Mortgage Rates in Jackson Hole – It’s Been a While…Has Anything Changed?

Mortgage rates in Jackson Hole had been staying steady for almost a month with a percentage change every once in a while so this should be interesting…. The following is a report from our friend T.R. Pierce who works as the “Mortgage Guru” at the Bank of Jackson Hole. If you read previous posts you will be able to compare where rates have been are then make your own prediction as to where they are going. Fact is – rates are low and if you have good credit you should take advantage of these rates while you can. Timing mortgage rates is like timing the stock market so if you see value in making a purchase or refinancing we suggest you call T.R. Pierce to learn more about the Jackson Hole Mortgage Rates! T.R.’s report follows:

Conforming thirty year fixed, 7/1 and 10/1 ARM rates are down this morning as the U. S. trade gap widened less than expected in March as exports fell 2.4% and imports dropped for the eighth consecutive month. Imports of industrial supplies, materials and capital goods were the lowest since April 2004. U. S. exports to China grew 19.1% in March to $5.6 billion, the highest in five months.

BANK OF JACKSON HOLE
Residential Mortgage Rates for May 12, 2009

The following rates are thirty (30) day quotes for fully documented, owner-occupied and/or second home loans for borrowers with a minimum credit score of 700 which feature a one (1%) percent loan origination fee and the escrow of taxes & insurance.

PLEASE NOTE THAT CONFORMING LOAN AMOUNTS OVER $417,000 TO $625,500
ARE AVAILABLE AT HIGHER INTEREST RATES THAN INDICATED BELOW.

PROGRAM CONFORMING

(Loans to $417,000)
JUMBO
(Loans over 417,000)

30 Year Fixed
4.500%
7.875%

15 Year Fixed
4.375%
6.875%

10/1 ARM
4.750%
7.875%

7/1 ARM
4.250%
5.000%

5/1 ARM
3.750%
4.750%

3/1 ARM
5.000%
6.625%

30 YEAR FIXED RATE FHA LOANS TO $693,750: 4.750%
PRIME RATE: 3.250%
ONE YEAR LIBOR RATE: 1.748%

For more information contact the Jackson Hole Experts toll free at 877-739-8056 and ask for Garth!

Mortgage Talk – Jackson Hole and the President

Aspens - Wilson Wyoming

Aspens - Wilson Wyoming

This morning President Obama took time to discuss the current economy and to bring up the fact that there are historic low mortgage rates for people to take advantage of. Refinancing seems to be the topic of most interest as there are opportunities for Jackson Hole homeowners to refinance and save money. Rates on 30-year mortages have averaged about 4.8% for the past few weeks and are a full point lower than this time last year. The President also encouraged people who want to learn more to go to a new government website – www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.

In local Jackson Hole mortgage news we like to ask the “mortgage expert” T.R. Pierce at the Bank of Jackson Hole. Below is the banks current rates and report:

Conforming rates are unchanged this morning as Wall Street responds very positively to Wells Fargo’s announcement that it expects to report a profit of $3 billion for the first quarter. In other positive news… initial jobless claims fell last week and the trade deficit was $25.97 billion in February compared to $36 billion the previous month. This represented a 28.3% decrease in imports and was the lowest trade gap since November 1999.
BANK OF JACKSON HOLE
Residential Mortgage Rates for April 9, 2009

The following rates are thirty (30) day quotes for fully documented, owner-occupied and/or second home loans for borrowers with a minimum credit score of 700 which feature a one (1%) percent loan origination fee and the escrow of taxes & insurance.
PLEASE NOTE THAT CONFORMING LOAN AMOUNTS OVER $417,000 TO $625,500

ARE AVAILABLE AT HIGHER INTEREST RATES THAN INDICATED BELOW.
PROGRAM CONFORMING
(Loans to $417,000)
JUMBO
(Loans over 417,000)
30 Year Fixed
4.500%
7.875%
15 Year Fixed
4.375%
6.875%
10/1 ARM
5.000%
7.875%
7/1 ARM
4.625%
5.000%
5/1 ARM
4.125%
4.750%
3/1 ARM
4.875%
6.625%
30 YEAR FIXED RATE FHA LOANS TO $693,750: 5.000%
PRIME RATE: 3.250%
ONE YEAR LIBOR RATE: 1.951%

These are some great rates and it is an incredible time for Jackson Hole residents to consider making a purchase, refinancing or moving up in the housing market. The low end market – under $500,000 – still needs to readjust some pricing so if you are in this category please call us for a free listing presentation from the JacksonHoleExperts. In many ways there has never been a better time to list your property for current market value as most of the market has mispriced their properties. To learn more….call us toll free at 877-739-8056.

Christy and Garth Gillespie, Jackson Hole real estate associates for Sotheby’s International Realty would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. We are hoping for some warmer weather here in Jackson Hole as we still have about 2 feet of snow on the ground. Thanks for visiting the Jackson Hole real estate blog – Jackson Hole Experts-

Jackson Hole Mortgage Update – Jackson Hole Expert’s Report

For some interesting reading on “Record Low Mortgage Rates” go here.

Another interesting article about the New Mortgage Reform Bill.

Then there is the HOT STUFF report from T.R. Pierce at the Bank of Jackson Hole. T.R. produces this report when there is interesting and informative information about the “World of Lending”.

The more you know…
UNDERWRITING CHANGES
It would be an understatement to say that the mortgage industry is changing everyday… and so we wanted to share a couple of the more recent changes we are seeing from a couple of our secondary market investors.

RESERVE REQUIREMENTS – Some mortgage loan programs require that the borrower have sufficient liquid asset reserves to cover two (2) months principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) payments at time of closing. This has always been a requirement on owner occupied conforming high balance (over $417,000 up to $625,500) loans. Now we are seeing that borrowers of second homes will be required to have two (2) months PITI reserves on all conforming loans (regardless of loan amount) and for investment homes the PITI reserve requirement is six (6) months.

Plus, the borrower will have to have two (2) months reserves for each additional financed second or investment property! The thought behind these changes appears to be an effort to insure that borrowers have sufficient reserves for their new mortgage payments.

INTERST ONLY LOANS – This week we received our first announcement of the elimination of interest only loans with one of our secondary market investors. Now, this is just one of many investors we have, but often times we see one investor make an underwriting change and then the rest of the mortgage industry follows. This change appears be an effort to give borrowers the opportunity to reduce their principal with principal and interest payments… especially in markets with declining real estate values.

It is important to note that these changes are just with a couple of our secondary market investors and we still have investors with no reserve requirements and we still have investors who offer interest only loans. Just want to keep you informed of the changes we are seeing that might have an impact on your borrower’s qualifications.

Great stuff T.R.!!! Check back later this week for our weekly Mortgage Rates Update.

If you would like information about the Jackson Hole Real Estate Market please visit www.JacksonHoleExperts.com or call Christy and Garth Gillespie toll free at 877-739-8056. Have a great day!