October 10, 2015
Mortgage rates closed out a week of upward movement with a hold-steady day on Friday. The three-day bank holiday weekend had rates staying still as bond market activity drew to a close in anticipation of the short trading week to come, so 30-year fixed rate mortgages are basically at 3.875% best execution, though our sources report some lenders may offer extremely well-qualified applicants something closer to 3.75% (best execution).
FHA mortgage rates ended the week at 3.5% best execution. It’s far too early to tell whether this might be a new “comfort zone” for FHA rates–the last one was 3.75% and that held out for a long time–but if upward pressure continues on rates, it’s likely we’ll see that number fade away in favor of that previous 3.75%. But next week rates don’t start moving again until Tuesday and much could happen in the meantime.
The numbers we are reporting on here are “best execution” rates and may not be available to all borrowers or from all lenders. Your FICO scores, loan repayment history and other financial qualifications will play a large role in the mortgage loan interest rate a lender offers you.
Industry pros speculate that floating into the holiday weekend–holding out on a mortgage rate lock commitment with your lender–may not be as risky as it was earlier in the week, but floating is never risk-free. Those who chose to do so on Friday will be eager to see what developments come on Tuesday.
There are some economic data releases next week that could affect rates, including a Retail Sales report on Wednesday, and the Consumer Price Index (a monthly inflation report that is carefully monitored in some quarters) on Thursday. Breaking news or other factors may also influence rates in the meantime while investors wait for this information to be released.
These events don’t dictate mortgage rates, but investor reaction to the data can and often does make a difference, so the data releases can be important to consider when trying to decide whether to lock or float.
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 websites.
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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