I am working with a couple buying their first home together here in Orlando, and yesterday they spoke with a couple of lenders about rates and loan programs. Both lenders were recommending FHA as an option for them, but the interest rates they were quoted were significantly different. One rate was around 7.25%, and the other rate was 6.5%. On a $100,000 loan that is a $50.11 difference in the monthly payment. The difference between $632.07 and $682.18. They will be borrowing more, so the difference could cost them a lot more than $50 a month.
When money is tight, like it is right now, you need to shop for it. I do expect that those rates will be climbing, and I also expect rates to be somewhat volatile over the next quarter. You see what the stock market has been doing, but most people do not watch the bond markets which have also been having some ups and downs. They do not swing as wildly as stocks, but you can see from the example above that a small change can have a significant effect.
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