Refinancing Now Possible as Homes Regain Equity and Mortgage Rates Remain Low

Millions of homeowners with negative equity missed a chance to refinance but might be able to refinance in 2014. CoreLogic reported 312,000 returned to positive equity in the first quarter of 2014, bringing the total number of mortgaged residential properties that have equity to more than 43 million.

Of the 43 million homes with equity, approximately 10 million have less than 20 percent equity. You will be hard pressed to find a lender that will refinance your mortgage if you have less than 20 percent equity. If you're part of the 33 million homeowners that have 20 percent or more equity in your home, you're in a good position to refinance. Although the record low refinance rates we saw last year are a thing of the past rates, are still low historically speaking.

30 year refinance rates hit a record average low of 3.27 percent early in 2013 and are currently averaging 4.19 percent. There are lenders still quoting 30 year refinance rates below 4.19 percent and below 4.00 percent. Checking around, we see the lowest 30 year refi rates on conforming loans are at 3.625 percent with 2 mortgage points and at 3.99 percent with no points.

Loan Type

Purchase Refinance with Cash out Refinance

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FICO Score

Superior (780-850) Exceptional (760-779) Excellent (740-759) Very Good (720-739) Good (700-719) Above Average (680-699) Average (660-679) Fair (640-659) Need Improvement (620-639) Poor (350-620)

Loan Amount

$

Points

Up to 0 points Up to 0.5 points Up to 1 points Up to 1.5 points Up to 2 points Up to 2.5 points Up to 3 points

LTV

%

Loan Term

 15-Year Fixed  20-Year Fixed  30-Year Fixed  5-Year ARM  7-Year ARM  10-Year ARM

Show Advertiser Disclosure

The lenders whose rates and other terms appear on this chart are ICB's advertising partners. They provide their rate information to our data partner RateUpdate.com. Unless adjusted by the consumer, advertisers are sorted by APR from lowest to highest. For any advertising partners that do not provide their rate they are listed in advertisement display units at the bottom of the chart. Advertising partners may not pay to improve the frequency priority or prominence of their display. The interest rates, annual percentage rates and other terms advertised here are estimates provided by those advertising partners based on the information you entered above and do not bind. Any lender Monthly payment amounts stated do not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included. Although our data partner RateUpdate.com collects the information from the financial institutions themselves, the accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed. Rates may change without notice and can change intraday. Some of the information contained in the rate tables including but not limited to special marketing notes is provided directly by the lenders. Please verify the rates and offers before applying for a loan with the financial institution themselves. No rate is binding until locked by a lender.

Lender

APR / Rate

Fees / Points

Payment

NMLS #274058

5.552%

15-Year Fixed

5.375%

$4,638

Includes 0.637 points for $2,548

Lender Fees: $2,090

$3,242 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

5.554%

15-Year Fixed

5.250%

$8,000

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $4,000

$3,216 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

5.756%

15-Year Fixed

5.625%

$3,404

Includes 0.676 points for $2,704

Lender Fees: $700

$3,295 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

5.884%

15-Year Fixed

5.740%

$3,732

Includes 0.933 points for $3,732

Lender Fees: $0

$3,320 /mo

Next >

NMLS #274058

6.515%

5-Year ARM

6.375%

$5,894

Includes 0.951 points for $3,804

Lender Fees: $2,090

$2,496 /mo

Next >

NMLS #274058

6.632%

30-Year Fixed

6.500%

$5,506

Includes 0.854 points for $3,416

Lender Fees: $2,090

$2,529 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

6.721%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$3,956

Includes 0.814 points for $3,256

Lender Fees: $700

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

6.770%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$5,995

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $1,995

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #3030

6.889%

15-Year Fixed

6.750%

$3,500

Includes 0.875 points for $3,500

Lender Fees: $0

$3,540 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

6.960%

30-Year Fixed

6.875%

$3,468

Includes 0.867 points for $3,468

Lender Fees: $0

$2,628 /mo

Next >

NMLS #3030

7.589%

30-Year Fixed

7.500%

$3,500

Includes 0.875 points for $3,500

Lender Fees: $0

$2,797 /mo

Next >

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by ICB, a division of Mortgage Research Center, NMLS #1907, Equal Housing Opportunity. Payments do not include taxes and insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and product details.

In order for a refinance to make financial sense, you need to plan to be in the home long enough to recoup the refinance costs. Another factor to consider is what mortgage rate you have on your current loan and where mortgage rates are today. Refinancing to the same loan term makes financial sense if today's rates are at least 1.00 percent lower than your current loan rate.

Refinancing to a shorter term loan, say to a 15 year loan from a 30 year loan, will save you even more money. The savings in mortgage interest payments can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the principal amount borrowed. You can use a mortgage calculator to compare the total interest payments over the life of a loan.

Current Mortgage Rates Today

Mortgage rates today on 15 year loans are averaging 3.24 percent, up slightly from last week's average 15 year mortgage rate of 3.18 percent. There are plenty of lenders still quoting 15 year refinance rates below 3.00 percent. Checking on rates, we see the lowest 15 year refinance rates are at 2.75 percent with just over 1 mortgage point.

Today's mortgage rates on 30 year jumbo loans are averaging 4.62 percent, up slightly from last week's average 30 year jumbo mortgage rate of 4.57 percent. The lowest 30 year jumbo refinance rates available are well below the average rate. Checking on 30 year jumbo rates in the state of California, we see the lowest rate is at 3.875 percent with 2 mortgage points.

Current mortgage rates on 15 year jumbo loans are averaging 4.09 percent, an increase from last week's average 15 year jumbo rate of 4.01 percent. The best 15 year jumbo refinance rates available are well below 4.00 percent at 3.125 percent with about 1.5 mortgage points. The lowest 15 year jumbo rates without points are also below the average at 3.50 percent.