes of the ups and downs are not directly tied to rate performance, but investor reaction to the economic developments and data of last week does affect rates. Overall, we’re seeing about the same rates at the time of this writing as we reported last week, more or less, but changes in closing costs will be apparent to borrowers affected by those changes.
At the time of this writing, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages are at or near 4.25% best execution. FHA mortgage loan rates are still in their 3.75% comfort zone best execution, though FHA rates will vary more among participating lenders. As always, when we report mortgage rate numbers here, we are talking about “best execution” rates which assume ideal conditions.
That means your FICO scores, loan repayment history, and other factors will play a large role in determining your access to these mortgage rates or rates close to them. These rates are not available from all lenders or to all borrowers. Your experience may vary.
Industry professionals-at least some of them-are still advising borrowers to take a good look at their closing dates and commit to a mortgage rate lock with the lender if they are within a month or so of closing. The lock-or-float question is best answered more conservatively in the current rate environment. If you can’t afford to “lose” the gamble of floating (holding off on a mortgage rate lock commitment with your lender in hopes of lower rates) it’s best to lock and don’t look back.
If you aren’t sure how locking or floating might affect you, have a conversation with your loan officer and get some good advice before choosing to float-analyze your “risk tolerance” in this area before choosing to float and make the most informed choice you can.
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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