If you have been watching interest rates over the last year, you have seen some of the lowest rates ever! However if you have not paid any attention in the last couple of weeks and you call this week to see where rates are, you may be surprised! In the last month rates have gone up, in fact they are at least .25% higher than they were a couple months ago.
Last week the stock market had a couple strong days and with that, the bond market reacted and mortgage interest rates went up again. Friday's employment report was also much stronger than anticipated and mortgage rate reacted to that also. This week we have seen a little retraction, so things have calmed down a little bit!
What this is telling me is if you are thinking about refinancing, you probably want to get it done now. We have probably seen the lowest rates we are going to see. That doesn't mean we won't see some periods where rates drop a little, but don't be surprised if they continue to increase.
That being said, mortgage interest rates are still fantastic! If you are thinking about buying or refinancing, it is a great time to do that.
Remember FHA mortage insurance goes up with all FHA case numbers ordered on or after April 1, 2013. If you are planning to buy a new home, you will want to try and get that case number ordered before then. Talk to your lender if you are using FHA financing and see where you are at. You need a purchase agreement accepted by all parties to be the case number ordered. In June, we will see the changes where the mortgage insurance will no longer be eliminated on FHA loans. Right now, it's just an increase in the monthly premium that takes effect in April.
