Current Washington Mortgage and Refinance Rates

Market conditions are only one of the factors that determine mortgage rates. In addition, there are things that you can do financially to ensure that you’re given the best mortgage rate possible by your lender, including:

1. Shaping up your credit score: Your credit score will have a substantial impact on the interest rate you’re offered for your home loan. Traditionally, borrowers with excellent credit scores are given the most affordable rates — so if your score is on the lower end, it may be worth trying to improve your score before applying for a mortgage.
2. Lowering your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio: In lending, a borrower’s DTI ratio measures what percentage of their income goes to managing debt. Put simply, it helps lenders gauge whether you can comfortably handle taking on a new mortgage payment. As a rule of thumb, lenders traditionally expect to see a maximum 43% DTI ratio. However, if your current ratio is higher, you can bring it down by either increasing your income or paying down your debts.
3. Investing in a single-family home: Typically, single-family homes are given the lowest interest rates out of any property type. Their rates tend to be lower than those given to manufactured homes, multifamily homes, vacation homes or investment properties.
4. Buying mortgage points: This method lets you reduce your interest rate by paying for a portion of your total interest charges upfront. On average, you can usually reduce your rate by up to 0.25 percentage points or more by adding a few mortgage points to your closing costs.
5. Shopping around for a loan: Gathering loan estimates from multiple lenders is nearly always a smart move. LendingTree data holds that shopping around for a home loan can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

→ Washington conventional loans: If you have a strong financial profile — particularly a higher credit score and low DTI ratio — you may want to consider applying for a conventional loan. These loans are typically thought to be the most sought-after mortgages because they meet the minimum requirements set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

→ Washington FHA loans: In contrast, FHA qualifying requirements are usually less stringent than the eligibility requirements for conventional loans. For example, you’ll only need to make a 3.5% down payment if you have at least a 580 credit score. That said, you can qualify with a credit score as low as 500, as long as you’re prepared to make a 10% down payment.

→ Washington VA loans: Eligible military borrowers in Washington State might want to take advantage of the benefits provided by VA loans. For instance, these loans don’t impose down payment or mortgage insurance requirements. However, it’s important to be aware that individual lenders may still ask you to meet their own unique eligibility criteria.

→ Washington streamline refinances: Borrowers with an existing FHA or VA loan can take advantage of a simplified refinance process, provided that they intend to keep that same loan type. Both the FHA streamline refinance and VA interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL) give you the chance to refinance your home loan while meeting fewer requirements and filling out less paperwork.