Buying a second home with a conventional mortgage loan just got a lot more expensive
There will be significant rate increases taking effect April 1st, 2022. This is not an early April Fool’s joke. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing new ways to help folks needing assistance with owning a home. I think it is a great idea. However, in order to...
3 takeaways for the Wednesday January 26th Federal Reserve meeting.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday provided the clearest hint yet that it could start raising interest rates as soon as March A .25% increase is expected. The market experts were predicting 3 rate hikes. Now they are predicting 4 hikes. This will be the beginning to the...
What to expect in 2022 housing and mortgage: Inventory will remain low
More properties became available as the spring home buying season heated up in 2021. There were also more people in the market to buy a home, creating very stiff competition and raising prices across the board. In 2021, home inventory was tightest at the lower end of...
What to expect in 2022: A likely end to record mortgage rates
2021 began with the lowest interest rates on record...but they didn't last long. By April, they had already reached the peak for 2021. And we can very likely expect rates to move even higher in the new year. The Federal Reserve has given several signals that the...
Loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will rise by the largest percentage ever
As home prices continue their record-breaking climb, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said last week that loan limits for mortgages that can be bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2022 will rise by the largest percentage ever. They increased the conforming loan...
Alterna Mortgage Online Tools – Make Sense of the Numbers
Sometimes it is easier to understand refinancing or home purchasing numbers when we can visualize them. Alterna Mortgage has a few interactive visual charts on our website to make the overall picture of recent (and historical) rates more clear:...
A quick note about the recent Fed announcement
The Fed finally announced it would begin tapering its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities “later this month.” These purchases have supported low mortgage rates, which should creep up. There’s considerable disagreement over how sharply rates will...
What happens to my loan if I refinance?
As we have mentioned before, refinancing isn’t for everyone. Educating homeowners about the refinance process is an important service we provide at Alterna Mortgage. Since mortgage rates at an all-time low, refinancing has become a hot topic for homeowners as a...
Important things to consider when thinking about refinancing
Interest rates are generally low right now and you may be able to swap out your old, higher interest rate mortgage for a new one with lower rates. Refinancing may seem like a no-brainer...but it is not a wise financial move for everyone. Before you jump in with both...
Federal Reserve Signals Bond Purchases May Slow
Federal Reserve officials are expected to slow the asset purchases used to support the US economy during the COVID pandemic. Officials also indicated that they might raise interest rates in 2022. Both of these can be signs that policymakers are preparing to move away...