What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: November 3, 2014

MortgagePorter-JobsReportBlack Knight Financial Services says at least 7.4 million mortgages should refinance, due to where rates are today and looking at borrowers with current notes at 4.5% and above. This may also be a good time to refi into a conventional mortgage if you have an FHA mortgage with a rate in 3% range with expensive FHA mortgage insurance.

Last week the Fed formally wrapped up their aggressive buying of mortgage backed securities (QE) which helped to keep mortgage rates at such a low level over the past couple of years. This was not a surprise to the markets as the Fed had continuously reiterated their plans to end QE in October. Mortgage rates seem to be slowly trending higher.

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Why use an FHA Mortgage for your home loan?

FHA Mortgages Washington StateEDITORS NOTE 2/3/2015: Since writing this post, HUD has reduced mortgage insurance premiums (yay!) and loan limits have changed. Part of the fun of writing (and reading) a mortgage blog is that guidelines and programs change constantly. Reader beware. 🙂

When Washington state home buyers and home owners request a mortgage rate quote from me, they have many options, including FHA or conventional financing. Over recent years, conventional financing has become a more popular mortgage than FHA, despite FHA’s lower down payment requirements.

What’s not so hot about FHA?

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What the Fed Said

20140504_210758In a nutshell, the Fed will no longer be manipulating mortgage rates at artificially low levels. As I write this, I’m receiving intraday rate sheets from some lenders with pricing for the worse.

This is from the Fed’s Press Release:

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What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: October 27, 2014

10584108_10152349540866046_1789571015476639111_nWill this week bring tricks or treats with mortgage rates? The stage is set to be another volatile week for mortgage rates with scheduled economic events/indicators. The Fed is expected to retire QE3 this week, in which they were buying bonds and treasuries to keep mortgage interest rates at artificial low levels.  In addition, the economic issues taking place in Europe and other uncertainties in the world, just adds to the drama we may see play out with mortgage rates.

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Fannie Mae HomePath now offering Financial Flexibilities

⚠ Program Ended October 2014

The Fannie Mae HomePath closing cost incentive for first-time buyers described in this post is no longer available — the HomePath Mortgage program was retired in October 2014. Washington State still has excellent options for first-time buyers today, including down payment assistance grants and 3% down conventional programs. See first-time homebuyer programs in Washington State →  |  See the updated HomePath guide →

Earlier this month, Fannie Mae retired the Fannie Mae HomePath Mortgage program which was available exclusively to homes owned by Fannie Mae as a result of foreclosure. This popular program offered mortgages with no private mortgage insurance and no appraisal was required. Investors were able to buy HomePath properties with reduced down payments.

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