- The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage hit 3.34% on Monday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is for borrowers with strong financials and credit scores.
- “Aggressive lenders will be at 3.25% today, and 3.375% will be the new going rate for the average lender,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.
- Applications to refinance a home loan are up around 165% annually, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
As coronavirus fears hit financial markets, U.S. bond yields are tanking, pushing mortgage rates that loosely follow the 10-year Treasury yield toward an eight-year low. They could sink even lower.
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage hit 3.34% on Monday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is for borrowers with strong financials and credit scores.
“Aggressive lenders will be at 3.25% today, and 3.375% will be the new going rate for the average lender,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.That rate hit 3.34% for one day in the summer of 2016, before spiking much higher that fall. Before that, rates were this low in 2012. While rates generally follow the 10-year yield, there are certain market factors that keep rates above a certain level.
And those payoffs, or refinances, are surging right now. Applications to refinance a home loan are up around 165% annually, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home have not been as strong, due to the severe shortage of homes for sale. Builders, however, may be getting a boost, especially those putting up more affordable homes.
Another barrier to entry for some buyers is still-tight lending standards. Sean Dobson, CEO of Amherst Holdings, which does have a mortgage arm, said tight lending is why his company got into the single-family rental business.
“Unless you have a large down payment or unless you have a very solid amount of free cash flow that’s underwritable, and we forget about this because the Uber driver might not have income that is fungible from a mortgage lenders perspective, or the people working 3 or 4 jobs, or the contributors to CNBC who contribute to a few places, they may literally have trouble qualifying for a mortgage,” said Dobson.