April 27, 2017
Since our last report, mortgage rate numbers went from an incursion into sub-four percent territory for the most competitive lenders back up to highs we haven’t seen in approximately two weeks.
Domestic tax policy, overseas election drama, and other factors have played a part in the recent ups and downs, but what we’re seeing is short-term influences rather than indications of a possible long-term trend.
At the moment it’s tough to say what the mid-to-long term direction of rates might be. We’re in an uncertain period and much of our reporting lately on mortgage rate movement has to do with these short term issues.
At the time of this writing, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages are back to a range between the very bottom of the four percent range and 4.125%, best execution.
FHA mortgage loan interest rates are still below the four percent threshold, in a range between 3.5% and 3.75% best execution. FHA rates can take longer to “catch up” in terms of movement compared to their conventional counterparts, but FHA rates also tend to vary more between participating lenders.
As always, the rates you see listed here are “best execution” mortgage rate numbers. Your ability to access rates like these depends greatly on your financial qualifications. The rates seen here are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. Your experience may vary.
Locking and floating is tricky in the short term. If you have not made a mortgage rate commitment with your lender, it’s a very good idea to have a conversation with your loan officer to get some advice on how to proceed.
Changes like the ones we’ve seen in the last few weeks may continue to help rates see-saw depending on breaking news, scheduled economic data releases and other factors. The short term trend at present has some industry professionals cautiously advising some to float, but this depends greatly on your risk tolerance and how much you are willing to bet against the market pushing rates higher due to bond activity, investor reaction to economic data releases, etc.
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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