Afternoon Edition of Friday’s Rates
Rhonda Porter on 09 19, 2008
Today stocks are rallying based on the events that were announced this morning: Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s plan to temporarily guarantee money market funds; the Fed’s announcement to create a place for bad mortgage debt; the SEC’s ban on short selling specific financially related stocks. Good news to the stock market typically translates to higher mortgage rates.
Altough you may be seeing a lot of red 
on the rate below, rates are overall improving from my post this morning. I only post rates once a week at Rain City Guide, so unless you’re following my live rate quotes on Twitter, this probably doesn’t seem like much of a change to you. So far today (noon), most lenders have issued three intra-day rate sheets.
Conforming Mortgage Rates (loan amounts up to $417,000 for 1-unit properties). The conforming rate quote below is based on owner occupied with a mid-low credit score of 720-739, “full doc” purchase with a sales price of $500,000 and a loan amount of $400,000. This scenario includes reserves (taxes & insurance) not being waived. Rates quoted are priced based on a 45 day lock with no prepayment penalties on any of the rates quoted below.
30 Year Fixed @ 1 Pt: 5.750% (APR 5.902%) unchanged (improved 0.125% since this morning)
30 Year Fixed with 10 Year Interest Only @ 1 Pt: 6.375% (APR 6.520%) by 0.125% to rate
15 Year Fixed @ 1 Pt: 5.500% (APR 5.753%) by 0.125%
5/1 ARM – LIBOR @ 1 Pt: 6.000% (APR 7.200%) by 0.625%
Conforming-Jumbo Rates. Pricing is based on the same criteria above except where the loan amount is $417,001 – $567,500 for properties in King, Snohomish or Pierce Counties; specifically priced for a sales price of $650,000 and a $520,000 loan amount. NOTE: The Conforming-Jumbo loan limit will be reduced to $522,100 effective January 1, 2009.
30 Year Fixed @ 1 Pt: 5.875% (APR 6.029%) unchanged
30 Year Fixed with 10 Year Interest Only @ 1 Pt: 6.500% (APR 6.639%) unchanged
5/1 LIBOR @ 1 Pt: 6.875% (APR 7.550%) by 0.875% to rate
FHA. Pricing based on credit score of 620 or better and loan amounts up to $362,790 for FHA in King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties. NOTE: FHA minimum down payment increases to 3.5% effective 10/1/2008.
30 Year Fixed @ 1 Pt: 6.000% (APR 6.680%) by 0.125% to rate (this rate is actually improved by 0.25% to rate since this morning).
FHA-Jumbo. Pricing based on loan amounts from $362,791 – $567,500 for King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties. NOTE: The FHA Jumbo loan limit will be reduced to $522,100 effective January 1, 2009.
30 Year Fixed @ 1 Pt: 6.375% (APR 7.133%) by 0.125% to rate
VA. Pricing based on credit scores of 620 or better based on loan amounts up to $417,000. VA loan amounts over $417,000 are also available. Contact your local Mortgage Professional for more information.
30 Year Fixed @ 1 Pt: 6.125% (APR 6.244%) by 0.125% to rate
Prime Rate(what HELOCs are based on): 5.000%
This is just a small sample available of rates and products. Rates are as of Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12:15 p.m. and may change at any time. Available programs may change at anytime as well. This is not a guarantee nor is it a commitment of interest rate. By the time I hit “publish” on this post, rates may have all ready changed. 
I kid you NOT.
About the Author: Rhonda Porter
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15 Responses to “Afternoon Edition of Friday’s Rates”
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Who in their right mind would by a house right now?
Who in their right mind would lend money for a house right now?
Who is actually going to close on their Olive8 condo contract? Show of hands, please?
Who is going to stay in the pricy hotel rooms on the lower floors there?
I think on Wednesday many people were asking who in their right mind would buy stock right now!
I think the biggest problem short term is that this has been a huge distraction. Think of it sort of like a big snow storm, where people don’t go out shopping for houses.
I don’t know what the future holds as to this bailout plan, or how well it will work, but even assuming it works great right out of the gate (best possible scenario), I think we’ll see a dip in transactions 30-60 days out.
I’m actually working with several buyers who are finding some great homes at lower prices right now. They’re patient shoppers. I’m seeing that Sellers are often willing to pay closing costs in this market too.
Lending is fine–it’s like the clocks have been rolled back and we’re actually UNDERWRITING loans again.
I’d say the people who are having the most difficulty with obtaining a mortgage are those who are not able to document their income.
Otherwise, consumers can use FHA with as little as 3.5% down (effective next week) for loan amounts up to $567,500 or conventional.
Rhonda, please refresh my recollection. When did the mass move from conventional to FHA start?
Kary, I would say at the end of May when DU 7.0 came into effect, FHA became even more popular.
Anyone seriously going back into stocks right now is going to be destroyed in the next two or three weeks. Go ahead, be a bag-holder.
I covered all my shorts EOD Wednesday and early Thursday, smelled this one coming. The puts I sold for obscene profits actually expired worthless yesterday. Thursday I shorted long Treasury bonds with delicious timing, so I can cash in on the coming bond market collapse that will follow in the wake of this treasonous “bailout”.
Go heavy short with me for the final crash, Kary, so we can share war stories over a beer! Take a piece of flesh from this fight.
I won’t even consider buying a house in Seattle until the median price crosses $180K (3 x $60K median homeowner family income).
Of course, by the time this happens (and, barring massive $USD printing, it will), Seattle might not be such a desirable or safe place to live.
Decamp to Marblemount? Newhalem? Winthrop?
cristiangustafson, I enjoyed checking out your blog. Must been interesting (to say the least) to meet Casey Serin. And…we have the same motor-home cars parked along our neighborhood in West Seattle.
Thanks, Rhonda, glad you like it.
The blog has been abandoned since I had my 2nd daughter in April, and have largely given up walking to work from my rental house in Crown Hill. That walk means leaving at 6 a.m., which is hard to do when my help is needed.
I’ll pick it up again soon simply because I have more stories to tell. Tomorrow I might drive out to the mega Issaquah Highlands development tomorrow to walk around and size up the madness.
Unlike others, I don’t post my financial dealings on websites, which others would be unable to be substantiated anyway, with the exception of I have pointed out the process of buying a house a year ago.
Smash and grab all you can from the collapse, Kary.
Thanks to zero-down ARMs and $100K kitchens, we’re headed back to the depths of the 1930s.
Are you ready?
Don’t worry, I am sure Comrade Paulson will use the peoples money to give to people like Kary if they happen to lose money on stocks. Losing money is illegal now, haven’t you heard?
Wells Fargo’s Jumbos Rates are now posted at 9%. Other banks to follow?
Eric, Chase is who I was using for my Jumbo rates (Wells–and many others–have been out of market for quite a while). You’ll notice that I didn’t post them this week… borrowers may be better off going to a credit union for jumbo loans right now.
Eric, I’m quoting non-conforming jumbo in the mid 7’s.
christiangustafson reminds me of my favorite quote from Philip K Dicks novel “The Transmigration of Timothy Archer”:
“Dreams of poverty excited universal enjoyment in Berkeley, coupled with the hope that the political and economic situation would worsen, thowing the country into ruin: this was the theory of the activists. Misfortune so vast it would wreck everyone, responsible and not responsible sinking into defeat…”