Provided courtesy of: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/consumer_rates/
When bonds make "gains," it means that bond prices are moving up. The price of a bond is like the amount that a lender is willing to pay for the right to collect a certain amount of interest. The more the lender is willing to pay, the lower that lender's "yield" will be. Looked at another way, the lower your interest rate would be in the case of a lender making you a mortgage loan. For that reason, we expect to see mortgage rates fall when bonds are making gains (mortgages are based primarily on bond prices/yields). But in today's case, rates went a bit higher even though bonds improved.
...(read more)Mortgage rates were higher again on Monday, but just barely. The average lender was still in worse shape on Tuesday or Wednesday of last week when rates were the highest they'd been in about a month.
Rates reflect demand in the bond market. Bonds can be bought or sold for a variety of reasons, but one of the key reasons is the general levels of fear and optimism surrounding the economy. When investors are less certain about positive economic outcomes, they tend to buy more bonds. This results in rates moving lower.
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Mortgage rates have generally been moving higher since March 28th after they bottomed out at the lowest levels in well over a year. At the time, investors were tuned-in to the Fed's concerns about the global economy. Granted, the US economy might not have been suggesting an imminent recession, but that was far more difficult to say about China and Europe. Both economies were clearly decelerating by the end of 2018 and into the first few months of 2019. That deceleration was the biggest risk factor for the global economy and the biggest boon for mortgage rates.
...(read more)Mortgage rates continued higher for the 5th day in a row today. This brings the average lender to the highest levels in exactly one month. At issue: a series of stronger economic reports at home and abroad have eased concerns about global growth. Not only is a strong economy associated with higher rates in general, but those "concerns" were a big part of the Federal Reserve's decision to be more bond-friendly back in March. With concerns arguably lessened by recent data, investors may be assuming the Fed won't be quite as bond friendly going forward. All that having been said, the Fed is NOT likely to make any big changes after one solid month of global economic data.
...(read more)Mortgage rates rose again today, albeit at a slightly slower clip compared to yesterday. Still, that's little consolidation considering this is the 4th straight day spent moving in that unfriendly direction. The average lender is now back to levels not seen since March 19th. On the bright side, March 19th's rates were the lowest in more than a year at the time.
So what's going on?
In general, the month of March saw the confluence of 2 great things for rates. Not only was there a generally high level of concern/uncertainty surrounding the global economic outlook, but the Fed was also surprisingly helpful. This was a bit of a double-edged sword because the Fed's helpfulness was predicated on that same sort of concern/uncertainty. In other words, if events unfold in such a way as to ease that concern, not only would it push rates higher of its own volition, it also might result in the Fed being less helpful.
...(read more)Mortgage rates continued higher to start the week, following a relatively sharp increase on Friday. Interestingly enough, the underlying bond market was stable today. In other words, it didn't suggest higher rates. But the issue is that mortgage lenders adjust their rate sheets only a few times on the most volatile days. Many of them didn't get around to it on Friday afternoon. Those who did were greeted with another hour of bond market weakness before the week finally ended.
In other words, the underlying market was indeed suggesting we'd see mortgage rates roughly where they are today and lenders simply didn't have an opportunity to adjust their rate sheets accordingly. This brings the average lender to the highest levels seen since before the Fed's rate-friendly announcement back on March 20th.
...(read more)Mortgage rates rose fairly quickly on Friday, depending on the lender and the scenario. Bonds (which dictate mortgage rates and interest rates in general) weakened overnight on a variety of foreign and domestic data. While we can't necessarily be sure that one particular development was more responsible for the move than another, we can observe that most of the damage followed news of surprisingly strong credit growth in China. This could stand to reason given that China and Europe are central to the cautionary economic stance taken by the likes of the Fed.
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The challenge of buying a home for the first time can seem so daunting that it's tempting to either just go with the first house that falls in your price range or continue to rent. To help you demystify the process and get the most out of the purchase, we'll examine what you'll need to consider before you buy, what you can expect from the buying process itself, and some handy tips to make life easier after you purchase your first home.
The first thing you'll need to determine is what your long-term goals are and then how home ownership fits in with those plans. It could be that you're simply looking to transform all those "wasted" rent payments into mortgage payments that actually give you something tangible. Others see home ownership as a sign of their independence and enjoy the idea of being their own landlord. Narrowing down your big-picture homeownership goals will point you in the right direction. Here are five questions to ask yourself:
The Buying Process
Now that you've decided to take the plunge, let's explore what you can expect
from the home buying process itself. This is a chaotic time with offers and
counter-offers flying furiously, but if you are prepared for the hassle (and
the paperwork), you can get through the process with your sanity more-or-less
intact. Here is the basic progression you can expect:
1) Find a home.
Make sure to take advantage of all the available options for finding homes on
the market, including using your real estate agent, searching for listings
online and driving around the neighborhoods that interest you in search of
for-sale signs. Also put some feelers out there with your friends, family and
business contacts. You never know where a good reference or lead on a home might
come from.
2) Consider your financing options and secure financing.
