According to the National Association of Realtors, first-time home buyers are getting off the sidelines and purchasing homes. The share of home purchases by first-time buyers rose to 35% this year from 32% last year.
This is a great sign that the job market is finally getting better for those who have less experience in the workforce. The low mortgage interest rates are also helping with affordability.
There has been a lot of buzz lately regarding the difference between the published interest rate and the rate that is actually offered to borrowers. The interest rate published as the “average rate” by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is always lower than the actual interest rate offered by mortgage lenders or brokers. The reason for this discrepancy are loan level pricing adjustments “LLPA”. The published rate is the rate offered to borrowers with no negative loan level pricing adjustments. These can include credit score, loan to value, property type, and many other factors.
When you are shopping for your next home loan keep in mind that you probably will not qualify for the “average rate” published on websites.
Day 1 Certainty is a new offering Fannie Mae is giving their lender partners.
This should mean greater speed and simplicity when lenders deliver loans to Fannie Mae. This will increase efficiency for lenders when verifying income, assets, and employment.
There will also be additional improvements for customers eligible for a property inspection waiver (PIW).
This efficiency should mean the an easier and more hassle-free loan process.
A VA loan is a mortgage loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA loan was designed to help eligible veterans purchase a primary residence with long-term financing by offering more flexible credit terms. Veterans can qualify for a VA mortgage loan with up to a 103.3% loan-to-value ratio without paying private mortgage insurance and interest rates are lower than conventional loans. There is an up-front funding fee for a VA loan which ranges from 0 to 3.3% of the loan amount and is paid to the Veterans Administration. The up-front-funding fee for the VA loan can be financed into the loan amount, resulting in a higher loan to value ration than 100%; this fee is waived for veterans who are receiving 10% disability or more for their time in the service. In addition to the low down payment, debt-to-income ratios on a VA loan can go higher than a conventional loan. This means that a buyer can qualify for a higher monthly mortgage payment in relation to their monthly income than they could for a conventional loan. The maximum VA loan guarantee varies by county. Currently, in Lee County, Collier County and Charlotte County the maximum guarantee is $417,000 at a 100% loan to value. VA loans are the most lax when it comes to credit history: no foreclosures or short sales within the last 2 years (opposed to 7 and 4 for a conventional loan respectively) and bankruptcies must be 2 years from discharge of chapter 7 (opposed to 4 years for a conventional loan). Credit scores can go below conventional loan, but most lenders require a minimum credit score of 620.
Veterans who are looking to purchase a condo must make sure the condo is approved for financing by the VA. A list of approved condos can be found at: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm.
D&V Home Mortgage offers VA home loans, FHA home loans, conventional home loans and jumbo home loans in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. If you are looking to get a mortgage loan in the Southwest Florida market, give us a call today to see if you qualify!
Mortgage rates plummeted to their lowest levels in three years this week.
According to the Washington Post, weak first-quarter economic growth, persistent global economic worries and last week’s anemic jobs report all contributed to pushing down bond yields. Because mortgage rates tend to follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury, home loan rates retreated.
D&V Home Mortgage offers VA home loans, FHA home loans, conventional home loans and jumbo home loans in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. If you are looking to get a mortgage loan in the Southwest Florida market, give us a call today to see if you qualify!
According to an article published by the News Press “Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) scored record growth in the first quarter of 2016, including a 7.5 percent year-over-year increase in passengers for March. In March alone, the Fort Myers airport served 1,269,961 travelers, making it “the single-largest month for passenger traffic in our 33-year history,” said Bob Ball, executive director for Lee County Port Authority. The passenger count trifecta is especially significant because, for the airport, 2015 “was the best ever,” Ball noted.”
With such high demand in the beautiful SWFL market, property values are strong and homes are selling fast. Interest rates are still at extremely low levels, so now is the time to finance the purchase of your dream home. We have extremely low interest rates and we offer great products including: VA mortgages, FHA mortgages conventional mortgages and jumbo mortgages. For a free consultation on real estate mortgages in Fort Myers, Collier County, Charlotte County or the SWFL market, call us today.
A recent CNBC report indicated that the mortgage markets are becoming less profitable for the big banks. The article reports a quarterly drop of 25 percent in origination’s for JP Morgan Chase; Citi’s origination’s were down 17 percent; and Wells Fargo decreased 14 percent.
Recent foreclosure numbers suggest that the housing market has improved significantly. The November 2015 delinquency rate is the lowest since December 2007.
With a rising real estate market and chances of finding a bargain a lot tougher, first time home buyers are having more trouble finding the right home for them. One thing that everyone agrees on is that having a mortgage lender or broker who has a reputation of closing loans fast helps when the seller is in a multiple offer situation.
A recent survey from the National Association of Realtors revealed that 83 percent of all renters want to own a home and 77 percent believe that home-ownership is part of their American Dream. The top two reasons for not currently owning are affordability of housing and flexibility of renting.
A recent survey revealed that the majority of loan applicants don’t compare interest rates when buying a new home. If you, a client, or someone you know is looking for a residential mortgage loan make sure they call D&V Home Mortgage as we are approved with the lowest rate lenders in the nation.
It had been nearly a decade since the Federal Reserve increased the target rate and seven of those years had been spent near zero percent. This historical length of accommodative monetary policy all came to an end on Wednesday, December 16th, when the Fed announced a quarter of a point increase to their target rate, increasing it to .50%.
Mortgage interest rates don’t directly follow the fed funds rate and are not expected to shoot up in the short term, but experts are calling for a 1% – 1.5% increase over the next 12 months. The average homebuyer isn’t quite aware of how low mortgage loan interest rates really are right now. According to CNBC, sixty-seven percent of prospective homebuyers surveyed by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a network of real estate brokerages, categorized the level of today’s mortgage rates as “average” or “high.” The current rate of 4 percent on the 30-year fixed is less than 1 percentage point higher than its record low; this is drastically lower than the 18% the market saw in the 1980’s.
So is now the time to get a mortgage loan? Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae may have put it best: “The rule for when is it time to buy is always the same: given your household budget and where current interest rates are, if it makes good financial sense to take out a home loan today, then today is the day to do it.”
