The spread between jumbo mortgage rates and conforming mortgage rates remains higher than its historical average, but it’s come way down from the stratospheric 3% premium above conforming rates recently demanded by investors.
One of the largest lenders in the country confirmed that it has jumbo money for its most credit-worthy clients at a rate of 5.75%, up to a million dollars.
So those who want to “go big” with their home loans should move fast:
1. Compare jumbo rates between several lenders. Easiest to do online, but by phone or in person works too. Get Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) and Truth-in-Lending (TIL) disclosures if you can. It makes comparisons easier.
2. If your jumbo loan is barely jumbo, look at conforming and second mortgage rates as well. In many cases it can be cheaper to do a 1st mortgage up to the conforming limit and a second for the rest. Give the loan officer the amount you need to refinance and ask what the “blended rate” would be.
3. Narrow your decision down to several reasonably-priced lenders and work with the agent you feel most at home with.
These days you can’t get experts to agree on much in terms of what the economy has in store for us. So if you can save money, stabilize your finances, or get a little breathing room by refinancing, now is probably a good time to pull the trigger and get it done.
