MarketWatch’s Andrea Riquier reported in a recent MarketWatch article that according to mortgage liquidity provider Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates averaged 4.45% in the week of January 10th (the lowest rate since April 2018). At the same time, 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rates averaged 3.89% and 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid-adjustable rate mortgage rates averaged 3.83%. The article suggests that this is due to investors buying government bonds as concerns about trade and economic growth have buffeted the stock market and because of the comments from the most recent Federal Reserve Policy Meeting that seem to indicate that officials are reconsidering plans to raise monetary policy back to normal levels. Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Sam Khater, noted that mortgage applications jumped 20% in the most recent week as mortgage rates dipped.
Of note, the National Association of Realtors® reported that 75% of real estate agents surveyed reported no impact on their business from the government shutdown. Of the 25% of agents surveyed who did report an impact, one quarter noted that buyers were concerned about general economic uncertainty. Other agents reported that problems in processing mortgage application, due to such things as the Federal Housing Administration working with thinner staff, the U.S. Department of Agriculture not processing any loans and the Internal Revenue Service suspending the processing of all forms, including requests for tax return transcripts, and property lien clarifications needed for mortgage applications.
Please contact us to be put in contact with one of our preferred lenders to see if this is a good time for you to buy. Also, to read Andrea Riquier’s original article, courtesy of MarketWatch, please visit: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mortgage-rates-hit-a-9-month-low-as-government-shutdown-is-already-biting-the-housing-market-2019-01-10