This week there are a couple new updates! First starting next Monday, 9/22, we will honor the projected new conventional loan limits. The new limit in the metro area will be $819,000. It’s currently $806,500 so it helps a bit when you are looking at higher priced homes. The actual limits will be announced in November.
The other big news this week was the Fed announcement yesterday after their meeting. The Fed dropped the federal funds rate by .25 point. This will help those with home equity loans, car loans and credit cards. It was expected by mortgage traders so it didn’t help the mortgage rates. In fact, after the announcement, the bond market had a negative reaction and mortgage rates went up a bit. They are still better than they were a couple weeks ago.
Mortgage investors are always looking forward and the Fed Chairman’s speech after the meeting left investors concerned about what the Fed will do the remainder of the year. Most believe that the Fed will cut rates two more times this year but it is dependent on the employment and inflation reports. If the employment numbers come in lower again in October, that will help rates. The Fed Chairman thinks that inflation has moved up a bit due to the tariffs and that it is a one time price increase and the effects should be short lived.
For those looking to buy a home or refinance, it’s a great time to look into your options. For those looking to buy, as rates come down, it may be harder to find a home as there will be more people looking at homes and that can increase prices. For those looking at refinancing, we never know when we have hit the bottom, so talk to your loan officer and see what options you have. I have talked with several people where they are in a good spot to refinance or may be close. Some are looking at doing cash out refinances to pay off higher credit card debt and home equity loans. Feel free to reach out if you have questions.
Leslie Vanderwerf, NMLS ID#335509, CrossCountry Mortgage LLC, An Equal Housing Lender, NMLS#3029 – Email – Website
