Home refinancing still 'hot' in Southeast Missouri

Jeff Hussey of Cape Girardeau's Mortgage Place has been in the lending business for nearly a quarter-century and said Wednesday local interest in home refinancing is "hotter than it's ever been."

The metrics change daily but rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage have ticked up slightly in the last week to just over 3%.

Rates on a 15-year fixed mortgage have dropped slightly to just more than 2 1/2%.

"Some refinances we did less than 12 months ago, we're now doing again because rates have dropped enough to justify them," Hussey said.

Hussey, the Mortgage Place managing partner, demurred when asked exactly how many re-fis his company has done.

"We have an extremely full pipeline (of re-fis)," he said, "and are bursting at the seams (with activity)."

Hussey said a home refinance can take anywhere from 10 business days to a month, depending on whether an appraisal is required.

"I've never seen (re-fi activity) like this," he said, "(and) business is booming."

Government fee pushed back

On Tuesday, government-sponsored Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae may have made doing a re-fi now a bit more attractive, as the organizations announced they would delay a new refinancing fee.

Two weeks ago, both announced a 0.5% fee would begin to be levied on re-fis as of Sept. 1.

On Tuesday, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae said it will push back implementation of the fee and it will now apply to loans delivered on or after Dec. 1.

Homebuyers now have an extra three months to refinance without having to pay additional money for the privilege.

Most re-fis take anywhere from 30 to 45 days to close and banks need time to process loans before they are delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

How low can they go

Asked whether re-fi rates have already hit bottom, Hussey said no one knows the answer.

"I wish my crystal ball was that clear," he said, "so that I could tell a customer to pull the re-fi lever at a particular moment."