SEATTLE, March 2 /PRNewswire/ — The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is currently 4.80 percent, down four basis points from 4.84 percent compared to this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 4.87 percent late last week before hovering below 4.80 percent over the weekend.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060503/ZILLOWLOGO)
Zillow’s real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers through the site, and reflect the most recent changes in the market. These are not marketing rates, or a weekly survey.
The rate for 15-year fixed home loans is currently 4.23 percent, while the rate for 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) is 3.57 percent.
The total volume of mortgage requests in the past week was unchanged from the prior week. Of last week’s requests, 32.2 percent were for refinance loans, 65.8 percent were for purchase loans and 2.0 percent were for home equity loans. The prior week, 30.2 percent of requests were for refinance loans, 67.7 percent were for purchase loans and 2.1 percent were for home equity loans.
Below are current rates for 30-year fixed mortgages by state. Additional states’ rates are available at: www.zillow.com/Mortgage_Rates.
State Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (3/2/10) Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (2/23/10) Change in Basis Points
California Mortgage Rates
4.71% 4.82% -11
Colorado Mortgage Rates
4.88% 4.92% -4
Florida Mortgage Rates
4.79% 4.86% -7
Illinois Mortgage Rates
4.79% 4.85% -6
Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
4.90% 4.88% +2
New Jersey Mortgage Rates
4.86% 4.89% -3
New York Mortgage Rates
4.88% 5.00% -12
Pennsylvania Mortgage Rates
4.81% 4.78% +3
Texas Mortgage Rates
4.69% 4.82% -13
Washington Mortgage Rates
4.82% 4.89% -7

About Zillow Mortgage Marketplace
Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is a free, open, and transparent lending marketplace, where borrowers connect with lenders to find loans and get the best mortgage rates. Borrowers anonymously submit loan requests and receive an unlimited number of custom mortgage quotes with real rates directly from thousands of competing lenders. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace also provides mortgage calculators, mortgage advice, mortgage widgets, and lender directories.
Zillow.com and Zillow are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.
SOURCE Zillow.com

Today rates went up…our Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M said it was coming…

(COLLEGE STATION, Tex.) — Mortgage interest rates are low right now, but don’t expect that to last. When the government quits buying mortgage-backed securities, rates will head up and away.

Dr. Mark Dotzour, chief economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, explained why mortgage rates were so low at the end of 2009.

“First, the global consensus among bondholders appeared to be that inflation will remain low in the United States for an extended period. This caused the ten-year U.S. Treasury rate to fall to between 3.2 and 3.6 percent for much of the second half of 2009.”

With extraordinary levels of federal deficit spending,  Dotzour said it is unlikely that the low-inflation scenario will be popular when the economy starts to rebound.  Consumers should expect mortgage rates to rise when signs of improvement appear.

A second factor contributing to the low mortgage rates is the Federal Reserve Bank’s unprecedented purchase of nearly all the mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2009, he said. Totaling more than $1 trillion for the year, this program has been extended through the end of March 2010.

“The Fed has never done this before in its history, “said Dotzour. “They are doing this to stimulate the economy by keeping mortgage rates as low as possible. When the Fed stops buying these securities from Fannie and Freddie, mortgage rates are likely to increase, possibly quite abruptly.”

How far will rates go up when the Fed terminates its buying program?  Dotzour said that question is difficult to answer precisely, because this has never been done before. But many experts think that rates could move up one-half to 1 percent.

“The combination of extraordinarily low mortgage rates and current price levels are making homes extremely affordable to American families. In fact, national and Texas housing affordability indices indicate that homes are more affordable than ever. But this will not last. When the economy recovers and the Fed stops purchasing mortgages, rates will rise.”

To read more on this subject, see Dotzour’s article in the January 2010 issue of Tierra Grande magazine.

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Credit Scores range between 200 and 800.  Scores above 620 are considered desirable for obtaining a mortgage.  These factors will affect your score.

1.  Your payment history.  Whether you paid credit card obligations on time.

2.  How much you owe.  Owing a great deal of money on numerous accounts can indicate that you are overextended.

3.  The length of your credit history.  In general, the longer the better.

4.  How much new credit you have.  New credit, either installment payments or new credit cards, are condidered more risky, even if you pay promptly.

5.  The types of credit you use.  Generally, it’s desirable to have more than one type of credit – installment loans, credit cards, and a mortgage, for example.

For more on evaluating and underststanding your credit score, go to http://www.myfico.com.

Reprinted from REALTOR Magaxine Online by permission of the National Association of REALTORS.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (Realtor.org) – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) yesterday relaxed what is known as the “anti-flipping rule.”  FHA now provides mortgage insurance for some purchases in which the seller bought the property and held it for fewer than 90 days.  The change was made to speed up sales of renovated homes in communities with too many bank-owned and foreclosed homes, said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens.

Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are a big factor in determining if you’ll qualify for a loan and what loan terms you’ll be able to qualify for.

1.  Check for and correct errors in your credit report.  Mistakes happen, and you could be paying for someone else’s poor financial management.

2.  Pay down credit card bills.  If possible, pay off the entire balance every month.  However, transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score. 

3.  Don’t charge your credit card to the maximum limit.

4.  Wait 12 months after credit difficulties to apply for a mortgage.  You’re penalized less for problems after a year.

5.  Don’t purchase big-ticket items for your new home on credit cards until after the loan is approved.  The amounts will add to your debt.

6.  Don’t open new credit card accounts before applying for a mortgage.  Having too much available credit can lower your score.

7.  Shop for mortgage rates all at once.  Too many credit applications can lower your score, but multiple inquiries from the same type of lender are counted as one inquirey if submitted over a short period of time.

8.  Avoid finance companies.  Even if you pay the loan on time, the interest is high and it will probably be considered a sign of poor credit management. 

This information is copywrited by the Fannie Mae Foundation and is used with permission of the Fannie Mae Foundation.  To obtain a complete copy of the publication, “Knowing and Understanding Your Credit,” visit http://www.homebuyingguide.org.  Reprinted from REALTOR Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of REALTORS.

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