It happens every time, when rates are at record lows the media somehow does not report it until rates are on the way up. They do the opposite too. It's not their fault, they're not Mortgage Professionals and since rates change constantly, by the time they report that rates are low, they've often missed the boat.
The frustrating part of this situation is that when families are watching the evening news and hearing that rates are X (when X is what they were a few days ago); they find it hard to believe that the rates are higher than what was just reported the night before on the news.
If you are considering refinancing, you may not want to wait. With everything we have scheduled from the Job's Report tomorrow to Tuesday's Fed meeting, we are guaranteed a volatile ride with mortgage rates. As of 8:30 this morning, rates from last Friday still apply...once the Jobs Report is released tomorrow morning; we could see dramatic changes.
If you wait to lock in your rate because you're listening to the news, you may lose.
I publish rates every Friday at Mortgage Porter, you can always contact me or your or your Mortgage Professional to get an idea of what current "live" rates are vs "old" reported rates that are no longer valid. To get an idea of how rates are trending, please read my Mortgage Market Guide Weekly report (click the green button under my photo).
Stay informed and be proactive with your mortgage. Don't rely on the news for mortgage rate information...they're reporting "what happened", not "what's happening". The media is relying on data and reports to be released. If you're a frequent visitor or Mortgage Porter subscriber, then you know that rates have been at a 2 year low since I wrote about it on November 26...those who rely on the media are just hearing about it now. But again I can't stress enough that after tomorrow's Job Report, these low rates may be gone. If the report comes in with stronger than anticipated employment data, this will be a signal for inflation and mortgage bonds react negatively to inflation.
How can Washington state home owners stay informed? Easy! Subscribe to Mortgage Porter. Simply enter your email address in the upper right corner of this blog and you will receive updates when I post; you will not be spammed and your information is not sold. You can un-subscribe at anytime...but why would you do a silly thing like that?
Update 10:30 a.m.: I'm all ready receiving rate sheets from various lenders we work with showing rates worsening.
