The 10-Year Treasury yield shot way up today – unexpectedly. The reasons? Higher oil prices sparking inflation fears, and a move into stocks and out of bonds (flight from “safety” into “risk assets”).
I bring this up because we have well over 100 borrowers in our database who easily qualify for no-cost refinances that would save them thousands of dollars – but they don’t want to execute because they are convinced rates will fall further.
Sigh…
Hence, I am going to repeat the reason why borrowers should always refi as soon as the numbers work:
- Refis are usually free, and are much easier nowadays, requiring far less effort and time.
- Borrowers can always refi again for free if rates fall further.
- There is no guarantee rates will fall further; please remember the fall of 2024 – when everyone expected rates to fall further, and they went UP by OVER 1% (and thousands of borrowers missed out on easy savings). And see today too. Nobody knows which way rates will go.
- Presidents and the Fed can’t control rates – no matter what they say or do. The bond market controls long-term rates – pure and simple – and it responds to growth and inflation expectations. And, as I remind readers often, if President Trump’s economic growth predictions come true, rates will shoot higher in response, not lower.
Once again, I am not trying to be self-serving. This is just another reminder to refi when the numbers work – no matter which lender a borrower uses (JVM or not).
Foreclosures Shoot Dangerously High!
Actually, they don’t.
Foreclosures are NOT dangerously high, but I am just repeating the clickbait I was seeing this morning.
I wanted to address this quickly because it is nonsense like this that keeps borrowers on the sidelines, fearing that home prices may drop.
Foreclosures were up 14% in 2025 to 367,000, up from 322,000 in 2024 – A NEAR RECORD LOW NUMBER!
For perspective, we had 2.9 million foreclosures in 2010.
What Is a Recertification of Value?
If a refinancing homebuyer bought in the last 12 months, lenders can just get a “recertification of value” from the appraiser that did the purchase appraisal – avoiding the cost of a new appraisal.
This is important because it is one more thing that makes refis that much easier. I should add that even “recerts” are unnecessary when we get a full appraisal waiver – which we get often nowadays.
Example of an Actual DSCR Rate: 6.5%
I blogged yesterday about our DSCR/Rental-Income-Only loans, raving about how low the rates are now. In response, several agents asked me for examples.
I saw a quote go out today with a rate of 6.5% with only 20% down (and no prepayment penalty) – at a cost of two points (this assumes the rent fully covers the housing payment).
If borrowers, however, put down 25% (instead of 20%) and take a small prepayment penalty, that rate could easily be 1/4% lower, or the fees could be much lower.
