Orange County Mortgage Rates

With mortgage rates falling in Orange County, homeowners all over are refinancing. With rates dropping day by day, they have been able to refinance which has been saving homeowners tons of money. Borrowers across Orange County are jumping at any opportunities to refinance and lower their rates.

Applications to refinance home loans jumped 66 percent nationwide in April to the highest percentage since 2013. Home owner purchase loans are also steadily increasing. After a drop in benchmark U.S. treasury yields as well as the decrease in oil prices, interest rates have been steadily decreasing leading to mortgage rates declining at a fast pace.

The decrease in rates was unexpected but the action by homeowners refinancing was booming. Even though a large number of homeowners received similar rates during the refinancing boom of 2011-13, plenty of borrowers can still benefit from today’s rates. With rates continuing to drop, borrowers who refinanced as recently as six months ago are coming back to refinance again.

Lenders and brokers said it’s worth it to refinance if you can get a decrease of ¼ to 3/8 of a point off your mortgage using a no-cost loan. Your rate is even lower if you pay fees or points upfront, with lower payments offsetting those costs in as little as two or three years.

However, not everyone should refinance. If your mortgage has a prepayment penalty, you’ve had your mortgage for a long time or you plan to move within the next few years, you should not refinance your loan. Also, not everyone is benefiting from this refinance frenzy. Servicers who rely on existing loans for income lose that money when loans get paid off early. Brokers and originating mortgage companies also may have to repay fees on loans that are refinanced within six months.

Despite these factors, most homeowners are benefiting from the decrease in mortgage rates in Orange County.