May 9, 2012 | Mortgage Rates
Is your mortgage scheduled to adjust this season? You may want to let it. This year’s ARM-holding homeowners in Massachusetts are finding out that an adjusting mortgage may be the simplest way to get access to today’s low mortgage rates — without paying the closing costs.
Currently, conventional adjustable-rate mortgages are adjusting to near 3.00 percent.
If your home is financed via an adjustable-rate mortgage, you’re likely cognizant of your loan’s life-cycle. At first, your ARM’s initial mortgage rate is agreed upon between you and your lender, a rate that both parties agree will remain in place from anywhere from one to 10 years, with periods of five and seven years being most common.
Then, after the initial “teaser rate” expires, the mortgage’s mortgage rate adjusts according to a pre-determined formula — one that’s also agreed upon at closing. The loan is then subject to an identical mortgage rate adjustment every 12 months thereafter until the loan is paid in full.
The most common conforming mortgage adjustment formula is to add 2.25 percent to the then-current 12-month LIBOR rate. (more…)
Apr 24, 2012 | Mortgage Rates
The Federal Open Market Committee begins a 2-day meeting today in the nation’s capitol. It’s the group’s third of 8 scheduled meetings this year. Mortgage rates are expected to change upon the Fed’s adjournment.
Led by Chairman Ben Bernanke, the FOMC is a 12-person, Federal Reserve sub-committee. The FOMC is the group within the Fed which votes on U.S. monetary policy. “Making monetary policy” can mean a lot of things, and the action for which the FOMC is most well-known is its setting of the Fed Funds Funds.
The Fed Funds Rate is the overnight interest rate at which banks borrow money from each other. It’s one of many interest rates set by the Fed.
However, one series of interest rates not set by the Fed is mortgage rates. Instead, mortgage rates are based on the prices of mortgage-backed bonds and bonds are bought and sold on Wall Street. (more…)
Apr 13, 2012 | Mortgage Rates
After a brief surge north of 4 percent last month, mortgage rates have settled down, near their lowest levels of all-time.
According to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, for applicants willing to pay 0.7 discount points plus a complete set of closing costs, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 3.88 percent this week.
0.7 discount points adds $700 to your mortgage closing costs for each $100,000 borrowed.
Mortgage rates are down this week on “safe haven” buying. The move is triggered by Wall Street’s concern that Spain and Italy will have trouble servicing their respective sovereign debt. In response, investors are selling risk-heavy assets and using the proceeds to purchase U.S. government-backed bonds.
This creates demand for mortgage bonds which, in turn, pressures mortgage rates lower.
The storyline is similar to what transpired in Greece last year, and, at least for now, it gives Massachusetts home buyers reason to cheer. So long as economic uncertainty remains, mortgage rates may stay low.
Of course, like all things in real estate, though, mortgage rates are local. (more…)
Mar 30, 2012 | Mortgage Rates
After a brief run-up two weeks ago, mortgage rates are back below 4 percent. It’s good news for home buyers and mortgage rate shoppers of Worcester County area because with lower mortgage rates come lower mortgage payments.
According to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the national, average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 3.99 percent this week from last week’s 4.08 percent.
Last week had marked the first time since December 2011 that the benchmark rate crossed north of 4 percent — a span of 16 weeks.
And, it wasn’t just rates that got cheaper this week — closing costs dropped, too.
Freddie Mac’s survey showed that the average number of discount points to accompany a 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell one-tenth of a percent this week to 0.7, where one discount point is equal to one percent of your loan size.
As a real-life example, a $200,000 mortgage with an accompanying 0.7 discount (more…)
Mar 7, 2012 | Mortgage Rates
According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey, for 13 straight weeks, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage has held below 4.000% for mortgage applicants willing to pay up to 0.8 discount points plus a full set of closing costs.
These are the lowest mortgage rates in history and now — with a bevy of loan programs for the nation’s 11 million “underwater homeowners” including HARP, the FHA Streamline Refinance, and the VA IRRRL — millions of U.S. homeowners can exploit the current mortgage rate environment.
In this 4-minute clip from NBC’s The Today Show, you’ll learn about today’s mortgage market and your refinancing opportunities in Worcester County area.
The video begins by telling us that 14 million credit-worthy Americans have yet to refinance their respective mortgages, and are leaving an average of $471 in “wasted savings” on the table each month which adds (more…)
Feb 7, 2012 | Mortgage Rates
Falling mortgage rates make owning a home more affordable. Mortgage rates are directly tied to monthly mortgage payment so as mortgage rates drop, so does the cost of home-ownership.
It’s a money-saving time to buy a home in Worcester County area — or to refinance one. Mortgage rates have never been this low in history.
According to Freddie Mac, last week, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.87% nationwide for borrowers willing to pay an accompanying 0.8 discount points plus closing costs. 0.8 discount points is a one-time closing cost equal to 0.8 percent of your loan size, or $800 per $100,000 borrowed.
This represents an incredible value as (more…)
