December 17th Best Mortgage Interest Rates and Lock Recommendation
By: Freeman Liz
December 17, 2009
| Program | Rate | |
| 30 Year FRM | 4.91% | Better by .02 |
| 15 Year FRM | 4.21% | Better by .01 |
| 5/1 Year ARM | 4.04% | Better by .02 |
| Jumbo 30 Year FRM | 6.10% | Better by .01 |
Here is today's look at best mortgage rates, (which do not include discount points, origination points, or loan level risk based price adjustments) provided by Mortgage News Daily, Freddie Mac, and other sources. Note that Freddie Mac's AVERAGE rates are typically higher than BEST rates, because average rates include surcharges for risks associated with property types, down payments, and credit scores. To be eligible for BEST rates, borrowers need spotless credit (740 score or better), a sizable down payment (20-25%) or equity amount, and stable, adequate, and documentable income. In addition, the property must be located in a healthy (not declining) market and must be conventionally built.
*** LOCK ALERT *** RATES IMPROVE TODAY FOLLOWING FOMC MEETING, UNEMPLOYMENT DATA ***
The bond market is currently up half a point, which should improve this morning's mortgage rates by about .250 of a discount point over yesterday's morning rates.
The Labor Department gave us last week's unemployment figures, announcing?? that 480,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week. This is very good for bonds because it is more claims than was expected.
Stocks are taking a beating this morning on negative comments from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and global unrest as several countries credit ratings have been downgraded, most notably Greece.
If closing in the next 7 days, I would LOCK ; otherwise, I would FLOAT my rate. This is only an opinion--what I would do if I were closing a mortgage at this time. Your decision may depend on other factors such as the strength of your loan approval and your tolerance for risk, and must be made with those in mind.
Liz Freeman has more than a decade of mortgage lending experience. She writes about mortgage and finance issues and is a regular contributor to Mortgage News Daily.
