Virus fears show no signs of hurting refinancing demand, at least for now. Those borrowers tend to be rate-sensitive above all else, said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. But he’s monitoring the virus’s impact on the spring home buying season.
“Certainly the virus is a cloud on the market,” Zandi said. “Big purchases like a home are the first thing for people to be more circumspect about.”
Fourteen-Hour Days
Mortgage brokers say they don’t expect the activity to let up anytime soon.
Julie Swenson, a senior home-loan specialist at Churchill Mortgage in Tacoma, Washington, is doing about 70% of her business in refinancings, though she expects that could fall back toward 50% as more buyers shop for new homes in the spring. The 24-year mortgage-industry veteran pulled a 14-hour day on Monday to keep up with demand, and said borrowers she worked with as recently as last summer are finding savings by refinancing.
“I’m reaching out to all of my clients,” Swenson said. “The amount of money they’re able to save is in the thousands of dollars a month for some.”
Swenson said she was working with a prospective borrower when the 10-year Treasury yield tumbled below 1% for the first time. Like many, she sees little chance that the relentless rally will reverse in the near-term.
Her advice to the client: Hold off on getting that rate lock just yet.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.