March 7, 2016
Mortgage loan interest rates moved higher on Friday after the much-anticipated Employment Situation Report came out with numbers better than some expected. When it comes to economic data releases, information that indicates an improving economy can be bad for mortgage loan interest rates depending on investor reaction to that data.
Sometimes the markets ignore such data in favor of other breaking news or developments, so scheduled economic data releases like the employment report don’t always or consistently affect mortgage loan rates. This time, the data did influence rates, and we saw 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages move out of a previous range between 3.625% and 3.75% (best execution) and more solidly into the 3.75% zone.
FHA mortgage loan interest rates stayed in their current best-execution comfort zone range between 3.25% and 3.5%. FHA best execution interest rates may vary more among participating lenders so you may find different rates offered depending on the housing market and the lender.
As always, best execution rates refer to situations where the borrower has outstanding financial qualifications including high FICO scores and other factors. The rates you see here are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders–your experience may vary.
Industry pros are reporting a general improving trend in the U.S. economy, at least where the scheduled economic data release are concerned. That could mean some general upward pressure on mortgage loan rates, so consider your locking/floating options carefully.
Floating is never without a degree of risk, and if economic data shows a general upward trend, mortgage loan rates could be moving upward too. As mentioned previously, investor reaction to this information can and often does play an important part in the equation, so watch the news carefully this week if you haven’t decided whether to lock or float. Asking the advice of your loan officer is also a good idea–make the most well informed decision you can when you commit to an interest rate lock-in agreement with the lender.
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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