Delaware mortgage rate weekly update for the week of December 17, 2012, by John R. Thomas with Primary Residential Mortgage in Newark, DE. John is the Newark, Delaware branch manager and the author of the book, Your Guide to Buying Your First Home in Delaware. Call 302-703-0727 to get a free mortgage planning consultation or APPLY ONLINE for Delaware mortgage loan

Delaware Mortgage Rates ended the week higher because of a bounce back in the stock market and supply selling pressure. The rates are still near record lows and could bounce back to record lows in the weeks to come as there is still much uncertainty in the market surrounding the pending “Fiscal Cliff” and the Debt Crisis in Europe. There is still no deal that has been reached on the “Fiscal Cliff” and time is running out for Congress to reach a comprise. If a deal is reached then that could move home loan rates higher as the stock market would rally on the news. So we need to watch carefully and if it looks like the deal may be struck then I would recommend LOCKING your Delaware mortgage rate but we can FLOAT for now. Congress has delayed its Holiday break to stay and work on a deal for the Fiscal Cliff.

Last week we did see the Federal Reserve announced another round of Bond Buying which is called Quantitative Easing or QE4. The Feds are hoping QE4 will help spur economic growth and keep home loan rates low to help spur the housing market. The Feds also announced they would keep the Fed Funds Rate low as long as unemployment remains above 6.5%.

Inflation is the enemy of bonds and if inflation kicks up then home loan rates will move higher in response so we need to be mindful of inflation.  The Producer Price Index is a measure of wholesale inflation and for November 2012 it came in at -0.8% which means inflation actually fell at the wholesale level in November. The Consumer Price Index which measures inflation at the consumer level also fell in November, it dropped 0.3%. This is good news for mortgage rates and a good indication that rates will remain lows for the beginning of 2013.

In the Housing News, FHA extended the Property Flipping Waive till December 31, 2014. The property flipping waiver allows investors to flip properties and sell to buyers using FHA loans without any waiting period.  VA also announced the VA Loan Limits for 2013. The Delaware VA Loan Limits for 2013 stayed the same as they were in 2012.  Delaware Conforming Loans Limits for 2013 also remained the same as 2012.

The 3.8% Medicare Tax on capital gains goes into effect on January 1, 2013, which was put in the Obama Health Care Law to fund the changes to the program. There is also a 0.9% tax that goes into effect January 1, 2013, is a second tax on higher-income individuals with adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more for individuals and $250,000 or more for joint returns.  This is a 0.9% income tax on the amount earned above that limit.

I am recommending FLOATING your Delaware Mortgage Rate if you are closing in the next 30 days to see if the market can recover from knee jerk reaction to employment numbers. Call 302-703-0727 to schedule a free mortgage consultation to get pre-approved for a mortgage to purchase a home or to refinance your existing mortgage to lower your rate and save thousands of dollars in interest. There are several special governments refinance programs to help underwater Delaware homeowners refinance. There is the FHA Streamline Refinance Program, the VA IRRRL Streamline Refinance Program, and there is the HARP 1.0 and HARP 2.0 refinance programs. Call us or e-mail us now to get more information or you can APPLY ONLINE.

The next Free Delaware First Time Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, January 19, 2012, in Newark, Delaware and Tuesday, December 18, 2012, in Dover, Delaware. Register by calling 302-703-0727 or Register online at http://www.delawarehomebuyerseminar.com/

Then next Free Maryland First Time Home Buyer Seminar is Saturday, January 12, 2012, in Towson, Maryland. Register by calling 410-412-3319 or Register online at http://www.MarylandHomeBuyerSeminars.com

If you would like to apply for a Mortgage Loan, you can APPLY ONLINE HERE, you can call John Thomas at 302-703-0727.

John R. Thomas – NMLS 38783

Certified Mortgage Planner – Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

302-703-0727 DE Office / 610-906-3109 PA Office / 410-412-3319 MD Office

248 E Chestnut Hill Rd, Newark, DE 19713