My neighbor, who is one of the nicest people I know and definitely one of the most cost-conscious, told me who he uses. Well, they showed up this past Thursday, and I had a couple of observations.
First, the mower was backfiring about every 30 seconds. To the point where I thought reenactors from Balls Bluff had set up cannons in my front yard. I am not entirely sure how the mower even finished the job.
Second, I found the dogs hiding in an upstairs closet. They had no idea what was going on and were not happy about it.
Product and Lending Notes*
Had a great call last week with a referral who is finishing up his residency. He starts at INOVA in September and already has a fully executed, non-contingent offer letter.
Did you know future earnings can be used to purchase a home? There are specific situations and criteria where a borrower can close on a home before officially starting their job. This applies to both our doctor loan programs and certain conventional programs.
If you have questions or want to learn more, feel free to reach out.
Market Notes
From a mortgage rate perspective, we are in a better place than we have been since the Iran conflict began. Mortgage rates are roughly 0.25 to 0.50 percent better than where they were a couple of weeks ago.
So what changed?
There are multiple factors, but to simplify it, it appears we may be closer to the end than the beginning of the conflict. Oil prices are coming down, although still choppy and volatile. This week’s inflation data was largely in line with expectations. The headline number was high, but that was anticipated given elevated energy prices. The core figure, which excludes food and energy, came in slightly better than expected.
So how does that impact mortgage rates?
Traders tend to price in worst-case scenarios. No one wants to be on the wrong side of a trade. One of the reasons rates moved higher was the expectation of rising inflation. When the data comes in and is not as bad as feared, that is a positive for rates.
There is not much in the way of economic data this week, so it will be interesting to see how the market reacts and where we go from here.
Looking Ahead
Hope you enjoyed The Masters. As always, feel free to reach out with any mortgage related questions or needs.
-Steve-
*All loans are subject to credit approval and program guidelines.