May 9, 2016
Friday the much-anticipated Employment Situation Report had data that wasn’t as favorable as expected. That helped rates further recover some losses seen in late April, resulting in some market watchers to declare Friday’s gains as the “lowest in three years” (best execution) for some financial institutions.
On Friday, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages were, best execution, in 3.625% territory. That’s down from a late-April range with 3.75% at the upper best execution end. FHA mortgage rates remain in a range between 3.25% and 3.5%. FHA rates tend to vary more among participating lenders, so it is a very good idea to shop around for the best rates. As always, best execution rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. Your access to rates like these depends greatly on your FICO scores and other financial qualifications. Your experience may vary.
There are several Treasury auctions this week-the results of those auctions can and does affect mortgage rates in the short term. There are also a variety of economic data releases scheduled including a Retail Sales report, and a Producer Price Index report. Tuesday a jobs report is also due out–will any or all of these contribute to the current downward trend? Put upward pressure on mortgage loan rates?
Good news for the economy is often bad news for mortgage rates depending on the nature of that news and how investors react to it. Bad news for the economy in the form of sluggish jobs growth, inflation or other factors can help rates trend lower. Again, that depends greatly on the nature of the news and how investors react to it.
If you are uncertain this week about locking or floating to try for a better rate, it’s important to note that rates are in a very good position at present even with late April’s short-term upward move. There’s no telling how long the current sub-four percent mortgage loan rates might persist. If you are thinking about floating, discuss your situation with your loan officer to get some advice prior to choosing.
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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