Mortgae rate question

[Dee*Jay]

I have some clients relocating from another area of the country we were talking about whether rates are different in different areas. Of course I know so much is dependent on credit scores, whether it's a single family vs. a condo/coop, and other things, but I wonder if people are willing to give very generic info on what their rate is, the term (15 year, 30 year, etc.), whether it's fixed or adjustable, and what you are geographically (nothing specific, maybe just generally if you're in the Midwest, North East, South, that sort of thing).

Please forgive any rudeness on my part if you think this is too personal a question!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oops -- I didn't even answer my own question!

I just refinanced a 30 year fixed at 3.875%. It's not a jumbo loan. And I'm in the Midwest (although you guys probably all know that by now!).

Also, for those of you non-US based, it would be really interesting to hear from you too if you don't mind sharing.

 

[Wednesday]

You might want to include points in your question. It is also possible to get cash back in exchange for a higher rate, which some people are doing to pay off higher-interest debt since mortgage rates are low now.

I've seen broker compensation percentages vary across states and counties. That gets built in to the price, but I don't know if it would directly impact an individual borrower's rate or costs or if it would be spread out across borrowers dealing with the same lender. Rate sheets may vary by state. So I bet it would differ by state, at least with some lenders. I'm not sure how common it is.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

15 year, rate around 3.5%, no points, refi 2 years ago, southeast US. Rates are still close to that now.

 

[Dandi]

We had a 30 year loan. We also own two other properties so the loan was quite large, so we weren't able to fix the whole thing. One third was variable and hovered between about 6% and no higher than 8%. The other 2 thirds were fixed at 7.2%. We paid it off completely in just shy of 9 years. I think the current variable rate is about 7.5%?

We are on the surf coast in Australia.

 

[TooPatient]

Seattle area.

4.125% 30 year fixed. No points. Bank paid re-fi fees. No cash out.

Loan is pretty average to low for the area we live in.

 

[aljdewey]

15 year, rate around 3.5%, no points, refi 2 years ago, southeast US. Rates are still close to that now.

DS, it looks like you and I did our refi's around the same time - mine was Sept 2012. We moved from a 30-yr into a 15-yr at 3.125% in New England.

DeeJay, I had an experience recently that made me think rates are based on geography. I was in BoFA recently in NYC to withdraw some cash (too damned close to the district!), and clerk asked if I still held a mortgage. When I said yes, she mentioned current re-fi program that would give a rate of about 1.5%. I told her I didn't live locally, so she looked up the rate in my area (still New England) - it was around 3.5% for my ZIP code. That's the first time I realized that rates do vary by area.

 

[sonnyjane]

Seattle area.

4.125% 30 year fixed. No points. Bank paid re-fi fees. No cash out.

Loan is pretty average to low for the area we live in.

Also WA, Puget Sound island area. 4.25% for 30, fixed, no points. Got that at end of 2013.

 

[LaBellaVita]

We are in Ontario, Canada

We have a 25 year mortgage (30 years isn't an option anymore).
Variable rate (5 year term). 2.73% interest.
We got that rate last year.
Right now mortgage rates are REALLY low... fixed 5 year is about 2.60% and Variable 2.10%.

 

[qtiekiki]

15 years fixed, 2.65%, no points, Southern California.

 

[tsavvy]

3.75%, 20 years, no points, lender credited back all fees, conforming loan, Northern California. We'd had a 4.375% 30-year loan from 2013 that we refinanced in December 2014.

ETA location

 

[azstonie]

I've never seen a better deal/rate than PenFed offers. Although it is for Federal govt employees including the military, if you've not worked for the Fed Govt or been in the military they waive the requirement IF you join one of two service organizations, the fee when I last looked was $15. PenFed has the links to the two organizations on their website.

 

[ame]

We refi'd a few years ago to a traditional fixed (we had a fixed before too) for 15 yrs at 2.75 with no points. Also midwest. It was the lowest I think rates ever got.

 

[Dee*Jay]

This is so interesting -- thank you everyone for posting!

You guys in the 2s, I'm so jealous! But I do think that train has left the station unfortunately.

And alj, I about choked on my coffee when I read 1.5%. ONE. POINT. FIVE. PERCENT. Gah!!! My clients are coming from NY though and were surprised at how high the rates are in Chicago, so it all makes sense now.

Who wouldda thunk rates were geographic?!