Interest rate news

Prosperity Mortgage (a subsidiary of Wells Fargo affiliated with Long & Foster) is offering 30 year conforming and 30 year high balance conforming loans at the SAME RATE of 6.375%

Up until last summer, mortgages were considered either conforming (loan of under $417,000) or jumbo (loan of over $417,000). For many reasons, including revitalizing a weak real estate market, the Fed decided to raise the conforming loan limit to $730,000). Banks, however, were uncomfortable lending that larger amount of money for the same low conforming rate, so the in-between area, loans of $417,000-$730,000, were considered "high balance conforming" loans.

Thoroughly confused? Well this high balance conforming loan started out with interest rates pretty near its jumbo cousin, but slowly and surely, as confidence has returned to out mortgage market, the rate has gotten lower and lower to close in on the normal conforming rate, and now they are the exact same rate.