Here is the weekly update from Tony Guaraldi of The Loan Source on FHA and conventional rates in the San Jose marketplace:
Mortgage rates for today are about the same as last Friday. We had some improvements though out the week and then getting slightly worse this morning. Things are still looking amazing historically! With the Fed ending the mortgage security purchase program at the end of the this month this would be a great time to capture a refinance or get into contract to buy a home.
The Jobs Report numbers are in, and the headline numbers were not as bad as expected. The media is spinning this as a good number, Stocks are moving higher and Mortgage Bonds are moving lower. The Jobs Report showed 36,000 jobs lost in February, better than the 68,000 loss that was estimated. The Unemployment Rate remained at 9.7%, as the number of people unemployed remained unchanged at 14.9 Million – this was better than expectations of a rise to 9.8%. Adding to the positive tone of the report were upward revisions to the prior two month's reports showing 35,000 fewer jobs lost. These headline numbers were not so great, but exceeded the low expectations, and avoided a potential disaster that some had feared. Helping the numbers were 15,000 temporary census worker hiring. Without this, actual job losses would have exceeded 50,000 for February.
And a deeper look beyond the headlines of the report showed what many consider to be the Real Unemployment Rate to be at 16.8%, a rise from last month’s 16.5%. This rate of unemployment, which the government calls U6, includes both discouraged workers and those who are working part-time that would rather have full time employment. In fact, a large portion of those accepting part time work are doing so out of necessity, to earn whatever they can. And just last month, another nearly 500,000 people accepted part time work, citing economic reasons for doing so. Overall, the report indicates that the labor market continues to struggle, but has shown improvement from its worst levels.
FHA is still available up to a $729,750 loan amount with 3.5% down payment. There is some talk that the down payment requirements and MI costs may increase in the future, so again it would be wise to jump on FHA with today’s guidelines and pricing. You can still buy a condo with FHA but the whole complex must be FHA approved. Townhomes do not need FHA approval. Below a link to look up local FHA approved condo complexes. I suggest filtering the search by State and then by City. If you have a buyer who must use FHA and they are looking at condos, don’t even bother showing them properties unless they are on this list.
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm
That’s the update for this week! Have a great weekend!
Tony Guaraldi
Mortgage Consultant
The Loan Source
