Mortage Rates Today Help Continued Gradual Healing of Housing Market

A recent report by Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) Economic & Strategic Research Group shows cautious optimism that the gradual recovery of the housing market will continue thanks to record low mortgage rates today and record low home affordability. With current mortgage rates on 30 year conforming loans just above 3.50 percent home buyers in many areas of the country are finding the monthly cost of owning a home is one again cheaper than renting.

Homeowners are also taking advantage of record low refinance rates today and refinancing to a lower rate loan. Just this past week the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that FHA refinance volume exploded to an all-time high. A recent lowering of FHA premiums on streamlined refinance home loans came into effect last week and borrowers jumped on the opportunity to refinance to a lower refinance rate without increasing their FHA premiums.

In Fannie Mae’s report cautious optimism that the housing market will continue to do well since home sales are up 8 percent year over year even with a low growing economy and all the negative economic news recently released.

Loan Type

Purchase Refinance with Cash out Refinance

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FICO Score

Superior (780-850) Exceptional (760-779) Excellent (740-759) Very Good (720-739) Good (700-719) Above Average (680-699) Average (660-679) Fair (640-659) Need Improvement (620-639) Poor (350-620)

Loan Amount

$

Points

Up to 0 points Up to 0.5 points Up to 1 points Up to 1.5 points Up to 2 points Up to 2.5 points Up to 3 points

LTV

%

Loan Term

 15-Year Fixed  20-Year Fixed  30-Year Fixed  5-Year ARM  7-Year ARM  10-Year ARM

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The lenders whose rates and other terms appear on this chart are MRC's advertising partners. They provide their rate information to our data partner RateUpdate.com. Unless adjusted by the consumer, advertisers are sorted by APR from lowest to highest. For any advertising partners that do not provide their rate they are listed in advertisement display units at the bottom of the chart. Advertising partners may not pay to improve the frequency priority or prominence of their display. The interest rates, annual percentage rates and other terms advertised here are estimates provided by those advertising partners based on the information you entered above and do not bind. Any lender Monthly payment amounts stated do not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included. Although our data partner RateUpdate.com collects the information from the financial institutions themselves, the accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed. Rates may change without notice and can change intraday. Some of the information contained in the rate tables including but not limited to special marketing notes is provided directly by the lenders. Please verify the rates and offers before applying for a loan with the financial institution themselves. No rate is binding until locked by a lender.

Lender

APR / Rate

Fees / Points

Payment

NMLS #757416

4.894%

15-Year Fixed

4.750%

$3,836

Includes 0.959 points for $3,836

Lender Fees: $0

$3,112 /mo

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NMLS #6606

5.260%

15-Year Fixed

5.125%

$3,548

Includes 0.887 points for $3,548

Lender Fees: $0

$3,190 /mo

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NMLS #757416

5.687%

30-Year Fixed

5.625%

$2,744

Includes 0.686 points for $2,744

Lender Fees: $0

$2,303 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

5.958%

30-Year Fixed

5.875%

$3,592

Includes 0.898 points for $3,592

Lender Fees: $0

$2,367 /mo

Next >

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by Mortgage Research Center, NMLS #1907, Equal Housing Opportunity. Payments do not include taxes and insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and product details.

A housing recovery faces many headwinds, including high unemployment with slow employment growth expected for the next couple of years. A steady steam of foreclosed properties coming on the market which will keep a lid on home prices for the next several years.

Rising student loan debt with the possibility of interest rates doubling on federal student loans for 7.4 million college students. Thankfully congress appears to be closing in on a compromise with the Obama Administration which will prevent the interest rate from doubling come July.

Until unemployment comes down from over 8 percent and consumer sentiment increases the housing market will struggle. On a positive note the Federal Reserve is doing everything it can to drive mortgage rates lower to help housing recover from the worst bust since the depression of the 1930's.