The partial government shutdown ended last Friday so the delay of sales of newly built homes for November was reported today with a big number. November New Homes Sales jumped 17% from October to an annual rate of 657,000 units, well above the 555,000 expected. However, sales were down 7.7% from November 2017. Across the country, sales jumped 100% in the Northeast, up 30.5% in the Midwest, up 20.6% in the South with a 5.9% decline in the West. There was a six-month supply of homes for sale om the market which is seen as normal. A solid report though somewhat backward looking due to the delay i...
January 31st, 2019 | Mortgage News, November New Home Sales Surge!
Mortgage rates fluctuate from week to week and they can make huge swings from decade to decade. In the early 1980s, for example, mortgage rates were as high as 18% while roughly 30 years later they are less than a third of that rate. What causes Utah interest rates to change? What factors affect the direction of rates? The Fed The Federal Reserve is tasked with keeping balance between inflation and the national unemployment rate. One of the ways it influences this balance is with it federal funds rate – the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans. The...
January 30th, 2019 | Mortgage Basics, Interest Rates, Why Do Mortgage Rates Go Up and Down?
Your credit score is an important part of getting a mortgage, your Utah mortgage will want to see your history of using and repaying credit to assess your viability as a borrower beforehand. Some extremely unfortunate souls have run into a worrisome issue in recent years, however: They’ve gone to complete a mortgage deal, only to find that their credit score was torpedoed by identity theft. Identity theft is on the rise, with hackers looking for your personal information and using it to empty your accounts and impact your credit profile. At Advanced Funding Home Mortgage Loans, we'...
January 28th, 2019 | Credit and Debt, Tips to Avoid Identity Theft
Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) loans always grow in popularity when interest rates are on the rise. Some borrowers think ARMs are the best way to save money on their mortgage in a higher rate climate. ARM loans can also be helpful for those who do not plan to stay in their home more than a few years. Whatever the reason, if you are considering an adjustable rate mortgage here are three things you need to know before signing. 1. What type of ARM are you getting? Of course, you already know that an adjustable rate mortgage means that eventually your loan interest rate can adjust hi...
January 23rd, 2019 | Loan Programs, Mortgage Basics, Interest Rates, 3 Things You Need to Know About ARM Loans
Home loan rates finished this week near unchanged and remain near 9-month lows - so we have that going for us. Most of the week's news was pretty bond friendly, including Brexit uncertainty, ongoing Government shutdown, ongoing US/China trade dispute, low inflation and more. So why haven't rates improved further with these bond-friendly tailwinds? The first Friday of 2019 was the day things changed for the Bond Market when a blockbuster Jobs Report and overly "dovish" Fed Chair Powell speech were delivered, which has helped Stocks move steadily higher at the expense ...
January 18th, 2019 | Mortgage News, Lower Interest Rate Trend Continues as We Honor MLK
U.S. homebuilders are feeling more optimistic about their market since mortgage interest rates started falling in November, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB builder sentiment index rose 2 points in January, after falling sharply for the two previous months. The decrease in interest rates has slightly increased affordability, leading to more buyer traffic through model homes and pushing up builder sales expectations for the next six months. Pre-Qualify for a New Home Get Quote
January 17th, 2019 | Mortgage News, Home Builder Sentiment Rises as Mortgage Rates Fall
