March 23, 2016
What is bad for the economy is often good for mortgage loan rates, and Tuesday’s world headlines should have, by all accounts, helped rates move lower. But all the bad news yesterday did not keep rates from moving slightly higher (for a variety of reasons) and it seems that we could be on the verge of a new upward trend depending on how rates behave over the next several business days.
Tuesday’s move higher will likely be noticed mostly in closing costs rather than actual mortgage rate increases but your experience may vary depending on the lender. 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan interest rates moved into a different range of rates, now reported at a best-execution range between 3.75% and 3.875%.
FHA mortgage rates are holding steady in their best execution range between 3.25% and 3.5%. It may take several days of persistent upward movement or one day of significant change to push that rate range out of the picture, and FHA mortgage loan interest rates can vary more among participating lenders.
Remember, the best execution rates you see listed here are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. Your access to rates like these depends greatly on your FICO scores and other qualifications. Your experience may vary.
This week has some holiday scheduling issues so there are added complications to the usual lock/float concerns. Rates tend to go into defensive mode approaching any extended closure so you may be left wondering what is “safe” to do in terms of a mortgage rate lock in the short term. Remember that floating always carries a degree of risk; it’s best to set your risk tolerance (how high rates will go before you drop your float strategy and make a commitment with your lender on the interest rate lock) and have a conversation with your loan officer to get some good advice in the current rate environment.
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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