August 25, 2015
Mortgage rates were, in the eyes of some observers on Monday, quite conservative in the shadow of stock market ups and downs. Rates did creep a bit lower, putting 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages solidly into 3.875% territory, best execution. That eliminates the previous range of best execution rates for 30-year fixed conventional rates that saw 3.875% at the low end. FHA mortgage loan rates are still in their comfort zone of 3.75% best execution, though as always rates may vary more among participating FHA lenders.
Best execution rates are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders–your experience may vary depending on your FICO scores and other financial qualifications. The availability of a participating FHA lender may also play a role in your access to rates like theses.
Global economic headlines and stock market activity here at home are both potential rate influences this week, and the smart borrower who is undecided about locking or floating will pay close attention to those factors over the next week or so.
There is much to be said, according to some market watchers, for those who decided to float into today’s market activity, but those same professionals say that floating shouldn’t be done without a degree of caution in the current environment. Things are uncertain enough to elevate the risk for those who might be tempted to set and forget a float in the short term—the current rate environment will likely require some additional attention to the direction rates may be headed in from one day to the next.
In fact, some professionals are advising people to lock right now, or float cautiously only overnight. At the time of this writing, that overnight will have passed, so it’s best to have a talk with your loan officer before choosing to float again–get some good advice, consider the risks carefully and make your decision. We’ll likely be posting more on FHA mortgage rate trends this week since there does seem to be an elevated possibility for dramatic shifts in the environment.
In short, keep your eyes peeled on both overseas economic headlines and domestic market activity that may result from those news stories. It’s going to be a very interesting week.
Do you work in residential real estate? You should know about the free tool offered by FHA.com. It’s designed especially for real estate websites–a widget that displays FHA loan limits for the counties serviced by those websites.
It is easy 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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