Michelle Dugan (pictured top), owner at MS Lending in Mississippi, told Mortgage Professional America that rate drops in recent weeks meant her team was taking a proactive approach to its client database. “We’re definitely reaching out to all of our borrowers that had held off from moving forward on purchases because of rates,” she said.
“Some of them, when we had initial conversations, were approaching 8%. And now we can call them back and say, ‘Hey, we can get you into the low sixes,’ and some of them [even lower], depending on what it is.”
After some of the doom and gloom that pervaded the market amid soaring mortgage rates and borrowing costs in 2022 and 2023, those are “fun” conversations to have, Dugan said, as clients realize the tide is turning.
Hope is coming into view on the purchase side – and the refinance picture also looks to be improving, with year-over-year refinance activity spiking despite a slight recent dip.
Little clarity remains over eventual landing spot for mortgage rates
The main questions facing borrowers on refis, according to Dugan, are how far rates are likely to drop in the future and whether it makes sense to hold off for now in the hope of securing a lower rate down the line.
