Real Talk
THIS WEEK A quiet number just hit a three-year high. There's a number most people never watch. But your mortgage does.
Think of it as the tide. When it rises, home loan rates usually rise with it.
This week that tide came in. Treasury yields climbed to their highest level since 2023, and that nudged mortgage rates higher too.
Two things. Worries about inflation. And rising oil prices, which make everything feel a little pricier.
Both push those yields up. And rates ride along.
Here's the part that matters for you: rates can move in a single day. So the plan you make now is worth more than the rate you stare at this morning.
🤯 INTERESTING FACT Here's the one that stopped me.
Two people with the exact same credit score can get two totally different answers on the same loan.
One lender says no. Another says yes — the same day.
How? Each lender sets its own credit-score floor, called an "overlay." Those floors can swing 40 to 60 points from one lender to the next.
So a "no" from one place is not a "no" from the whole market. It just means you knocked on the wrong door. That's the whole reason I shop hundreds of them.
Inventory is up 17.4% from last year and homes are taking seven days longer to sell. Here is what that means if you are buying or selling in the White Mountains right now.
💡 Did You Know I Can Do This? Remember that overlay thing? Here's where it really matters. The VA itself sets NO minimum credit score on a VA home loan — but each lender does, and many won't even talk to you below 620.
Some programs will work with a score as low as 580 when the rest of the file is solid. I'm a broker, so I go find the lender whose floor fits YOU instead of taking the first "no" for an answer — whether you're a veteran hoping to buy or one who already owns and wants better options.
Not sure where your score lands you? Reply and ask, or shoot me a text — I'll tell you straight. No pressure.
THE REAL MOVE Don't chase the tide. Have a plan ready. The tide went up this week. Next week it could ease.
Trying to time the exact bottom is a losing game. Nobody rings a bell.
If you're hoping to buy, get your numbers lined up now. Then you can move the day the right home shows up — not two weeks late.
If you already own, it's still worth knowing your options — a refinance, a lower payment, or tapping equity down the road.
And remember: your rate isn't set by that Treasury number alone. It's set by which lender you land with — and their floor.
That's my job. I'm a broker, not a bank. I shop hundreds of lenders to find the one that fits YOU — not the one that fits them.
Kristi Olson, MBA — mortgage broker (NMLS #1459928) and licensed Arizona Realtor, serving the White Mountains. Equal Housing Opportunity. Nothing here is a commitment to lend. Get in touch →