February 3, 2016
In the last four business days, we’ve seen the phrase “new lows” applied to the general downward momentum of mortgage loan interest rates. Overseas economic woes are partly responsible for this downward movement–tumbling oil prices and stock market trends are helping push rates lower.
Some market watchers are beginning to label this downward momentum a trend. Regardless of whether what we’re seeing now is a short-term gain before a return to later 2015 behavior or not, it has been quite some time since 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages have strayed into the sub-3.75% zone.
And that is the best execution rate some competitive lenders are quoting–3.625%. Our sources report other lenders still offering best execution rates in the 3.75% range, but if the downward movement carries on, it may not be long before more lenders follow suit with the most aggressive ones.
FHA mortgage loan rates are, best execution, still holding in 3.5% territory, but if there is sustained improvement or a single day of dramatic movement lower we could see a range of rates with 3.5% in the upper end of that range. It all depends on investor reaction to the developments of the day, plus scheduled economic data releases, Treasury auctions and other factors.
Remember that best execution rates are not available from all lenders to all borrowers. Your financial qualifications will determine your access to rates like these; your FICO scores, loan repayment history and other factors will play a large role in the equation.
Committing to a mortgage rate now or floating in hopes of even better news tomorrow is a tough call–some industry pros are advising borrowers to lock unless the lender hasn’t adjusted rates for the better. Floating is never without a degree of risk, so make the most informed choice you can–ask some advice of the lender before you commit to one course of action or the other.
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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