In the world of mortgage and real estate, there is a saying: “Drive until you qualify.” This is a nice way of saying that if you can’t afford a house in a certain (desirable) area, jump on the highway and keep driving until house prices get higher. affordable! That might mean driving an hour from … Read more
Well, 2025 has gotten off to a rocky start with a fairly large mortgage lender already deciding to quit. Ally Financial has fully completed its mortgage loans, according to a statement from their spokesperson Peter Gilchrist. He told the Charlotte Observer that the company plans to exit the mortgage origination business in the first quarter … Read more
What a difference a year makes. Toward the end of 2023, mortgage rates fell nearly 150 basis points to usher in the new year. Meanwhile, mortgage rates jumped about 100 basis points to close out 2024. Ouch! In other words, things looked bright heading into 2024 and are looking a little bleak in comparison as … Read more
If you’ve been reading the headlines recently, you’ve probably noticed that mortgage rates have risen again. And they did this despite another rate cut from the Fed, which confused many people. I’ve talked about this strange relationship before, but today I wanted to talk about real numbers. Yes, mortgage rates increased again by over 7% … Read more
Well, it happened again. The Federal Reserve announced another rate cut and mortgage rates increased. In fact, the 30-year fixed term now starts with 7 instead of 6 for most loan scenarios. What is happening? Although it seems to defy logic, it is a fairly common phenomenon. This also happened in September. This should make … Read more
Although 2025 gives hope for a drop in mortgage rates, this is still very uncertain. There are renewed fears that inflation could pick up, pushing rates higher in the new year. Especially as we welcome a new president who has promised to introduce inflationary policies, such as across-the-board tariffs. This affects not only potential homebuyers … Read more
When mortgage rates fell to around 6% in August, homeowners jumped at the chance to refinance. During the months of September and October, more than 300,000 borrowers entered into refinancing, including nearly 150,000 rate and term refinances, according to ICE’s latest Mortgage Monitor report. This pushed refinancing volumes to their highest levels in more than … Read more
Mortgage rates have been very turbulent this year. The 30-year fixed rate started 2024 at around 6.625% and is currently not far from those levels. Despite this, rates were as low as 6% and as high as 7.50%. So there’s been a lot of diversity over the last 50 weeks. Rates rebounded last December after … Read more
Often when you apply for a mortgage you will be bombarded with offers from competing banks and lenders. The reason this happens is because the credit reporting agencies sell your information to these other companies. They are known as trigger tracks, which are triggered when you submit a loan application and your credit report is … Read more
Mortgage rates have seen wild growth in recent years. In fact, it was still possible to obtain a fixed mortgage loan at 3% over 30 years at the start of 2022. By the end of 2023, you may have been facing a mortgage rate of 8%. And today your rate can start with 5, 6 … Read more