Posted by LynnNC on 12/8/13 4:45pm
Msg #495518
2014 outlook for mortgages
By Pat Mertz Esswein, Kiplinger
Here's what would-be home buyers can expect when attempting to qualify for a mortgage this coming year.
Despite predictions to the contrary, mortgage rates have hovered at historic lows for three years now. After the Federal Reserve spooked the markets last summer over its intentions to stop propping up the mortgage and bond markets, the 30-year fixed rate spiked, to an average of 4.6 percent. But by late October it had fallen to 4.1 percent, according to Freddie Mac. (Editor's note: It is back up to 4.6 percent this week.)
Improvement in the economy will boost rates but probably not before mid-2014. Many forecast that 30-year fixed rates will be above 5 percent by then. Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, however, says he thinks rates will bounce around 4 percent — give or take a quarter-point — for a while.
More: http://tiny.cc/ygps7w
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