February 18, 2016
This week mortgage loan interest rates have been pushing higher but we still see rates at incredible lows. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages had fallen to 3.5%, and this week at the time of this writing they had nudged back up to 3.625% best execution.
Depending on the lender you may find that best execution rate in a range between 3.625% and 3.75%.
FHA best execution rates are currently in a range between 3.25% and 3.5%, depending on the lender. Naturally your experience may vary and best execution rates seen here are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. Your FICO scores, loan repayment history and other financial qualifications always play a big role in your access to the rates seen here.
Industry professionals say the current lows could be a very short-term proposition depending on what happens with financial markets in the coming days. Could we lose the gains seen last week? It is entirely likely and borrowers who hold out hope for even better rates could be disappointed if markets begin behaving in ways that do not benefit mortgage loan rates in the short term.
The lock/float question basically boils down to your “risk tolerance” and whether or not you are willing to gamble that conditions wind up favoring mortgage rates on Friday, Monday, and beyond. But locking at these lows is definitely not a bad thing as many professionals will tell you–with FHA mortgage loan rates between 3.25% and 3.5% it seems like a very good time to make a decision provided you don’t wait too long.
As always, an informed choice is the best–ask some advice of your loan officer and go from there. Remember, breaking news, scheduled economic data releases, and overseas financial developments can all affect mortgage loan rates unexpectedly, so be sure to consider that as a factor when deciding.
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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