Expect rates to be .50% to 1.0% higher than today. Mortgage rates are directly tied to the buying and selling of mortgage backed securities (MBS). In January of 2009, the Treasury comitted to purchasing 1.25 Trillion in MBS. They will reached that number by the end of March 2010 and announced at their last FOMC meeting, the program will not be extended. You only have to go back to 2008 (prior to the Treasury buying program) to see that home loan rates trended between 6.25% and 6.75%.
Credit requirements continue to get tigher. Have a mortgage advisor run your credit (its OK to do it now) to learn what is being reported. Learn NOW which loan program is best for you. Learn what the credit requirements are. Six months gives you plently of time to fix any items that need attention. Make sure your qualifying FICO score is at least 660 for a goverment loan or 720 for conventional financing. These actions ensure you will qualify for the best interest rate available when you're ready to get pre-qualifyed.
All the Best,
Barbara
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