Mortgage rates closed the week well below 6% for the first time in a few months. It was a bumpy ride with most lenders seeing rates change 4 times a day and it was a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. The mortgage market is in the most confused state I have ever seen with huge swings in rates that we rarely see in the industry. But at least we have a little easter present going into the weekend and it just may help push the spring market!
In other news, the New expanded FHA and conforming limits are out and with the max now being $729,750 for a single family home in high cost areas(for both conforming and FHA) this could be a big help to get us through the credit crunch of 2007/2008. It is a temporary increase that will expire 12/31/2008 and it should give the market time to get over its indigestion.
The rates for loan amounts above $417k and $362K (conv/FHA) will be higher, but much more reasonable than some of the jumbo rates that are currently out there. There are seperate guidelines as well, the most significant being credit score and LTV requirements on the Conventional side. It will probably take the market a bit of time to settle in on the exact rate for these higher loan amounts since it is new territory for it to explore.
Have a great weekend
Rob
Team Not good to guess in this market...even the experts are finding it hard to predict.
Rob let's just hope rates stay low, but I see alot of people still sitting on the fence with their ARMs thinking they will hold out for 1%....their clueless...and probable going to procrastinate until they loose everything.
It is hard to say where they will go from here. If inflation even lets out a peep, LOOK OUT, the market will sell of in a heart beat. keep in mind we are only a fraction of a % away from the lows we saw back in 2003, which were 40 year lows, (about 5.25% on a 30 year with 0 points was the bottom and we are only about 3/8ths away from that now). And back in 2003 Prime was in the 3's, today Prime is at 5.25%... So we do need to be careful... There is much more upside potential than down side, and when rates move fast the knee jerk reaction is usually to the upside. Have a great weekend.
You are right Chuck,
it is the most confused market I have seen in 20+ years of this crazy business. We constantly have clients say "Gee thats high" when you quote in the 5's. It was not that long ago that we had double digit rates. Heck, my first mortgage was at 11.25%, so you just bite your lip and dont say a word. Anyone that holds out for the bottom in rates typically loses. There are only 3 sure fire ways to hit the bottom, and 1 of them is imaginary and another one has not been invented yet. 1) a crystal ball, 2) a time machine, and 3) Dumb Luck.