August 1, 2016
Mortgage loan interest rates fell on Friday, bringing them back down to territory closer to what we saw post-Brexit vote. Friday saw the scheduled release of Gross Domestic Product data, and investor reaction to that report sent rates back down, making three days in a row of recovery.
30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages hit a range of best execution rates on Friday, between 3.375% and 3.5%. FHA mortgage loan interest rates are holding at a best execution 3.25% at the time of this writing. FHA rates tend to vary more among participating lenders, so it’s a good idea to shop around.
FHA rates sometimes take longer to catch up with changes in mortgage loan rates, but continued upward or downward trends (or a single day of major change) is enough to push FHA mortgage loan rates out of their comfort zone.
The rates you see here are listed as best execution rates, which assume an ideal borrower. Your FICO scores, loan repayment history and other financial qualifications will play an important part in determining your access to rates like these, which are not available to all borrowers or from all lenders. Your experience may vary.
This week is full of scheduled economic data releases, and there is an announcement from the Bank of England on Tuesday that could influence mortgage rates at home depending on investor reaction. Friday is the biggest day of the week, stateside, with the release of the monthly employment report that can and often does influence rates (again, based on investor reaction).
Advice about locking or floating is mixed-much depends on how close to closing you are. “Float” seems to be a word used a lot by industry professionals, but with the caveat that things could change very quickly.
Floating is never risk free, and the market chatter seems to be that rates are poised to move a bit lower, but you should definitely decide in advance how high rates might climb before you make the commitment with your lender. Having a lock/float strategy, combined with some good advice from your lender, is a very good way to proceed into the coming week if you haven’t already entered into a mortgage rate lock agreement.
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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