Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
Now that my husband and I are officially “empty nesters”, we are beginning to have fun redecorating some of our extra bedrooms. My hubby has decided to convert one of the rooms into a man cave. The carpet needed replacing and the room is in a basement. We thought a “penny floor” would work well.
There are several web pages from fellow Do-It-Yourself folks who have happily installed floors made of coins… I thought it would be fun to share our progress with this project on some weekend post.
This morning’s Jobs Report came in much stronger than expected with 271,o00 new jobs added in October vs the 181,000 anticipated. Positive revisions were made for August and July. The unemployment rate remains at 5% and hourly wages saw their biggest year over year increase since 2009.
All this good news is not so good for mortgage interest rates. While it’s great for more jobs, less unemployment and higher wages, it translates to wage inflation. Inflation is the arch enemy of bonds and mortgage backed securities (bonds) are what mortgage rates are based on.
The strong Jobs Report also increases the odds of the Fed increasing the Fed Funds rate in December.
This will be the third version of this post since I started writing The Mortgage Porter in late 2009. Things have overall changed for the better for consumers when it comes to the closing procedure. Last month, two new disclosures, the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, were introduced replacing the Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1 Settlement Statement effective for loan applications dated October 3, 2015 and after. This post applies to loans originated after October 3, 2015. If your loan application is dated prior to October 3, 2015, you should refer to this post instead.
Can you believe November is here already? With this being the first week of the month, we have the Jobs Report scheduled to be released on Friday. The Jobs Report tends to influence the direction of mortgage rates because it may show signs of inflation, with rising incomes, which is the enemy of bonds. Mortgage rates are based on mortgage backed securities (bonds). So a Jobs Report that reveals the economy is doing great and wages are going up may cause mortgage rates to trend higher.
Zumper has released their fall rental report revealing that Seattle has the 10th most expensive rents for a major city in the nation for one bedroom apartments. Zumper reports that the average rent in September for a one bedroom in Seattle is $1600. That’s up 0.6% from the previous month and up a whopping 7.1% compared the last quarter. Zumper reports that a 2 bedroom apartment averaged $2200 for rent in Seattle. In May, I wrote about how a 2 bedroom in Seattle was averaging $1907 for rent.
This week is packed with economic data that may impact the direction of mortgage interest rates. You may special attention to Wednesday, when the Fed meeting wraps up. It is not anticipated that the Fed will change the Fed Funds Rate. However, the press release and Fed commentary following the meeting will be parsed.
The process of getting a mortgage consists of several stages and typically takes anywhere from 30 – 45 days (or more) depending on how prepared you are, what mortgage program you have selected and if it’s a purchase, the closing date may dictate how long the process will take. The steps below may not take place in the exact order I have listed and some steps may happen simultaneously.
It’s no secret the the Puget Sound region has been experiencing a very hot real estate market… so hot in fact that it may be causing some home buyers to feel a little burned from competing with multiple offers as well as renters contending with rapidly rising rents. Recently KOMO 4 News shared that that Seattle currently has the nations hottest housing market. This is not only good news for those who are wanting to sell their homes, it’s also good news for home owners who may benefit from a refinance.
Rhonda Porter is a Licensed Mortgage Originator MLO121324 living in the greater Seattle area. Rhonda began her career in 1986 in the title and escrow industry and began her mortgage career in 2000. She enjoys helping people understand the mortgage process and started writing The Mortgage Porter in late 2006. Read More…
Recent Comments