Connecticut Financing Update and Today's Mortgage Rates 2/24/12
Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 8:57AM
Judy in Guest Contributor-Financing

Rates and costs continue to operate near all time best levels
Current levels have experienced increasing resistance in improving much from here
There are technical reasons for that as well as fundamental reasons

 Lenders tend to get busier when rates are in this "high 3's" level  and can throttle their inbound volume by raising rates or costs.
 While we don't necessarily think rates are destined to go higher there seems to be more risk than reward regarding  floating
 But that will always be the case when rates operating near historic lows
 (As always, please keep in mind that our talk of  Best-Execution always pertains to a completely ideal scenario.  There  can be all sorts of reasons that your quoted rate would not be the same  as our average rates, and in those cases, assuming you're following  along on a day to day basis, simply use the Best-Ex levels we quote as a  baseline to track potential movement in your quoted rate).
 

Apart from the slightly more favorable rate environment, little has changed between yesterday and today.  Since Best-Execution is by no means firmly back to 3.875%, the question remains whether or not this will prove to be a brief foray into  4.0%.  The tone of news surrounding the Greek bailout seems to have shifted in favor of "forays remaining brief" as the skeptics have emerged, calling attention to the unsustainability of the agreed-to austerity measures, among other things. 
 
Treasury Auctions--another market event on our radar--haven't done any additional damage to mortgage rates' chances of returning to previous levels, but they haven't significantly helped either.  Still, the absence of a negative is a positive in this context.  For now, bond markets, including MBS (the "mortgage backed securities" that most directly influence mortgage rates) seem to suggest that their default stance is one of strength, and detractors will have to prove their case in order for that to change.

Today's Mortgage Rates

Today's BEST-EXECUTION Rates
 30YR FIXED -  4.0% more prevalent.  Some 3.875%'s remain
 FHA/VA -3.75%
 15 YEAR FIXED -  3.25%
 5 YEAR ARMS -  2.625-3.25% depending on the lender
 
Jumbo-
 
7/1 ARM3.375%
5/1 ARM 3.125%
30 year fixed 4.250%

 

Jennifer Buchanan

jhvb51@aol.com
Article originally appeared on Fairfield County CT Real Estate & Homes for Sale in Easton, Fairfield, Norwalk, Trumbull & Westport, Connecticut (http://www.thectrealtyblog.com/).
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