Our Mortgage Guy, Brian Cav, is back with his Massachusetts weekly mortgage rate report, and his advice is to LOCK IN:
Brian Cav
The Stock Market is extending its gains and Mortgage Rates are starting to go up despite bad economical data coming from overseas. Yesterday afternoon we had a worsening pricing in Mortgage Markets because Greece had their credit rating cut by Moody’s to “junk.” Ouch. Floating your loan is very risky right now with investor optimism improving quickly. With the new Fannie Mae Loan Quality Initiative (eff. June 1st, 2010) please do not take out any new credit, extend any credit or have your credit pulled while applying for mortgage financing. This is extremely important for all of those borrowers currently refinancing and looking to close June and July. Yes, you should be refinancing. The Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association says mortgage refinancing applications are up 21% the month of May.
The Conventional mortgage rate is still in the 4.625% to 4.875% range for well qualified borrowers. To get the best conventional mortgage pricing you must have a FICO score of 740 or higher, and a 80% or less loan to value (1% discount point quoted with current rates). The 15 year fixed conventional fixed mortgage is currently at all time lows.
Inquire within for current MortgageRates [email protected] 617.771.5021
FLOAT or LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 0 to 15 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 15 to 30 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 30 to 60 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 60+ LOCK
These days, every time I order a Greek salad, the feta cheese makes my stomach churn. I wonder if the Greek economic meltdown has something to do with it! Here’s our Mortgage Guy, Brian Cav, with his weekly Massachusetts mortgage rate report.
Mortgage Market
Brian Cav
Mortgage Rates have moved up from the 2010 lows that we had last week, this is largely because of the modest stock rally and investors getting out of risky investments, “flight to quality,” These Greece issues, which are spreading throughout Europe, should keep mortgage rates down thru the summer, and not to mention North Korea is threatening military action against South Korea. Is it time to refinance out of that ARM mortgage? Yes, because LIBOR is rising. It’s time to get an updated mortgage rate quote.
The 30 year conventional rate mortgage remains in the 4.75% to 5% range for well qualified borrowers. To get the best mortgage pricing on a conventional mortgage you must have a FICO credit score of 740 or higher, a loan to value at 80% or less and pay all closing costs including an estimated one point discount fee.
I am a huge fan of LOCKing in your mortgage interest rate right now. It would not matter to me if you were closing in one week or 60 days out. I would LOCK in immediately.
Inquire within for current Mortgage Interest Rates. [email protected] 617.771.5021
Economic Data
The bond market has moved lower following today’s 5-year Treasury Note auction. The stock markets have also given up a good portion of this morning’s early gains. Yesterday, the Dow was up 56 points after being up nearly 135 points earlier. The Nasdaq fell from earlier highs, and was up only 23 points. The bond market has extended yesterday morning’s losses, and was down 21/32. This will likely lead to an upward revision to this afternoon’s mortgage rates of approximately .125 – .250 of a discount point.
Yesterday’s economic data gave us mixed readings on the economy. The more important of the two was April’s Durable Goods Orders data that showed a 2.9% increase in new orders for big-ticket items last month. It also showed a sizable upward revision to March’s orders, indicating that the manufacturing sector was stronger than thought. However, if more volatile transportation related orders were excluded, we would have seen a 1.0% decline in orders. This was much weaker than expected, so overall the data can be considered neutral to slightly positive for the bond market and mortgage rates.
April’s New Home Sales data showed a much larger than expected increase in sales of newly constructed homes. This is negative for bonds, but the data usually has little influence on mortgage rates unless it varies greatly from forecasts. This report did show a sizable variance, but it appears that it is has not had much of an impact on today’s rates.
The first of two revisions to the 1st quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be released early tomorrow morning. The second revision to this report comes next month but isn’t expected to have much of an impact on the financial markets. The GDP is the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S. and is considered to be the best indicator of economic growth. Last month’s preliminary reading revealed a 3.2% increase in the annual rate of growth. Analysts expect a slight upward revision to this reading with the consensus being a 3.3% rate of growth. If the upward revision is much stronger than expected, we may see the bond market react negatively and mortgage rates move higher.
FLOAT or LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 0 to 15 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 15 to 30 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 30 to 60 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 60+ LOCK
This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.
Are you a possible Massachusetts First Time Homebuyer?
Do you have a Real Estate client inquiring about current Mortgage Rates?
Do you have any Refinancing questions?
Should you be thinking about Refinancing out of your ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage)?
If it’s Wednesday, that means our weekly Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Report from our own Mortgage Guy, Brian Cav of Smarterborrowing.com. Take it away, Brian!
Mortgage Rates are currently staying and settling down near 2010 lows. I would have thought they would have come up a bit from last weeks close but they have not. Yes, now is absolutely the time to think about refinancing in you have not already. I would suggest LOCKing in at these current mortgage rates. I think it is a gamble if you do not. Remember, mortgage rates always rise faster than they fall.
The 30 year conventional rate mortgage remains in the 4.75% to 5.00% range for well qualified borrowers. To secure a 2010 low interest rate on a conventional mortgage you must have a FICO credit score of 740 or higher, a loan to value at 80% or less and pay all closing costs including an estimated one point discount fee. Yes, there are options to finance without paying the discount point. If you are not planning on keeping your home for more than 5 years, you should consider a no cost loan or a Adjustable Rate Mortgage (5/1 ARM, 7/1 ARM or 10/1ARM). On a no cost loan, the Lender will pay the fees for you however you will pay a higher than par market rate. Or you can finance a ARM product were the rates are near all time lows if you know you will be in your current home for a specific amount of time.
Inquire within for current Mortgage Interest Rates. [email protected] 617.771.5021
Economic Data
Wednesday’s bond market initially opened in negative territory but has since erased those gains as stock prices started to fall. The stock markets are in selling mode again with the Dow down and the Nasdaq down. The bond market is currently up, which might improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .125 of a discount point.
Today’s important inflation data gave us favorable results. The Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1% last month when it was expected to rise slightly. Even better news was the core data reading that showed no change from March when it was expected to rise slightly. This means that inflationary pressures at the consumer level of the economy were lighter than thought. That is good news for rates because it makes long-term securities such as mortgage-related bonds more attractive to investors.
Later today, the minutes from the last FOMC meeting will be released. Market participants will be looking at how Fed members voted during the last meeting and any comments about inflation concerns in the economy. The goal is to form opinions about when the Fed may make a move to key short-term interest rates. The minutes will be released at 2:00 PM ET, so if there is a market reaction to them it will be evident during afternoon trading.
Tomorrow brings us the last relevant economic data of the week when April’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) are posted at 10:00 AM ET. This Conference Board report attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months. It is expected to show a 0.2% increase from March’s reading, meaning that economic activity is likely rise slightly during the next few months. A decline would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates, while a larger increase could cause mortgage rates to inch higher tomorrow.
FLOAT or LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 0 to 15 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 15 to 30 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 30 to 60 Days – LOCK
If I was closing on a Home Mortgage in the next 60+: LOCK
This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.
Are you a possible Massachusetts First Time Homebuyer?
Do you have a Real Estate client inquiring about current Mortgage Rates?
Do you have any Refinancing questions?
Should you be thinking about Refinancing out of your ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage)?
Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. is regarded as one of the leading real estate attorneys in Massachusetts. With over 25 years in practice, he is a four time winner of the "Top Lawyer" award by Boston Magazine, a "Super Lawyer" designation from Thompson/West, and "Best of Metrowest." For Rich's professional biography, click here. If you are interested in hiring Rich or have a legal question, email or call him at [email protected] or 508-620-5352.
