November 12, 2014
Since our last report on FHA mortgage rate trends, we’ve seen some ups and down with mortgage loan rates in general, but the overall trend seems to be upward. Last Friday was a highly anticipated jobs report, and ahead of that last Thursday we saw rates hold steady.
After the report came out on Friday mortgage loan rates did gain back some of the ground lost earlier in the week, but come Monday those gains began slipping away again.
Tuesday was Veterans Day so markets were closed and there was no rate movement to report–but on Wednesday it was a bit of false hope to start the day with rates beginning stronger but ultimately weakening by day’s end.
What does all this mean? At the time of this writing, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages are holding in a best execution range between 4.0% and 4.125%. FHA rates, which can vary more among participating lenders than conventional rates, are also trending in a range of best execution rates.
In this case, that best execution range is still between 3.5% and 3.75% depending on the lender. Best execution rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders–your experience will vary based on your FICO scores and other financial qualifications. The availability of a participating lender could also be a factor.
There’s some disagreement among market watchers over what could happen between now and the end of the week—will rates begin settling back down? Or are we witnessing the start of an upward trend in rates that might push the numbers back solidly into the four percent range once more? For FHA rates that may take some time, and we might see conditions that bring things back down to their pre-Fed announcement levels.
But that depends much on pending economic data releases, breaking news and overseas developments that might affect mortgage loan rates. Trying to predict which way rates might head from here is basically speculation, but the trend of advice when it comes to “locking” or “floating” seems to be that locking is safer in the short term.
Do you have questions about FHA loans? Ask us in the comments section. All comments and questions are held for moderation.
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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