Bank mortgage rates are a confusing topic for mortgage shoppers. Many consumers simply compare bank mortgage rates believing a mortgage rate is like any other product in that the biggest player will always have a pricing advantage. Not true… Bank Mortgage Rates Are Not Consumer Products Consumers are taught stores like Walmart can price products […]

30 year mortgage rates are not tied to the Fed Funds Rate. When most people hear on the nightly news the Fed lowered or raised interest rates, they automatically think that means mortgage rates. The Fed Funds Rate is not the same as mortgage rates. Nor is it a good way to track 30 year […]

Condo mortgage rates are higher than a single family home. Or, is that just what you get told out there? The mortgage rate for a condo is technically not higher but there is an added cost for condos with less than 25% equity. Any mortgage with extra risk like a condo has added costs. You […]

FHA rates today are about .125% or .250% higher than a conventional loan. FHA mortgage rates are different than a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage because it is a totally different kind of mortgage. A mortgage insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac is called a conventional mortgage. An FHA loan is also known […]

Investment mortgage rates can be the same as your primary residence mortgage rates. Investors rarely hear that message. An investment mortgage is a mortgage on a property you do not live in. It is for income producing properties only. Investment Mortgage Rates Revealed A non-owner occupied or investor mortgage is more expensive but it doesn’t […]

Mortgage rates in the last week in May 2009 saw a dramatic and baffling increase. Mortgage rates rose from about 4.75% for a 30 year fixed mortgage to about 5.25% in a matter of days. We were getting lender rate adjustments via email sometimes three or four times a day. Needless to say, everyone wants […]

Mortgage interest rates are sitting on the bottom or so believes the interim head of Freddie Mac, CEO John Koskinen. Mr. Koskinen adds any subsequent drop from here would be incremental. After all the Fed buying in the mortgage backed securities and Treasuries markets in the last two weeks, I think he is probably right. […]

Ben Bernanke pulled out all the stops and lowered the federal funds rate to the lowest rate in history signifying a target range of zero to .25 percent. The New York stock exchange reacted favorably to the announcement. Federal Funds Rate Cut The Federal Funds Rate is the rate banks use when lending to each […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke orchestrated a gaggle of European central banks today to cut interest rates by a half percent which is designed to quell the sell-off that has gripped the stock markets in the last two days. European stock markets rebounded on the report and the US futures market about-faced as well. Emergency […]