April 13, 2016
Mortgage rates held steady on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s Retail Sales Report and Thursday’s Consumer Prince Index report. These scheduled economic data releases can and do affect mortgage rates depending on investor reaction to the data in the reports; borrowers who are hoping for lower rates this week will have to contend with these releases as a potential spoiler for rates moving lower in the short term.
Mortgage rates seem to be at the bottom of a range at present, so holding steady is good news, but upward movement (however small) is always likely depending on scheduled economic data releases, breaking news, or other factors that may affect the markets that influence mortgage loan rates.
At the time of this writing, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages held steady at between 3.5% (from more aggressive lenders) and 3.625% best execution. FHA mortgage rates are at a best-execution 3.25% though you may find greater variation among participating lenders, so it pays to shop around for the best rate.
Best execution rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders; your experience may vary depending on your FICO scores, loan repayment history, etc. Financial qualifications will determine the actual mortgage loan interest rate you are offered by a lender.
Locking and floating issues abound this week–floating ahead of scheduled economic data releases can (and often does) carry an elevated risk. Floating is never risk-free, and it pays to discuss your situation with your loan officer before choosing to hold off on a mortgage loan interest rate lock commitment with the lender in hope of a lower rate.
Make the most informed decision you can, and decide what your “risk tolerance” is for floating so that if rates do begin to increase, you can make your commitment knowing how high they will go before you commit.
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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