Washington State Mortgages, Made Clear. Buying or Refinancing? Let's find the right loan together.
Mortgage rates are influenced by economic data, inflation trends, Federal Reserve policy, and global markets — not just headlines.
In this section, I break down what’s happening in the mortgage-backed securities market and how economic reports may impact rates. You’ll find:
My goal is to translate complex economic movement into practical guidance for buyers and homeowners.
If you want context — not speculation — this is where you’ll find it.
Freddie Mac’s PMMS (Prime Mortgage Market Survey) shows the 30 year fixed rate averaged just under 4% last week at 3.93% priced with 0.500 points.
Tomorrow morning, the Jobs Report will be released which may impact rates for better or worse. Stay tuned!
If I can help you with your refinance or home purchase anywhere in Washington state, please contact me.
NOTE: Grants are often temporarily available. Please verify to make sure any grant you’re interested in is actually still available and well funded.
Last night, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission announced it is offering grants to help with down payment and closing cost for buyers when they use specific programs offered by WSHFC. This is very helpful in a “seller’s market” where sellers are very unlikely to contribute towards closing cost for a potential buyer. [Read more…]
Freddie Mac’s PMMS report reveals that last week the 30 year fixed conforming mortgage averaged 3.68% with an average 0.5 point.
This is slightly higher than what was reported last week and slightly lower compared to a year ago.
From Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Sean Becketti:
“The 10-year Treasury yield ended the survey week exactly where it started, however the solid February employment report boosted the yield noticeably on Friday and Monday. Our mortgage rate survey captured the impact of this temporary increase in yield, and the 30-year mortgage rate rose 4 basis points to 3.68 percent. This marks the second increase this year. Nonetheless, the mortgage rate remains 33 basis points lower than its end-of-2015 level.“
It’s still a great time to refinance or lock in a low rate if you’re buying a home. If you are considering either buying a home or refinancing a home located anywhere in Washington state, I’m happy to help you. Click here if I can provide you with a mortgage rate quote.
Effective on mortgage applications taken October 3, 2015 and later, lenders are required to use two new disclosures created by the CFPB. The Loan Estimate, which replaces the 2010 Good Faith Estimate and the RegZ/Truth in Lending; and the Closing Disclosure, which replaces the HUD-1 Settlement Statement.
The new disclosures, the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure, have “wait periods” that restrict how soon a real estate transaction with a mortgage can close. The Loan Estimate is issued once a lender has received an application (the six points of information that creates an application per the CFPB) within three business days. There is a seven day waiting period that takes place once the Loan Estimate has been delivered before the borrower can sign their final loan documents (also referred to as “consummation”).
Effective for new applications on October 5, 2015 and later, the “Good Faith Estimate” was replaced by CFPB’s “Loan Estimate”. This document is similar to HUD’s 2010 Good Faith Estimate (GFE) as it makes the lender be accountable for the Loan Estimate provided to the consumer. It must be delivered within a certain time period, upon specific circumstances and may only be re-issued upon specific circumstances (aka “a changed circumstance”). Similar to the retired 2010 GFE, the Loan Estimate has varying levels of “tolerance” as to how much certain fees are permitted to change from when the Loan Estimate was issued to closing. The lender may be responsible for fees that exceed the allowed tolerance.
