Industry Trends
Fannie Mae 15-Yr. High Balance: 3.375%
Other WFS rates – FHA, VA, USDA and other low downpayment products are readily available.
Refi Index – (-1.0%)
Purchase Index – (+0.4%)
NAHB Builder Confidence – 63 (unchanged)
Existing Home Sales – 5,600,000
(+2.0%)
New Home Sales – 563,000 (-1.9%)
Pending Home Sales – 110.0 (+0.1%)
Housing Starts – 1,323,000 (+25.5%)
Building Permits – 1,229,000 (+0.3%)
(As of Dec. 8, 2016)
Featured Product: USDA Rural Housing Update
The USDA has announced a significant decrease to their upfront guarantee and annual fees effective October 1. The upfront g-fee decreased from 275 basis points (bps) to 100 bps, and the annual fee decreased from 50 bps to 35 bps. This no-downpayment mortgage has always been extremely popular with first-time homebuyers, but now that fees have dropped substantially, the USDA loan is even more affordable than ever before!
