Mortgage rates report, February 19
Mortgage rates have been ticking up in the past few weeks since the amazing lows we witnessed at the end of January when the Fed cut Fed Funds rates sharply. As I've pointed out on multiple occasions, the Fed controls short term rates while long term rates are more sensitive to market conditions. Mortgage rates are still very attractive however, hovering around 6% for a 30 year fixed rate loan.
Interestingly, adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) still offer very good rates. There was a period last year where there was seemingly little advantage to selecting an ARM vs. a fixed rate loan because the spread was negligible. Now we're not talking about the ARMs that are all the talk of the media or any of the exotic mortgage products that were once in favor and are pretty much not being offered any longer. The ARMs I'm referring to are 5 or 7 year ARMs where the rate is fixed for the first 5 or 7 years and then can reset either higher or lower (yes rates can actually decline at reset depending on market conditions at the time).
If you are in the Military and are PCS 'ing for a 3 year period and there is virtually no chance of you living in your Charleston home for more than 3 years, there is significant savings and increased housing affordability by selecting a 3 year ARM. Unfortunately, I don't have a rate quote for a 3 year today (one of my preferred lenders sent a rate sheet with 5, 7 and 10 year ARMs and didn't quote a 3 year rate. But let's just say it's the same as the 5 year and that puts it at 4.75% today compared to a 30 year fixed at 5.875%.
Quite a nice savings if you aren't planning on being in your home for more than 3 years. 
For those of you who are considering relocation to Charleston for a job transfer and think you might only be here for 3, 5 or 7 years or for those of you who generally don't plan to live in a home for more than 6 to 8 years (after all, the national averages show that Americans live in their homes for 6+ years on average), a good ARM might be a wise financing choice when you are considering purchasing a home for sale in Charleston.
5 year ARM 4.75%
7 year ARM 4.875%
30 year fixed 5.875%
When fully understood and when the rates are offered at a significant discount to a fixed rate loan, an ARM is not the big, bad mortgage product that the media might imply.