January 28, 2015
FHA mortgage loan rates kicked off the week more or less unchanged, best execution-wise–the previous two business days had some improvements in rates following a “consolidation” ahead of a highly anticipated announcement from the European Central Bank that had great potential to affect mortgage loan rates depending on investor reaction to the contents of that announcement.
With the ECB announcement come and gone, and rates improving after another highly watched announcement by the Fed here at home, we find rates moving back to lows some sources report going down to 2013 levels.
That’s great news for those looking for 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loans as the best execution rate for those loans has moved to about 3.625% depending on the lender. That rate is not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. A variety of factors would play a role in your access to that interest rate.
For FHA home loans, the same story we’ve been telling for weeks now still applies–FHA rates are holding steady in a best execution comfort zone at or near 3.25% depending on the lender.
The same best execution notions apply here too–best execution rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. Your FICO scores and other financial qualifications will help determine the FHA loan interest rate available to you.
There’s mixed advice from industry professionals about locking in a mortgage loan interest rate now or floating until things seem more advantageous. Floating always carries a degree of risk; some pros think more improvement might be coming, others feel the risk of volatility makes floating riskier than it might seem right now.
The choice is up to you–some believe markets may be getting more cautious after a lot of recent gains–could this affect whether you lock or float? It depends on how low you think rates might–or might not–go.
Do you have questions about FHA loans? Ask us in the comments section.
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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