Rates Fall for Those Who Qualify
Over the past year or so, the daunting task facing potential homebuyers hasn’t been locking in on a low mortgage rate, it has been whether or not you can qualify for financing amidst the strict lending conditions. The last issue of HSH’s Market Trends Newsletter, “Rates Ease Back Slightly,” compares it to “a group of penniless children staring in the candy-store window: You can look, but you can’t buy.”
“Mortgage rates eased back a little bit [last] week. Although the price of money is quite attractive, the availability of it remains difficult for many borrowers.”
“HSH.com’s overall average for mortgage rates measured by our Fixed-Rate Mortgage Indicator FRMI, declined by six basis points (0.06%) [last] week, as the average price of all loans — conforming, jumbo and agency jumbo combined fell to 5.35%. The overall average for 5/1 Hybrid ARMs shed five basis points, finishing [last] week at 4.61%.”
“The fact that credit conditions remain daunting comes as little surprise, as the risks of making loans to the consumer continue to remain at elevated levels. Those hoping to see some reprieve found little encouragement in the latest Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, released [last] week by the Fed and covering the third quarter of 2009.”
“Even as financial markets are slowly healing, ‘About 25 percent of banks, on net, reported in the latest survey that they had tightened standards on prime residential real estate loans over the past three months,’ according to the survey. That’s actually an increase from the 17% who reported tightening in the period ending in July.”
Click here to continue reading the latest issue of HSH’s Market Trends Newsletter.
What’s in store for this week?
“For [this] week, rates probably don’t move much but do seem to have a slight downward trend to them at the moment. We were a little surprised that they slipped back [last] week, but that may continue [this] week.”
“Looking at the longer term? you’ll need to read our latest two-month forecast.”
HSH’s free weekly Market Trends Newsletter, an in-depth analysis of various financial markets of the week prior, is published every Monday. Email subscribers receive it in your inbox by Friday night, so sign up today! Also, be sure to check in with our Market Trends blog for all news relating to any weekly shift in mortgage rates.
