Update 4/18/2013: This is an update to Boulder Mortgage Update January. The mortgage market remains fantastic. We are still seeing rates around 3.5% for conforming home loans. Now is a great time to buy a new home.
This is the first in a series of Top 10 articles regarding Mortgage Lending services in Boulder, Colorado. The goal is that these blogs will be a reliable source of information and professionals available to service your mortgage needs.
The Mayans
The Mayans said we would never arrive at 2013 and yet, here we are. We survived the fiscal cliff although CF2 is probably just around the corner when Big Government needs to make some difficult decisions regarding a balanced budget and true deficit reduction.
Indicators point to an improving real estate market on the National, Regional and Local levels. Now is a good time to buy, though inventory has been tight, especially through the holidays. With New Years behind us, I expect to see a daily improvement in listing inventory. Just on Wednesday alone, the first business day of the new year, new properties were listed every hour in our MLS.
So, knowing more homes are coming into the market, that the big picture economics are for the time being attended to, that real estate is an opportunity, how should you finance this decision? I asked several lenders to weigh in on the subject and here are their thoughts.
Post Fiscal Cliff
Question to Mortgage Industry Leaders: We missed the Fiscal Cliff, so what happens to mortgage rates next?
John Arnold, with People’s Mortgage in Longmont, answered, “I don’t think the Cliff stuff will make any difference at all to be fair.” His firm has been consistently busy and expects 2013 to continue the trend. Allison O’Brien with Liberty Home Loans pointed out that all year, the consensus in the mortgage industry had interest rates increasing in the fourth quarter of 2013, and yet, that didn’t happen. On a cautionary note, Nick Ursetta with Prospect Mortgage, points out that rates increased on Wednesday by as much as a quarter point.
It’s important for consumers to keep in mind, when there is a lot of good financial news, the sort that brings comfort to buyers in real estate, rates tend to increase. When there is uncertainty, as there was in the days leading up to “the Fiscal Cliff,” rates became lower. Though rates have drifted up to start the year, overall interest rates remain incredibly low, around 3.5% for a thirty year fixed mortgage.
Cheryl Coleman adds that the articles she is reviewing “Support a stable interest rate (keeping pretty much [the] same).” And Brian Crowder added that the initial uptick in rates felt like a knee-jerk reaction.
Please give me a call to discuss your real estate needs. It is the start of the year and I am available to assist you with your housing needs. I would also like to hear your comments on mortgage lenders, so please post.
Lenders I recommend on a regular basis to clients, (in no particular order)
Brian Crowder, Ananda Lantaff, John Arnold, Allison O’Brien, Cheryl Coleman, Ira Litke, Lou Barnes, Cheri Houser and Mike Moratelli — Boulder’s Top 10 Mortgage Bankers.
Update: check out video of Ananda in a new blog here.