Please click below to watch this week’s update which includes information on current interest rates, an explanation of the ill effects of forbearance, and an outlook for home prices:
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Current Outlook: floating
Please click below to watch this week’s update which includes information on current interest rates and an update on the mortgage forbearance relief law:
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Current Outlook: neutral
I hope this video is helpful. Please feel free to share with others!
Please click below to watch this week’s update which includes information on current interest rates, volatility, changes to Jumbo loan programs, and the employment picture:
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Current Outlook: floating
Last week various mortgage institutions announced a new program designed to help struggling homeowners weather the present economic downturn. It allows homeowners who qualify to suspend mortgage payments for up to 12 months and avoid late fees and late payments reported on their credit record. However, the program has pitfalls that homeowners need to be aware of. Please watch this video to learn what consumers should be asking BEFORE they agree to the forbearance program:
I hope this video is helpful! Please feel free to share with others.
My neighbor put their house on the market at the beginning of March for $700,000 and due to the COVID-19 outbreak has had very little traffic. Over the weekend, just when they thought there was no hope of selling their home a group of pranksters teepeed their house. Now they are under contract for $5.7 million!
(I thought a little real estate humor may help boost your spirit today!)
Conventional mortgage rates are mostly unchanged from last week but government interest rates have spiked! There is less investor appetite for government loans at this time because it is perceived that the performance of these loans given the current economic conditions will be difficult. The assumption is that a greater number of FHA, VA, and USDA borrowers will request forbearance relief which hurts the mortgage servicing entity. Speaking of forbearance…..
Have you heard from any of your past customers regarding forbearance options? If not, I can almost certainly guarantee you will in the coming days. In this week’s video I provide a summary of what I think consumers should consider when making a decision regarding forbearance options.
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Current Outlook: floating
After increasing to multi-year highs at the tail end of last week home loan rates have started the week back down to all-time lows. Watch this weeks video which includes an update on mortgage rates, my outlook on housing prices, and some initiatives that Fannie Mae is taking to help support homeowners and the housing industry:
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Under normal circumstances we expect mortgage rates to improve when stocks decline. You can CLICK THIS LINK to learn why.
However, as we can all attest these are anything but normal circumstances. Despite the US stock market experiencing some of the biggest sell-offs in history mortgage rates are actually increasing off all-time lows. Why the change in dynamic between stocks and home loan rates? I have recorded a special video to explain the four factors which are turning the relationship upside down:
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Given the extraordinary circumstances we are currently experiencing I have prepared a special video ‘rate update’ for today.
Please take 4 minutes to watch this special message below:
Current Outlook: Floating
Mortgage rates are at all-time low levels. We have recommended a floating position the past couple weeks and that position has proved beneficial.
The financial markets are experiencing extreme volatility. Yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its biggest one day drop ever……this morning US stocks are rallying.
Mortgage lenders are seeing interest rates fluctuate .125%-.25% intra-daily!
On February 21st the yield on the US 10-year treasury note, which mortgage rates tend to follow was 1.50%. Yesterday the yield touched .40% before moving higher. Yields have never been this low. Some analysts think they may go even lower.
Normally when the yield on the US 10-year treasury note moves up or down by .25% we expect mortgage rates to follow suit. However, there is currently a disconnect between mortgage rates and treasury yields because lenders are over capacity.
There is currently over $10 trillion of mortgage debt held by homeowners in the US. Estimates are that 50%+ of those loans would benefit from refinancing into today’s rates. In 2019 the mortgage industry originated less than $2.0 trillion of mortgage volume. Mortgage rates are not likely to decrease further until additional lending capacity is available.
Are you thinking of refinancing? Watch THIS VIDEO.
Although there are still economic reports being issued the financial markets are reacting entirely to developments on the spread of the Coronavirus. As mentioned earlier mortgage rates are being driven by lenders ability to absorb additional loan volume.
Given that rates are at all-time low levels I am recommending a locking bias.
Current Outlook: Locking bias