Mark Bester, Realtor

If the Federal Government shuts down next week? This is how it could impact mortgages.
A federal government shutdown can impact mortgage application processing in several ways:
1. Delayed Verifications: Government agencies like the IRS may be understaffed during a shutdown, leading to delays in income verifications and tax return processing, which are crucial for mortgage approval.
2. FHA and VA Loans: Shutdowns can affect the processing of FHA and VA loans, as these programs are government-backed. Delays in approval and funding are possible.
3. USDA Loans: The USDA Rural Development program may experience delays, affecting applicants in rural areas seeking USDA-backed loans.
4. IRS Transcripts: Lenders often require IRS transcripts for income verification, and these may not be available during a shutdown.
5. Loan Guarantees: Some loans rely on government loan guarantees. A shutdown can disrupt the guarantee process, potentially affecting approval and interest rates.
6. Processing Time: Overall processing times for mortgage applications may increase due to government employees being furloughed or working with limited capacity.
It's essential to stay in close contact with your lender during a government shutdown to understand how it might affect your specific mortgage application and explore potential solutions or workarounds. Keep in mind that the impact can vary depending on the duration and severity of the shutdown.

It’s the fourth week of declines. This week’s average 6.28% for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped from last week’s 6.32%, says Freddie Mac. The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dipped for the fourth straight week, a good sign for potential home buyers and a real estate market that’s been mostly cold since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates more than a year ago.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate dipped to 6.28% from 6.32% the previous week. The average rate last year at this time was 4.72%. The average long-term mortgage rate hit 7.08% in the fall – a two-decade high. The recent decline in mortgage rates is good news for prospective homebuyers, many of whom were pushed to the sidelines during the past year as the Federal Reserve cranked up its main borrowing rate nine straight times in a bid to tamp down persistent, four-decade high inflation. Though supply remains low, home prices appear to be leveling off, another development that could lure buyers back into the market. The national median home price slipped 0.2% from February last year to $363,000, marking the first annual decline in 13 years, according to the National Association of Realtors. Rising borrowing costs can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for homebuyers and put the brakes on the housing market. Before surging 14.5% in February, sales of existing homes had fallen for 12 straight months to the slowest pace in more than a dozen years. In 2022, existing U.S. home sales fell 17.8% from 2021, the weakest year for home sales since 2014 and the biggest annual decline since the housing crisis began in 2008, the National Association of Realtors reported earlier this year.
In their latest quarterly economic projections, Fed policymakers forecast that they expect to raise that key rate just once more – from its new level of about 4.9% to 5.1%, the same peak they had projected in December. While the Fed’s rate hikes do impact borrowing rates across the board for businesses and families, rates on 30-year mortgages usually track the moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. Investor expectations for future inflation, global demand for U.S. Treasurys and what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates can also influence the cost of borrowing for a home. Treasury yields have fluctuated wildly since the collapse of two mid-size U.S. banks last month. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, was at 3.29% early Thursday but had been above 4% early in March. The rate for a 15-year mortgage, popular with those refinancing their homes, rose this week to 5.64% from 5.56% last week. It was 3.91% one year ago