Mortgage rates heading up

Rhonda Porter on 02 15, 2008

Mortgage rates continue their trend upward and they don’t look like they’re coming back down soon. This market is still very volatile and as I always, I encourage you to lock and not float your interest rates if you a closing within the next 4-6 weeks. If you’re hunkering for more updates on the market than what I post here every Friday, you can follow me with my updates on Twitter.

The conforming loan limit is still $417,000. HUD has less than a month to publish what the values are for specific areas that the temporary conforming limit will be. The figure that is being whispered for the tri-county area is around $493,000. Count on Fannie and Freddie having an add to rate for loans from $417,001 – $[the tempoary loan limit]. This add could be anywhere from 0.25% to 1.00% to RATE. With FHA loan limits also being increased, FHA insured loans could become “the new jumbo”. Bottom line, we won’t know until this information is published and made available. At this point, there is a lot of speculation. If you have a potential mortgage with a possible loan amount from $417,001-$493,000; it may or may not be worth waiting for the loan limit to lifted.

Conforming Mortgage Rates (for the criteria I used to price these rates, check out last Friday’s rate post):

30 Year Fixed: 5.875% (APR 6.109%)

15 Year Fixed: 5.125% (APR 5.357%)

10/1 ARM Interest Only: 5.375% (APR 6.381%)

7/1 ARM: 5.000% (APR 6.479%)

5/1 ARM: 4.875% (APR 6.746%)

FHA/VA 30 Year Fixed: 6.000% (APR 6.529%)

Jumbo (Non-Conforming) Rates. For pricing criteria, please review the jumbo rate section from last Friday’s rates.

30 Year Fixed: 6.625% (APR 6.774%)

10/1 ARM Interest Only: 5.875% (APR 6.682%)

7/1 ARM: 5.375% (APR 6.659%)

Prime Rate (what HELOCs are based on): 6.00%

This is just a small sample of available rates and products for consumers with a minimum mid-credit score of 680, going full-doc with 20% down for a home purchase. The above rates are priced with 1 point and are based on a 45 day lock. Rates are as of Friday, February 15, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. This is not a guarantee nor is it a commitment of interest rate. For your personal rate quote or for loan amounts over $650,000 please contact a Mortgage Professional.

About the Author: Rhonda Porter

Rhonda Porter began her mortgage career on April 1, 2000 at Mortgage Master Service Corporation, a family-owned correspondent lender that has been lending in the Pacific Northwest for over 30 years. Prior to mortgage, she was in title industry for 14 years where she managed an escrow branch and gained an invaluable insight to the real estate industry. Rhonda Porter is a Licensed Loan Originator MLO-121324. Inman News named Rhonda one of the Top 50 Online Influencers of 2009. She was recognized in Seattle Weekly's Best of 2009 issue as the Best Twitting Mortgage Broker http://www.twitter.com/mortgageporter) and Sellsius 2007 Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers and 2007-2008 Maginficent 7 Consumer Articles. Her peers recognized her with the Washington Association of Mortgage Professionals Distinguished Service Award in 2009. Rhonda originates mortgages for homes located in Washington State. You can reach Rhonda at rhonda@mortgageporter.com or by calling (206) 718-9488. NOTE: Rhonda Porter and Mortgage Master Service Corporation are not affiliated with any real estate brokerages.

Comments are closed.