What a year its been. A rollercoaster ride to say the least. The mortgage lending world has been on its own rollercoaster. This year rates hit historic lows and more people refinanced than ever before. In Q3 of 2020 records were set across every category. New mortgage originations are on track to surpass 4 trillion for the first time every in history.
With the election this year, experts predicted we would see low rates, but COVID-19 drove those rates even lower. Now that the election is behind us, we do expect to see rates plateau a bit. Because, we are coming to the end of the refinance surge, appraisal, underwriting, and general turn times will begin to see improvement for most lenders. However, if there’s one thing 2020 has taught us, it is to expect the unexpected.
At the beginning of the year non-qualified mortgages (not conventional or government) were introducing new programs and we were beginning to see more down payment assistance programs as well. When quarantine hit, many programs were suspended or discontinued. This fall we have seen several of those loan programs return. In March, we saw tighter restrictions on self-employed Borrowers and minimum credit score requirements raised. This means, if you have a unique or complicated situation, you will want to talk to your lender and get qualified sooner rather than later, in the event there is another suspension of programs.
In Lane County we have been in a strong seller’s market for quite some time and home values are predicted to remain strong and continue to increase. Now is still the best time to buy and sell. If you are wanting to buy in 2020 contact your agent today and get the process started today.
