America's mortgage markets are taking pause today, in honor of Good Friday. It was another dramatic week with Ben Bernanke playing John Wayne. Last weekend, Bernanke brokered a deal that handed Bear Stearns over to Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan Chase. Last week, a share of Bear Stearns traded for the price of a tankful of gasoline, this week, it trades around the price of a Starbucks cup of coffee. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed to buy a lot of mortgages, $200 billion worth to be precise. This buoyed up the mortgage bonds market and had a positive effect on America's mortgage rates.
Let's lock those rates, now. I don't see a whole lot more reward on the horizon and the risk of higher rates will increase next week.
ARM rates are out of whack, again, and the fixed-rate mortgages are the best priced. Today, the wholesale rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan is 5.625%. If you called me, you would get that 30-year fixed rate loan for 1% of the loan amount plus $499 for an APR of 5.89%. A 15-year fixed rate mortgage can be locked for 4.875% for an APR of 5.15%. That's about .75% less than what rates were on March 10. My advice to stay calm, in the face of panic, and float rates, panned out.
If you need specific advice, about a mortgage, contact me here.
WOW Brian!
You mean we do not need to be sitting at our terminal with a blackberry in hand waiting for the client to text "LOCK NOW" like they have been doing all wee?
Were going to have to go back to selling value? Your taking the fun out of this job.
You know I'm only kidding. Have a great Easter
Tony
Lock??? That's the first I've heard this in a while. But you are clearly right.
Brian,
Good advice,
Happy Easter!
Bill & Brenda
I was recommending locks until the market melted down, on March 6, when I changed to "float". I wanted to see some order come back into the mortgage market, so rates could come down- they did.
Rates still may decline a bit next week but I think there is greater risk to them rising. I am always biased towards locking in loans unless extraoridinary market conditions suggest that reates are too high. I follow the MBS market very carefully and actively manage clients' lock strategies. It works; I generally get people rtaes that are .125% to .25% lower than what they expected.