Chicago Illinois Current Mortgage Rates for Today, 02/25/2010
25th February 2010
The mortgage market is still in rally mode, and rates are near their lowest points of the year. Mortgage rates are determined by mortgage bonds which trade in a market similar to stocks or other commodities. Mortgage rates trend to move in the opposite direction of stocks. When optimism is in the air and the economic future looks bright, 
investors buy stocks and mortgage rates usually trend higher. When fear is the dominant emotion mortgage bonds are more likely to benefit, because investors feel safer with a fixed return. Fear is in the air again, today. Over the last few weeks Greece was in the news as it looked like they were close to default. That crisis was band aided over, but now when people talk about Greek ruins, they are talking about the economy. Their credit rating was down graded yesterday, which means more trouble. Jobless claims came in slightly higher than expectations, which helps feed the fear. Another reason why the trend is for lower mortgage rates, is that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in congressional testimony yesterday, said once again that rates will remain low for an extended period of time. But that talks about short term rates, not necessarily mortgage rates. The Fed has just over a month left on its bond purchase program, but for now that isn’t putting the hurt on mortgage rates. If you are looking to buy a home or refinance a mortgage, my guess is still that rates will be rising, so this is a time to take advantage of rates while they are still near the lows.
Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:
Conventional loans up to $417,000
| 30 year fixed rate | 5.00% | 5.167% APR |
| 15 Year fixed Rate | 4.375% | 4.549% APR |
| 5-1 A.R.M. | 4.125% | 4.289% APR |
For Jumbo loans over $417,000
| 30 Year Fixed Rate* | 6.00 | 6.179%* APR |
| 7-1 A.R.M. | 4.875% | 5.095% APR |
(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)
FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County
| FHA 30 year fixed | 4.875% with 1 Pt | 5.227% APR |
| FHA 30 year fixed | 5.00% with 0 Pts | 5.278% APR |
| FHA 5-1 ARM | 4.50% with 1Pt | 4.936% APR |
| FHA 5-1 ARM | 4.75% with 0 Pts | 4.972% APR |
FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances
FHA 203K Rehab Loans
Call for Quote
VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans
| VA 30 Year Fixed Rate | 5.00% with 1Pt Origination | 5.499% APR |
| VA 30 Year Fixed Rate | 5.25% with 0 Pts | 5.471% APR |
Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances
These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.
Peter Thompson 630-479-6424
Illinois Mortgage Rates First time home buyer loans
Chicago Mortgage Company
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60 days away from the deadline for having your contract together for the $8,000 first time home buyer (or $6,500 move up buyer) tax credit. You don’t have to close your purchase by the end of April, you have until the end of June to get your mortgage and close. But, if you are planning on taking advantage of this credit, time is running out quicker than you might think. 
selling off and rates were headed higher with the fear that low mortgage rates were gone for good. But throw in a poor consumer confidence report and a good bond auction and we are right back where we were before. Mortgage rates are still in the same range we have traded in over the last several months, but the swings are getting bigger. For most people all this activity only changes the actual rate by a small amount, but the trend is what is worth watching. So for now, get them while they last, rates are trending lower now, but this may not last long.
inching higher. As always, the concern is inflation. The Producer Price Index (PPI) came in at an increase of 1.4% for last month, higher than the expected .9% increase, and in the Fed meeting minutes released yesterday some of the Fed governors marked their concern for an upturn in inflation. Inflation decreases the purchasing power of the dollar, and as mortgages are paid back over a long period of time, investors want a higher present return (higher yield) if they think they will get paid back with cheaper money. Right now, mortgage bonds have slipped through a key level of support (traders have been buying when it got near this point) and if we don’t see a bounce, this could be a sign that higher rates are coming. All the experts (well, most of them anyway) have been projecting higher rates as the Fed winds down its mortgage bond buying program, and this could be the start of that move.Then again, volatility is the rule, so all we need to see is a bad day in the stock market or a bad economic report and the trend could reverse again. But for now, rates are trending higher.
running shoes. While I expect that we will be in a buyer’s market for the rest of the year, for qualified buyers the best time to buy a home may be in the next 2 months. Not only is the tax credit ($8,000 after closing to qualified buyers) expiring for contracts put together by April 30th, but mortgage rates are projected to go up soon, too. 
a lot of information coming out over the remainder of the week, but today is a light day. The Empire State manufacturing index came in stronger than expected, and a measure of home builder confidence came in at the highest reading in months, though that isn’t saying much. These items are showing that there is some good news on the economic front, but good news for the economy is usually considered bad news for mortgage rates. That’s not the case today. The rate trend today is improving. We will see how everything shakes out as more information comes out later this week. 
it. So here it is again)
few bad days rates ended on a good note. Rates for most loans are unchanged for the week. The big focus in the markets this week has still been the news overseas, Greece is getting a bailout (maybe), which may stabilize the crisis there, while China is tightening its lending to slow down growth (wow!). There were several government debt auctions, and the new borrowing puts pressure on mortgage rates. Retail sales rose more than expected, but consumer confidence came in worse. So all in all it was a mixed bag, and rates stayed within their trading range. The big picture remains the same, though. Though we are hanging in with rates close to the best rates of last year, the odds are that mortgage rates will be higher in the next few months. The Fed has completed 95% of its mortgage bond purchase program, and it will be finished completely by the end of March. Some experts say this won’t make a big difference because with loan volume so much lower than last year, there are still enough buyers in the market to keep up with supply. But this is a minority opinion. The conventional wisdom says that when the Fed exits, rates will go up. The other possibility is that the Fed will continue to buy in some back door fashion, which will keep rates in the same range. This will all play out over the next few months, but if you are in a position to take advantage of the rates now, this seems to be a good bet. 
European Union will step in to bail out Greece. Mortgage rates were flirting with all time lows as money took off on a flight to quality as the possibility that problems in Greece could push the global economy another step lower. Details are still to come, but the crisis has passed, for now. Today the mortgage bond market is dealing with sub par auction results (new issues for renewed government spending), but the market is flat in spite of what would normally be considered bad news. Rates are holding steady, and we are still in the same range we have been in over the last month.
real estate market. The Super Bowl is over and this marks the official beginning of the spring market here in the Chicago area. Traditionally, a good portion of the homes sold in any year are sold in the months between February and May. We haven’t had much of a spring market over the last 2 years, but all signs are pointing to this being a barn burner of a market, especially for first time home buyers. Not only are mortgage rates near their all time lows, but it is a buyer’s market and the government has extended the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit. This could be the best time to buy a home for years to come.