With no pertinent economic reporting scheduled for today, borrowers and investors will have to take guidance from geopolitical news and the financial data below. Today's interest rates continued the upward trend started a few weeks ago.
Rates Below Are Averages. Get Your Personalized Rates Here. (Apr 26th, 2018)Program | Rate | APR* | Change |
---|---|---|---|
Conventional 30 yr Fixed | 4.833 | 4.845 | +0.04% |
Conventional 15 yr Fixed | 4.333 | 4.352 | Unchanged |
Conventional 5 yr ARM | 4.313 | 4.759 | +0.01% |
30 year fixed FHA | 4.667 | 5.676 | +0.04% |
15 year fixed FHA | 3.813 | 4.764 | Unchanged |
5 year ARM FHA | 3.875 | 5.093 | +0.05% |
30 year fixed VA | 4.667 | 4.863 | Unchanged |
15 year fixed VA | 3.875 | 4.189 | Unchanged |
5 year ARM VA | 4.125 | 4.384 | +0.1% |
Your rate might be different. Click here for a personalized rate quote. See our rate assumptions here.
Not much good news in today's data. Most indicators point to higher rates.
This week's reporting is pretty low-level. We will update with analysts' predictions as they come in.
Rates are rising overall. I would lock if I were closing any time soon. If my closing date was further out than 30 days, and I could lock without an upfront charge, I'd consider doing that as well.
In general, pricing for a 30-day lock is the standard most lenders will (should) quote you. The 15-day option should get you a discount, and locks over 30 days usually cost more. If you can get a better rate (say, a .125 percent lower rate) by waiting a couple of days to get a 15-day lock instead of a 30, it's probably safe to consider.
In a rising rate environment, the decision to lock or float becomes complicated. Obviously, if you know rates are rising, you want to lock in as soon as possible. However, the longer you lock, the higher your upfront costs. If you are weeks away from closing on your mortgage, that's something to consider. On the flip side, if a higher rate would wipe out your mortgage approval, you'll probably want to lock in even if it costs more.
If you're still floating, stay in close contact with your lender, and keep an eye on markets.
Mortgage interest rates depend on a great deal on the expectations of investors. Good economic news tends to be bad for interest rates because an active economy raises concerns about inflation. Inflation causes fixed-income investments like bonds to lose value, and that causes their yields (another way of saying interest rates) to increase.
For example, suppose that two years ago, you bought a $1,000 bond paying five percent interest ($50) each year. (This is called its “coupon rate.") That’s a pretty good rate today, so lots of investors want to buy it from you. You sell your $1,000 bond for $1,200.
The buyer gets the same $50 a year in interest that you were getting. However, because he paid more for the bond, his interest rate is now five percent.
The buyer gets an interest rate, or yield, of only 4.2 percent. And that’s why, when demand for bonds increases and bond prices go up, interest rates go down.
However, when the economy heats up, the potential for inflation makes bonds less appealing. With fewer people wanting to buy bonds, their prices decrease, and then interest rates go up.
Imagine that you have your $1,000 bond, but you can't sell it for $1,000 because unemployment has dropped and stock prices are soaring. You end up getting $700. The buyer gets the same $50 a year in interest, but the yield looks like this:
The buyer’s interest rate is now slightly more than seven percent. Interest rates and yields are not mysterious. You calculate them with simple math.
Verify your new rate (Apr 26th, 2018)The information contained on The Mortgage Reports website is for informational purposes only and is not an advertisement for products offered by Full Beaker. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the policy or position of Full Beaker, its officers, parent, or affiliates.
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2018 Conforming, FHA, & VA Loan Limits
Mortgage loan limits for every U.S. county, as published by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)