Bobby Darvish: Unexpected drop in mortgage rates offers buyers great opportunities

The unexpected sunk of mortgage rates offers buyers the opportunity to get a great deal at a lower cost than before, making sure that this spring becomes a busy season in the housing market.
Average rates on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage have dropped from 4.01 percent, in December, to 3.62 percent on Thursday, putting the figure near to the record-low rate of 3.35 percent in late 2012, according to the weekly survey by mortgage lender Freddie Mac.

Photo: Alamy/The Telegraph UK

Now interested buyers could be able to afford higher-priced homes or just save money from an already found house. Even renters could be persuaded to move up their plans for a purchase at a lower cost.
Lower mortgage rates came after economic experts predicted this year at the end of the record lower mortgage rates due to the Federal Reserve’s move to increase the cost of borrowing across the economy.
The issue that many did not see coming was that the decline in stocks prompted nervous investors to seek safety in government bonds, which drove up prices and kept yields low. Mortgage rates tend to track yields on 10-year Treasury bonds, as reported by Triblive.
Economics warnings led people to act on the forecast that 2016 will begin with higher interest rates. Many decided to take actions before the end of the year so they could save some money, Liljehom, a 38-year-old man from Portland, was one of them.
Liljehom decided to refinance his mortgage in December so he could take previsions due to the highlighted warnings, with only days to spare before the Fed raised rates.

“I could have saved more money if I had waited,” Liljehom said. “My interest rate is still quite low, but it does sting a little knowing it could have been lower.”

Mortgage rates may remain low

Rates are likely to stay low for a while, said Nela Richardson, chief economist for Seattle-based real estate broker Redfin. Global concerns over worldwide economic like a slowdown in China and low commodity prices continue to spook financial markets and may persuade the Fed to hold off on more rate hikes.
The more slowly the central bank removes that support, the more likely mortgage rates are to stay low. Inverstong is betting that the Fed will not raise its benchmark interest rate again when it meets next month. The Fed’s massive stimulus efforts over the past seven years drove mortgage rates to record lows.
The Mortgage Bankers Association lowered this month its forecast for the 30-year-fixed-rate of the year to 4.3 percent, a drop from the 4.6 percent they were expecting in January.