San Diego Mortgage News


The push for home ownership as part of “The American Dream” officially started in the 1940’s but the campaign realized success when homeownership of one-family detached homes rose significantly in the 1950s reaching over 50% for the first time in our nation’s history. From there it rose modestly in the 1960s and 1970s, dropped slightly in the 1980s, rebounded in the 1990s, and reached 87% in 2000.  This was considered a great success for our economy even though people were buying homes with interest rates well above 8.5% interest rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage.  I guess compared to the 15% interest rates in the 1980s this was viewed as “low rates”.

Where are we now?

According to the Census Bureau homeownership rates are steady at 65%.  Why is this significant?  Because in the past month the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.1 percent, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.  That's the almost the lowest since it began keeping records in 1971.

For months, Freddie had pointed to data from the National Bureau of Economic Research showing that rates were lower in the early 1950s, when long-term mortgages typically lasted just 20 or 25 years.  But Freddie says that's no longer true: Today's average 30-year rate is even lower than the average 20- or 25-year rate was in the 1950s. The tragedy is that more than 40% of homeowners still have loans with interest rates of over 6%.  While this is not as obscene as rates in the 1980’s, American families are still leaving money on the table every day.  Are you one of those families?

Posted in:General
Posted by Ryan Grant on July 4th, 2014 9:55 AM

More good news for Southern California homeowners came in the way of mortgage rates moving just slightly lower on Friday. Last week's overall improvement in mortgage rates offers another degree of support for the idea that that rates have broken out of the sideways range trending through the month of June. 

The most prevalently quoted conforming 30yr fixed rate for best-case scenarios  remains at 4.125% for a second day, with most borrowers seeing today's improvement in the form of lower closing costs and ability to remove PMI due to equity gains.   Friday's rate/cost combination is the best it's been in June.

In short, if you've been holding off on refinancing your home there has been a good amount of improvement--enough to consider locking it in before next week's important jobs report on Thursday. If you are wondering if it's time for you to re-finance check out the section on my website "When to Re-finance" or call me- 619-542-7744!

Posted in:General
Posted by Ryan Grant on June 27th, 2014 7:53 AM

If you read about mortgages then you have probably heard about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  But not as many people know about Ellie Mae.  Ellie Mae is the leading provider of statistical data for the residential mortgage industry publishing the Origination Insight Report.   In short, she tells you the demographics or loans and whether loans are getting closed.  So what did she tell us this time?

  1. People are buying houses rather than refinancing. Of the loans originated only 33% were for refinancing whereas 66% were for purchase loans. She also confirmed that almost 40% of Americans are still sitting on loans with higher than 6% interest rates which means they are certainly should be refinancing.
  2. FHA (Federal Housing Authority) loans are being used almost solely for purchase mortgages. Only 19% of FHA loans originated were for refinances whereas conventional loans split 40% for refinances and 59% for purchase loans.
  3. The most underutilized program in my opinion is the VA loan program as this was only tapped in 9% of loan originations. In a city like San Diego or Riverside where military populations are high we should expect this percentage to be much higher. The VA has great programs and I specialize in VA loans.
  4. The most interesting, and telling information to a mortgage broker is the percentage of loans closed and that was only 57.8%. That means that more than 40% of people walked away from the table after their deal was dead. This is unacceptable in my view. There is rarely a time that you shouldn’t be able to close a deal once you have appropriately evaluated a clients financial standing and submitted their loan for origination. If you want to make sure your deal closes, call Ryan Grant at 619-542-7744.

 

 

Posted in:General
Posted by Ryan Grant on June 23rd, 2014 7:21 AM
Read the Metro Express Mortgage Summer Newsletter now for information about the State of the Southern California Real Estate Market and the Five Things You Should Know About FHA Loans.  
Posted in:General
Posted by Ryan Grant on June 18th, 2014 7:58 PM
Another great week for California homeowners to lock a historically low interest rate for their home loan and improve their financial position.

Mortgage rates improved again Monday June 16th despite stronger-than-expected economic data.  When economic reports are beat expectations, rates have a tendency to move higher, but it would seem that political tensions from around the world are holding back financial markets to some extent.  

The most prevalently quoted conforming 30yr fixed rate remains 4.25% although for some rates can be lower. Many borrowers will also feel improvement in the form of lower closing costs and lower payments due to the removal of that dreaded PMI that can be removed with enough equity.

While this is great news for Southern California homeowners, especially those in markets where property values are increasing quickly like San Diego and Riverside it doesn't mean rates couldn't continue higher in the near future.  That said, rates are still much closer to recent lows than they usually stay after historically similar market fluctuations, which is ample justification for those inclined to lock.  Call me today to evaluate your mortgage for a refinancing 619-542-7744.




Posted in:General
Posted by Ryan Grant on June 17th, 2014 8:19 AM
California mortgage holders are the best positioned in the nation to better their financial position by taking action with their mortgages. There is no point in leaving money on the table if you can avoid it, so here's a plan of action for almost any CA homeowner.

If your rate is higher than 4.5% percent and you have equity, which in California you most likely do, and have credit problems, try a FHA (Federal Housing Authority) refinance.

FHA does require mortgage insurance, BUT there are no risk-based pricing adjustments like Fannie and Freddie require, PLUS you can refinance up to 96.5 percent of your home's current value. If the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) of a refinance is less than that of your current mortgage, a refinance could put money in your pocket every single month! 

If you don't think a refinance would pay for the cost of itself, try a hybrid ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage), which combines a low fixed mortgage interest rate for several years with an adjustable rate. This is ideal for people who live in fast paced markets like Orange County, the Bay Area and Los Angeles. There are three year fixed-rate mortgages with rates under 3 percent, and those fixed for five years at about 3.5 percent. If you're paying over 5 percent now, you'd likely recoup the refinancing costs very quickly.

With nearly 40% of California homeowners paying 6% interest rate or more on their mortgages, clearly there is money being left on the table. This is especially true if you live in fastest recovering markets that include parts of San Diego, Riverside, Sacramento and Stockton.

There are many opportunities for California homeowners to remove their PMI and potentially lower their mortgage interest rates right now. If dramatically lower mortgage payments seems like an interesting prospect, a free consultation with Metro Express could end up putting dollars in your pocket. 

Call Ryan Grant at Metro Express Mortgage today at 619-542-7744 and don’t forget to “Like” Metro Express Mortgage on Facebook.


Posted in:General
Posted by Ryan Grant on June 12th, 2014 8:07 PM
More good news for California Home Owners... 3 of the 10 fastest improving markets are in California- Riverside, Stockton and Sacramento.  These cities have year over year improved property values which means more refinance opportunities for homeowners throughout California.  Now is the time to pull cash out for home improvements, consolidate debt, or remove mortgage insurance. Higher property values plus still historically low interest rates equal a great refinance opportunity!  If you bought your home more than one year ago and your interest rate is more than 4.75% than refinancing is the smartest financial move you can make today.  Your payment will go down and you will save money each month.  Call for a free loan consultation today- 619-542-7744.







Posted in:General
Posted by Ryan Grant on June 9th, 2014 2:01 PM

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