For St. Cloud mortgage interest rate chroniclers, this month began with the culmination of a trend that’s been playing out for quite some time. It’s “the other shoe” that finally dropped. The headlines confirmed the numbers that government-owned mortgage backer Freddie Mac posted:

“Mortgage Rates Dip to New Record Low.”

The 3.23% national average on the 30-year fixed-rate hit was, literally, an all-time low. It represented a drop of a tenth of a percent below the previous week’s mark (and nearly a full percentage point below what had been posted a year earlier).

In other words, the come-hither phrase advertisers have been long spouting—"home loans near historic lows”—was suddenly passé: rates were now surpassing historic lows! There were, however, some caveats.

In order to take advantage of St. Cloud mortgage rates at such eye-popping levels, sophisticated local home loan and refi customers understood that a spotless credit history would be required. As Mortgage News Daily put it, “the cost of imperfection remains high in the mortgage world.” MND Chief Operating Officer Matthew Graham further quibbled that Freddie Mac’s calculation didn’t fully account for “all the volatility,” nor did it recognize one rate posted in early March (since, for some reason, Freddie ignores rates posted on Thursdays and Fridays).

But still, the main point was unarguable: St. Cloud mortgage rates were unmatched bargains. Graham noted one mortgage consultant’s advice, “Lock at the first opportunity!”

— — — —

On another front, a different home loan issue is worth noting. For existing mortgage holders wishing to take advantage of the “forbearance of payments” component written into the government’s CARES Act, there could be an under-publicized side effect. Although the law mandates that forestalled payments cannot be reported as “late” on credit reports, that doesn’t mean they won’t be recorded at all. So, although forbearance might not directly impact a borrower’s FICO score, it could lower the limits other lenders offer. Since that would raise the borrower’s ‘debt-to-available credit’ ratio, that would impact their FICO score—a clarification that should be publicized.

             I’m always standing by to discuss any and all questions touching on St. Cloud real estate matters. Do call! 

Providing a superior level of informed, professional real estate services to buyers and sellers throughout Central Minnesota. We have agents specializing in residential, commercial, multifamily, new construction, existing, investment properties, foreclosures/REO, and short sales with offices located in:

Five Office Locations To Serve YOU!

Saint Cloud 320-259-4554
Princeton 320-983-3555
Maple Grove 763-565-2000
Hutchinson 320-455-9127
Litchfield 320-298-1140

Premier Real Estate specializes MANY areas around Central MN including Saint Cloud, Waite Park, Rice, Royalton, Sartell, Royalton, Little Falls, Cold Spring, Saint Joseph, Elk River, Monticello, Ramsey, Saint Michael, Andover, Ham Lake, Anoka, Champlin, Buffalo, Glencoe, Brownton, Silver Lake, Kandiyohi, Dassel, Minneapolis, Maple Grove, Saint Louis Park, Saint Paul, Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Brooklyn Center and more!