When the Federal Reserve announced a plan to buy up to $300 billion in Treasuries and increase the purchase of mortgage-backed bonds, the mortgage rates hit a low Wednesday afternoon March 18th of 4.5%! And 15 year loans even hit 4.25%! US banks indicated their intentions of buying up to $750 billion of mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae according to Bloomberg.com. These are among the lowest rates seen since WWII as reported by Bloomberg. All of this is contributing to lower rates. However, on Thursday the bond markets showed volatility pushing the rates back up somewhat. We can never time the market exactly. Suffice it to say, however, that rates available now are exceedingly good by years of comparison and anyone in a position to buy a house should consider doing so this Spring! (And don’t forget the $8000 tax credit for first time buyers!)
A local Research Triangle Park, NC mortgage broker told me today that in order to get the best rates, down payments are still expected to be around 20% and credit scores at least over 740. And that is for rate locks of 30 days. There are so MANY factors that influence your interest rate that it is best to discuss your personal circumstances with a mortgage broker. For assistance in locating a good mortgage broker,
email us or call us. We have the knowledge of who has a proven track record in the business of loans! It is important to know that these rates are for loan amounts less than the conforming amount of $417,000 for a single family residence in our area (Research Triangle Park and surrounding areas). Any loan in excess of that amount is considered in the “jumbo” category and must be considered on a case by case basis.