Rates go up, rates go down.
A popular mantra for brokers over the years has been the historic low rates we’ve seen.
More than a few books have been written about the combination of low rates and low lending standards contributing to the poor economy, especially the blowup of late 2008 through 2009.
As signs of life continue to emerge, and the stock markets improve, we are seeing the rates go up.
I speak to my mortgage brokers about this.
Are they seeing refinancing go away?
Are they seeing less buyers?
I touched on this in my discussion of the market (as I prepare my monthly newsletter to go out).
Mortgage brokers have had an amazing couple of years.
If they take you out to lunch, make sure they pay!
And as the rates go up, of course you’d expect less refinancing.
What to do?
However, I have been moving away from that thinking, as I’ve watched the rates stay low for the last few months, with
sales
volume staying pretty modest.
I only feel like the rates are going to make an impact if they are higher or lower than they “should” be in relation to the improvement of the stock market.
Hitting only on rates right now, they are picking up, either creeping, or actually jumping up on a specific day as much as
0.50%.
I’ve been told that buyers looking to purchase should hold off locking in rates without consulting first with their mortgage broker.
That is, rates have been much more in flux than in the past few months, and there will be days when they move downward in the context of a stock market shift.
Other than that, rates will impact wage earners and 1099 workers (self-employed) differently, and there are some oddities in the rates from product to product, what brokers might call inefficiencies.
Depending on your horizon for staying in an apartment, there may be opportunities.
One more thought- I’ve been told that lending will open up- more lenders being reasonable on requirments- but that this will not impact what the rates are.
That is, we may be near a bottom on rates for a while- a long, long while.