Fed rate increase proving to be a boon for business

Far from sending a chill through the mortgage market, the anticipated rate increase by the Fed had phones ringing at lenders across the country

As the murmurings of a rate hike grew louder near the end of November, lenders were kept busy with clients looking to review and lock in at their current low rate.

“We knew it was coming, and it is not that big of a deal,” says Mat Ishbia, president/CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage. “What we did see was a lot of consumers calling and saying, ‘Hey, rates going up! We’ve got to do something’ so it was a great PR vehicle for the mortgage industry.”
However, if rates continue to climb, it will have exactly the opposite effect, he says.

“If it continues to go up, it won’t be as positive of a thing,” says Ishbia.

An improving economy means clients are building equity in their homes – which means refinancing options are growing.

“The opportunity is there,” says Ishbia, “so take advantage of it in 2016.”

Another announcement from last month has added fuel to the industry with the introduction of the Fannie Mae Homeready loan.

“It came out December 12; we’re getting a lot of action – I hope you are getting action on it too,” he says. “It is cheaper than FHA almost across the board, with a 680+ FICO Score and over 80% LTV.”

The only time Ishbia goes for the FHA is if it is over 45% DTI and below 680 FICO, and doesn’t meet AMI.

“Most people are going to qualify for this (Homeready) if their loan amount is below $200,000,” he says. “It only takes 30 seconds to find out after you click on the link.”