April 15, 2016
On Wednesday and Thursday, mortgage loan interest rates have risen slightly. We’ve had a couple of scheduled economic data releases this week, but some market watchers this week gave bond market activity more attention.
At the end of the day on Thursday, we see 30 year fixed rate conventional mortgages still being reported at 3.625% best execution in many cases, but our sources indicate that fewer lenders-the most aggressive ones-offered rates closer to 3.5%.
So in effect, the slightly higher rates will come in the form of higher closing costs for some, but for others, the best execution rate may be the same as the day before depending on the lender. FHA mortgage loan rates are still holding at a best execution 3.25%. FHA rates tend to vary more among participating lenders so your experience at one financial institution may not be the same at another.
And as always, best execution rates are not always available from any give participating lender. Your FICO scores, loan repayment history and other factors play a large role in determining your access to rates like the ones reported here.
Locking and floating questions this week have mixed answers. Some say lock now as rates are in a very good place and it’s not certain how long they may stay in the current range. Some may have higher risk tolerance than others and may be willing to roll the dice a bit even though we’ve seen the rates hit the current lows and stay at or near them for some time.
There are industry professionals who feel that’s setting the stage for a possible upward move as soon as there’s breaking news or economic data that may be unfavorable for mortgage loan interest rates–are we due for a “bounce” soon? Time will tell.
Floating, or holding off on a mortgage loan interest rate lock commitment with the lender, is never risk-free. If you are satisfied with the rates currently available, locking might be the best course of action after you get some good advice from your lender. Make the most informed decision possible before you choose to float.
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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