The jumbo loan rates took a nice tumble this last week – down by over half a percentage point. A jumbo loan in Bellingham & Whatcom County is for an amount greater than $417,000. Everything else remained stable – still excellent rates!
A financing tip from Sidney:
Define your budget and get yourself approved for a loan before you find a house you want to buy. This will take very little time and will allow you to identify your price range so that you can be comfortable with your monthly payment. It is important to factor in all your debts (and let your lender know them) when getting a pre-approval. Debts are not just credit cards, auto loans & student loans – they may also include alimony, child support or any other regularly scheduled payments.
Home loan rates as of Wednesday, March 17 are in the following table. For more details, or a custom quote, contact SidneyStonecypher at People’s Bank, 360-676-4597 or sidney.stonecypher@peoplesbank-wa.com. Remember that many variables come into play in determining the rate a lender will give a borrower. If you are getting a rate quote from a lender who does not have all your information, that rate may not be real. What with the low rates and the tax credits, it is a great time to buy a house!
Down Payment
Interest Rate
APR
Credit Score
Points
Conventional 30 yr fixed
20%
4.750%
4.859%
740
1
Conventional 15 yr fixed
20%
4.250%
4.406%
740
1
Jumbo 30 yr fixed
20%
5.625%
5.709%
740
1
FHA 30 yr fixed
3.50%
4.625%
5.006%
580*
1
VA 30 yr fixed
0%
4.625%
5.023%
*
1
*Score requirement will vary by lender
If you have other questions about financing, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will get you the answer. If you are wondering, other people probably are as well. For general financing and market information, check out our website.
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With loan rates as low as they are, you may be thinking about refinancing. If you have a second mortgage, your primary loan may still be refinanced, but the process is a bit more complicated because you must get permission from your home equity lender (unless you plan to pay them off as part of the refinance). The lender doing the refinance will need to submit a request for subordination to the second mortgage holder. This allows the new mortgage to move into the first position being vacated by the existing first mortgage. The second position lender (your home equity lender) will usually require a copy of your new loan application, credit report and a copy of the appraisal, together with a fee. If they don’t agree, the only way you will be able to refinance is by paying off both the existing loans.
Home loan rates as of Wednesday, March 10 are in the following table. Rates for 30 year fixed rate conventional, FHA & VA loans dropped just a bit, while the 15 year conventional rate held steady and the Jumbo loan rate increased a bit. For more details, or a custom quote, contact SidneyStonecypher at People’s Bank, 360-676-4597 or sidney.stonecypher@peoplesbank-wa.com. Remember that many variables come into play in determining the rate a lender will give a borrower. If you are getting a rate quote from a lender who does not have all your information, that rate may not be real. What with the low rates and the tax credits, it is a great time to buy a house!
Down Payment
Interest Rate
APR
Credit Score
Points
Conventional 30 yr fixed
20%
4.750%
4.865%
740
1
Conventional 15 yr fixed
20%
4.250%
4.406%
740
1
Jumbo 30 yr fixed
20%
6.25%
6.357%
740
1
FHA 30 yr fixed
3.50%
4.625%
5.008%
580*
1
VA 30 yr fixed
0%
4.625%
5.024%
*
1
*Score requirement will vary by lender
If you have other questions about financing, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will get you the answer. If you are wondering, other people probably are as well. For general financing and market information, check out our website.
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After the strong increase in number of units sold in December, January was a letdown, with unit sales down by 26% in Bellingham, although up in Whatcom County as a whole from 2009. February brought the numbers back, resulting in year to date sales nearly even in Bellingham compared to 2009 and up in Whatcom County overall. Bellingham has traditionally been the strongest residential sales area in the county, so the shift to greater strength in the county over the past 2 months has been an aberration – it will be interesting to see how the rest of the year develops. Prices continue to soften, with both averages & medians trending downward in most areas. Some details
January/February residential units sold decreased by 1.3% in Bellingham and increased 17.4% in Whatcom County as a whole over January/February 2009.
Average sale prices for homes in Bellingham during the first two months of 2010 were even with 2009, but the median fell by 8.4%
Average sale prices for homes sold in Whatcom County as a whole dropped by 4.7% from 2009, while the median was down 1.9%.
The strongest markets in Whatcom County in terms of residential units sold relative to a year ago were Ferndale and Birch Bay/Blaine, up by 100% and 28.6 % respectively. Their average prices dropped by 6% to 8.6%, but the median in Ferndale rose 12%.
Sudden Valley is holding its own, and Lynden is continuing to struggle.
The chart below shows unit sales, average sale prices and median sale prices over the past 3 years in Whatcom County as a whole.
