WHAT ARE MORTGAGE RATES DOING? IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK
By: Liz Freeman
January 29, 2009
All of these headlines came out in the last 24 hours on different Web sites:
Realty Times: “Mortgage Rates Hold Steady According to Freddie”
Mortagage Insider:”Mortgage Rates Jump to 5%”
Kansas City Star:”Heads Up: 30-year Mortgage Rates Fall”
Huh? What’s a borrower to do? If the “experts” can’t even agree on what mortgage markets have done in the past, how can anyone expect an accurate prediction of what hasn’t happened yet?
Answer: You can’t. What you can do is shop carefully, read your disclosures, have a few heart-to-hearts with several lenders until you find a professional you trust and a company with competitive rates. If you are refinancing, set a target rate and lock when you get it. If purchasing, if rates are good, don’t give yourself a heart attack trying for another eighth of a point lower. Rates could just as easily go the other way.
If a sharp rate increase would jeopardize your loan approval, take what you can get now and lock it in safely.