First-time homebuyers have a wide variety of options to help them get into a
home, including federally-backed loans and loans for homebuyers who don't have
the standard 20% minimum down payment. Your state may also have its own
programs for first-time homebuyers. Your mortgage interest rate will also have
a major impact on the total price you pay for your home, so shop around.
3) Make an offer.
Your real estate agent will help you decide how much money you want to offer
for the house along with any conditions you want to ask for, like having the
buyer pay for your closing costs. Your agent will then present the offer to the
seller's agent; the seller will either accept your offer or issue a counter-offer.
You can then accept, or continue to go back and forth until you either reach a
deal or decide to call it quits. If you reach an agreement, you'll make a
good-faith deposit and the process then transitions into escrow. Escrow is
a short period of time (often about 30 days) where the seller takes the house
off the market with the contractual expectation that you will buy the house -
provided you don't find any serious problems with it when you inspect it.
4) Obtain a home inspection.
Even if the home you plan to purchase appears to be flawless, there's no
substitute for having a trained professional inspect the property for the
quality, safety and overall condition of your potential new home. If the home
inspection reveals serious defects that the seller did not disclose, you'll
generally be able to rescind your offer and get your deposit back. Negotiating
to have the seller make the repairs or discount the selling price are other
options if you find yourself in this situation.
5) Close or move on.
If you're able to work out a deal with the seller, or better yet, if the
inspection didn't reveal any significant problems, you should be ready
to close. Closing basically involves signing a ton of paperwork in a very
short time period, while praying that nothing falls through at the last minute.
Take these 5 steps to help make the process go more smoothly.
Now that you know how much you can afford, check out our current mortgage rate comparison-shopping tool today.
Check your credit
Evaluate assets and liabilities
So you don't owe too much money and your payments are up to date. But how do you spend your money? Do you have piles of money left over every month, or are you on a shoestring budget?
A first-time homebuyer should have a good idea of what is owed and what is coming in.
You've decided to go for it. Buying a home can be thrilling and nerve-wracking at the same time, especially for a first-time homebuyer. It's difficult to know exactly what to expect. The learning curve can be steep, but most of the issues can be resolved by doing a little financial homework at the outset.
Take these 5 steps to help make the process go more smoothly.
The homebuyer's credit score is among the most important factors when it comes to qualifying for a loan these days.
To get a sense of where your credit stands, go to Kredit Karma to collect your credit report and score today, free and with no obligation.
Scour the reports for mistakes, unpaid accounts or collection accounts.
Just because you pay everything on time every month doesn't mean your credit is stellar, however. The amount of credit you're using relative to your available credit limit, or your credit utilization ratio, can sink a credit score.
The lower the utilization rate, the higher your score will be. Ideally, first-time homebuyers would have a lot of credit available, with less than a third of it used.
Repairing damaged credit takes time -- and money, if you owe more than lenders would prefer to see relative to your income. Begin the process at least 6 months before shopping for a home.
Evaluate assets and liabilities
So you don't owe too much money and your payments are up to date. But how do you spend your money? Do you have piles of money left over every month, or are you on a shoestring budget?
A first-time homebuyer should have a good idea of what is owed and what is coming in.
"If I were a first-time homebuyer and I wanted to do everything right, I would probably try to track my spending for a couple of months to see where my money was going," he says.
Additionally, buyers should have an idea of how lenders will view their income, and that requires becoming familiar with the basics of mortgage lending.
For instance, some professionals, such as the self-employed or straight-commission salesperson, may have a more difficult time getting a loan than others
Organize documents
When applying for mortgages, homebuyers must document income and taxes.
Typically, mortgage lenders will request 2 recent pay stubs, the previous 2 years' W-2s, tax returns and the past 2 months of bank statements -- every page, even the blank ones.
Buying a home can take a long time, but knowing what you need and where to find it can save time when you're ready.
Qualify yourself
Ideally, as a first-time homebuyer, you already know how much you can afford to spend before the mortgage lender tells you how much you qualify for. "How much house can I afford?" calculator will help.
By calculating debt-to-income ratio and factoring in a down payment, you will have a good idea of what you can afford, both upfront and monthly.
Though there's not a fixed debt-to-income ratio that lenders require, the old standard dictates that no more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income be devoted to housing costs. This percentage is called the front-end ratio.
The back-end ratio shows what portion of income covers all monthly debt obligations. Lenders prefer the back-end ratio to be 36 percent or less, but some borrowers get approved with back-end ratios of 45 percent or higher.
Figure out your down payment
It takes effort to scrape together the down payment.
There are programs that can assist buyers with qualifying incomes and situations.
Finally, speak with mortgage lenders when you're starting the process. Check with friends, co-workers and neighbors to find out which lenders they enjoyed working with and ask them questions about the process and what other steps first-time homebuyers should take.
Congratulations New Homeowner ... Now What?
You've signed the papers, paid the movers and the new place is starting to feel like home. Game over right? Not quite. Let's now examine some final tips to make life as a new homeowner more fun and secure.
Conclusion
This brief overview should help put you on the path towards filling in any gaps in your home-buying knowledge. Remember that the more you educate yourself about the process beforehand, the less stressful it will be, and the more likely you will be to get the house you want for a price you can afford - and with a smile on your face.