Often a client will start a mortgage loan conversation with, “I need to get the best rates.” And that often confuses me. What does the “best rates” mean? Does that mean you won’t work with a lender who doesn’t have the very lowest interest rate on the day you are ready to lock-in an interest rate? Does it mean you won’t give any consideration to experience, execution, responsiveness and delivery?
Would most people work with a mortgage lender willing to lose money? Read the rest of this entry »
The 10 Year Treasury Bond was at 2.08% as of last Friday*. This is the lowest it has been in a long time.
QUESTION: But what does this mean for mortgage rates?
ANSWER: In general, mortgage rates are flat recently, but down over the last few months.
QUESTION: Do mortgage rates rise and fall in lockstep with the 10 Year Treasury Bond?
ANSWER: No.
QUESTION: What variables affect mortgage rate quotes.
ANSWER: Loan size, loan type, property type, credit score, down payment, debt ratios, and more.
Where are the 10 Year Treasury Bond, and more importantly mortgage rates, headed next? Check back here to see!
*The source for the 10 Year Treasury Bond quote comes from here: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmubmusd10y?countrycode=bx
Here at Capital Bank Home Loans we have a new dynamic loan application that we use. Being dynamic means that it can potentially verify your assets and income during the application process, allowing you to avoid having to upload any documents. And of course we all love to avoid paperwork!
The 10 Year Treasury Bond is at 2.56% as of last Friday. This is about the same as the last time I posted 10 Year Treasury Bond data in early January.
On 01-03-2019 the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 2.55%.
The 10 Year Treasury Bond is not a direct correlation to mortgage rates. It is simply a good to know historical information on treasury bond rates.
Below are some interesting historical numbers*:
In 2018 the average yield of the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 2.91%.
In 2017 the average yield of the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 2.33%.
In 2007 the average yield of the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 4.63%.
In 1997 the average yield of the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 6.35%.
In 1987 the average yield of the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 7.18%.
In 1977 the average yield of the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 7.42%.
Where is the 10 Year Treasury Bond headed next?
*The source for these numbers comes from: https://www.macrotrends.net/2016/10-year-treasury-bond-rate-yield-chart
The 10 Year Treasury Bond is at 2.73% so far today. This is slightly higher than the last time I posted 10 Year Treasury Bond data in early January.
On 01-03-2019 the 10 Year Treasury Bond was 2.55%.
The direction of the 10 Year Treasury Bond is a good gauge on Read the rest of this entry »
When you divvy up your monthly budget pie, housing is very likely the biggest slice, especially after you add in utilities, maintenance and of course, your mortgage.
So wouldn’t it be great if you could lower your mortgage payments without refinancing your loan? Or better yet, pay off your mortgage ahead of schedule? Read the rest of this entry »
I frequently have people ask me for “one of those no-cost refi’s”. Some people think that mortgage lenders are so hard up for business that they are willing to lose money and simply pay the closing costs for the mortgage borrower. I don’t know of any businesses where losing money is part of the process of making money. A no-cost refi actually comes with a cost…a higher interest rate.
The reality is that a no-cost refi is one where the closing costs are built into a higher interest rate. Read the rest of this entry »
Interest rates rose after the presidential election. The news from the bond market according to MBS Online was “Trump has advocated for greater spending on defense and infrastructure, and at the same time he proposes to cut taxes. These policies raise the prospects for increased deficits and inflation, neither of which are good for mortgage rates.”1
Recently rates have come back down a bit. Rates are Read the rest of this entry »
Refinancing doesn’t save you money unless you calculate in the interest that you’ve already paid. Especially when you think you’ll own the house for the long haul or forever. If you pay $2,500 a month in principal and interest, you are going to pay $900,000 over the life of a 30-year mortgage. If you are 4 years into the loan and are going to refinance to a principal and interest payment of $2,800 you are going to save $200 a month, correct? Wrong! Read the rest of this entry »
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is a mortgage assistance program, set up by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in March 2009 to help underwater and near-underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages.
After the housing market crash in 2009 many homeowners were faced with a situation where their house was considered “underwater”. In this scenario, the house value was less than the mortgage loan cost, in other words, having a negative equity value in the home. Refinancing was not an option, nor was selling the home unless they paid the lender for the difference. Unfortunately, this lead many homeowners into foreclosure. Read the rest of this entry »
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