Is the Mortgage Interest Spigot Opening Up?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 10:38AM As anyone who's tried to get a home mortgage loan knows, interest rates are at alltime lows but qualifying for a loan can be extremely difficult for people without almost-perfect credit scores as banks have really ratcheted up their lending standards in the past few years.
But the Wall Street Journal (sub. req'd) reports today that some lenders are actually rolling out incentives to win business.
The Journal says that the influx of cash into U.S. treasuries, coupled with a sharp decline in refinancing applications, is responsible for the trend.
Here in California, Union Bank was cited as a lender working hard to attract customers, especially for jumbo rate mortgages.
The article still cautions that "many would-be applicants remain sidelined because they can't meet the long list of qualifications." But any signs the mortgage market is starting to return to more normal levels is a good thing.
Reader Comments (1)
Good to see capitalism/competition is benefiting the housing market, no matter how little it may be. This could be a sign that things are beginning to change, at least in this specific instance, because when one company does something 'better' to attract customers, the others have to follow suit in order to compete and stay in business.