October 29, 2015
The Fed announcement on Wednesday did not include a statement that interest rates would be raised, but mortgage loan rates pushed a bit higher yesterday regardless. There were indications from the Fed that December’s statement could include more specific information about a rate hike, and that served to put upward pressure on mortgage loan rates as investors reacted to those indications.
Not everything the Fed says and does is clear cut–sometimes the tone of the announcements can be enough when it comes to whether or not a rate hike might happen–when the Fed is down on the economy in general, that’s a good sign that a hike in rates is not forthcoming.
But when the Fed makes more positive statements, it can be interpreted as the foreshadowing of actions to come.
So with that in mind, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages moved out of their previously reported best-execution range of interest rates (3.75%-3.875%) and FHA mortgage rates remain in a comfort zone (for now) at 3.5%, best execution. If upward pressure persists next week, we could see FHA rates move into a range of best execution numbers with the current 3.5% at the low end.
Best execution rates are reported here, which means ideal conditions such as a borrower’s FICO scores and loan repayment history are assumed. Best execution rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders; your experience may vary and the availability of a participating lender willing to offer such rates may play an added role in your access to these interest rates.
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’s 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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