Americans are pretty confident that mortgage rates will decrease over the next 12 months, according to new data from Fannie Mae.
Specifically, there has been an 11 percent jump in responses to a survey about whether rates will drop. As a result, and other factors, the National Housing Survey has increased by 5.8 points compared to a year ago, according to the data. Additionally, the data shows that the number of people who think housing prices will rise in the next year decreased by a point.
If you fall into the same line of thinking, or you are simply interested in purchasing a home in the near future, these type of data points would indicate it might be a good time to buy.
If you do decide to buy in the Seattle/Renton/Tacoma areas, it is a good idea to get pre-approved for a home loan as a first step. This will allow you to know how much you can afford and what you may pay on a monthly basis for a mortgage. And if you obtain your home loan through Element Mortgage, you could lock in what today’s rate is through our specialty program known as SecureLock*.
SecureLock allows you to lock in today’s rate so you can shop for homes with confidence knowing that you won’t have to worry about rates fluctuating. If rates go up you will still keep your locked-in rate, and if they go down while you shop, SecureLock will allow you to “float down” to that rate. Plus, you can combine this program with our Keys On Time program, which guarantees that your loan will be funded by the time or prior to escrow closing. If the loan does not close within that timeframe, a credit of $895 will be incorporated into closing costs**.
If you have any questions about the home loan process or these specialty programs, contact us today.
*To qualify for this program, APM must give full credit approval to all borrowers on the loan. There are specific terms for each lock, based on which variation of the SecureLock program is used. Eligible states include Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
**Not available in Oregon. The “Keys on Time” program is a limited guarantee that APMC will provide a credit to the borrower of $895 after the close of escrow if, due to some fault on the part of APMC, its originators or other APMC staff, a purchase transaction does not close until a date after the originally stated close of escrow date. The “Keys on Time” limited guarantee does not apply if the purchase transaction fails to close on or before the anticipated close of escrow date due to events/circumstances beyond APMC’s control, including but not limited to, delays caused by: an unacceptable or unexpectedly low appraisal value on the subject property, acts or omissions by the escrow or title company, second lien holder approvals, short sale approval, or loan conditions imposed by the lender that, despite reasonable diligence by APMC, are not met by any party in a timely manner. The “Keys on Time” limited guarantee trigger begins when the initial loan package is received by APMC’s Fulfillment center. The complete loan package must be received in the APMC Fulfillment center a minimum of 20 days prior to the COE date. Exclusions: The limited guarantee does not apply to the HARP program, reverse mortgages, FHA 203k, non-delegated jumbo products or any loans that require prior approval from an investor. The limited guarantee applies to purchase transactions only. All programs are subject to borrower and property qualifications. Rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.