For the complete Bellingham and Whatcom County statistics, charts and predictions visit the February Real Estate Report online. For ongoing real estate numbers, go to www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com. We update the site weekly with everything from interest rates to market conditions to information from Fannie Mae, the FED and the FDIC. Also, feel free to call us at (360) 303-2734 or e-mailInfo@JohnsonTeamRealEstate.comif you want to know more about a specific portion of the market – we track a lot more than we have space to report.
If your neighborhood would like a presentation or a link to your website of up-to-date information on real estate in the neighborhood, we can provide it – just give us a call.
www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com also includes a constantly updated list of newly listed properties and a list of properties being offered as short sales & foreclosures (REOs), as well as the entire listing database of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, fully searchable to your specifications.
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Buying a new home can be a little scary, but it should be fun. What is not fun is getting part way into the process and finding out that you can’t get the loan you thought you could. Your first line of defense against this happening is to make sure your loan officer has all your financial information ASAP. Two things that can get your loan denied (even after a lender preapproval) are
You aren’t approved by the PMI company. You may be approved by the lender, but if you are putting less than 20% down on a conventional loan, you will be required to buy private mortgage insurance. PMI companies have become very picky, because their’s is the first loss in the event you default. If your credit score, debt ratio, amount of reserves or state of the market where you are buying make them a bit nervous, they may require a larger downpayment…or decline to provide the insurance. In that case, your lender will not loan you the money.
The condo association doesn’t qualify. Lenders have taken huge losses on condo loans, and guidelines that used to be ignored are being more strictly enforced. Some of them include:
No more than 10% of the units may be owned by a single entity. This can create problems if you are buying into a small complex.
The amount of the condo’s bond may be too low.
Cash reserves may be too low – they must typically be at least 60% of the annual association fees.
Home loan rates as of Wednesday, February 24 are in the following table. For more details, or a custom quote, contact SidneyStonecypher at People’s Bank, 360-676-4597 or sidney.stonecypher@peoplesbank-wa.com. Remember that many variables come into play in determining the rate a lender will give a borrower. If you are getting a rate quote from a lender who does not have all your information, that rate may not be real. What with the low rates and the tax credits, it is a great time to buy a house!
Down Payment
Interest Rate
APR
Credit Score
Points
Conventional 30 yr fixed
20%
4.875%
4.967%
740
1
Conventional 15 yr fixed
20%
4.250%
4.406%
740
1
Jumbo 30 yr fixed
20%
5.875%
5.960%
740
1
FHA 30 yr fixed
3.50%
4.750%
5.104%
580*
1
VA 30 yr fixed
0%
4.750%
5.122%
*
1
*Score requirement will vary by lender
If you have other questions about financing, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will get you the answer. If you are wondering, other people probably are as well. For general financing and market information, check out our website.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Having a home loan denied can be embarrassing, frustrating and costly if you haven’t done your homework before you write that purchase agreement. When talking with a loan officer, make sure you give them all your information…and make sure it is accurate. Here are two things that can get your loan denied:
You have recently gone from salary to commission. Lenders typically do not count commission income unless that has been your income source for at least two years. If this has recently changed, you may need to wait unless your spouse’s income is sufficient for you to qualify.
Incorrect tax returns. Lenders can no longer rely on your copies of tax returns as proof of income - they must order transcripts from the IRS to confirm their accuracy. Common differences include exaggerated income, unreimbursed expenses and second home expenses. If you have just filed your return, it can take up to five weeks to get a copy of the transcript, so if you are thinking of buying, get your tax return in early.
Home loan rates as of Wednesday, February 17 are in the following table. For more details, or a custom quote, contact SidneyStonecypher at People’s Bank, 360-676-4597 or sidney.stonecypher@peoplesbank-wa.com. Remember that many variables come into play in determining the rate a lender will give a borrower. If you are getting a rate quote from a lender who does not have all your information, that rate may not be real. What with the low rates and the tax credits, it is a great time to buy a house!
Down Payment
Interest Rate
APR
Credit Score
Points
Conventional 30 yr fixed
20%
4.75%
4.87%
740
1
Conventional 15 yr fixed
20%
4.25%
4.41%
740
1
Jumbo 30 yr fixed
20%
5.75%
5.85%
740
1
FHA 30 yr fixed
3.50%
4.75%
5.10%
580*
1
VA 30 yr fixed
0%
4.75%
5.12%
*
1
*Score requirement will vary by lender
If you have other questions about financing, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will get you the answer. If you are wondering, other people probably are as well. For general financing and market information, check out our website.
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
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