10 Nov 11 Freddie Mac Indicates Mortgage Rates Falling Further
It looks like another wave of home refinancing is arriving as mortgage interest rates are breaking records once again. Lenders Nationwide and Quicken Loans reported a surge in mortgage applications this week. Freddie Mac announced today that fixed thirty-year mortgage rates had fallen to 3.99%, down from 4% last week. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association five weeks ago, the rates fell to a record low of 3.94%. The average interest rate on the fifteen-year fixed mortgage dipped last week to 3.30% from 3.31%. The best lender rates were released in a report by HSH earlier this week.
Home mortgage interest rates track the yield on 10-year Treasury note, which fell this week as investors shifted money into safer Treasury’s amid fears Europe’s debt crisis could worsen. Low mortgage rates have down little to boost home sales. Rates have been below 5% for all but two weeks this year. Yet home sales are on pace to be the lowest in 14 years.
The low interest rates have caused a modest boom in home mortgage refinancing, but that benefit might be wearing off. Most people who can afford to refinance have already locked in rates below 5 %. Just five years ago they were closer to 6.5%. Ten years ago, they were above 8%.
The average home loan rates don’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1% of the loan amount. The average fee for the fixed thirty-year home loan was unchanged. The average cost in lending fees on the fifteen-year fixed mortgage increased from 0.7 to 0.8.
The average mortgage interest rate on the five-year ARM fell to 2.98% from 2.96%, which had been a record low. The average mortgage rate on the one-year adjustable loan increased to 2.95% from 2.88%. According to Freddie Mac, It fell last month to 2.81%, the lowest on records dating to 1984. The average lending fees on the five-year and one-year ARMs were both unchanged at 0.6.
28 Dec 10 Have Home Mortgage Rates Reached Lows?
2010 may be remembered as the year that home mortgage rates declined to all-time lows. Most economic indicators point towards higher mortgage interest rates going forward as inflation begins to seap in. It’s not just subprime lenders raising rates on bad credit mortgage programs either. Borrowers with good credit are seeing higher rates from conforming, jumbo and FHA lenders.
According to Weiss Researchwhen rates fell to 4.125% last month that was the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971, as well as the lowest since World War II, a financial analysis and publishing firm in Jupiter, Florida. The highest point last year peaked at 5.21%, in April.
The Mortgage Bankers’ Association, a trade group, predicts that 30-year fixed rates will inch up to 5.1% by the end of 2011 and reach 5.7% in 2012. In a slightly more optimistic prognosis for homeowners or buyers, Frank E. Nothaft, the chief economist of Freddie Mac, wrote in an annual trend forecast on December 6th. that “while some rise in fixed-rates is expected, thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages are likely to remain below 5%” throughout 2011.
11 Aug 10 Fed to Keep Mortgage Rates Low
The Fed Reserve’s announcement yesterday moved the mortgage markets. Industry insiders continue to brace for the feared double dip recession. Many analysts that aren’t in Obama’s pocket believe the economy will take another dip. The housing sector is pretty flat and there are many regions that are in desperate need of some good news. Consumer bankruptcies in the U.S. continue to rise (in 2006 there were less than 600,000 filed; last year there were 1.4 million, and this year is on pace to top 1.6 million). The private sector does notappear to be ready to hire. These factors should contribute to the Fed keeping mortgage rates low for the near future.
09 Aug 10 Is It Time for Home Refinancing?
QUESTION: Our mortgage lender said it was difficult for us to qualify because our mortgage was greater than our home value. He said our mortgage was under-water. Do we still qualify for fixed rate mortgage refinancing?
ANSWER: You might, bvecause there are few government loan programs that are available for homeowners struggling to refinance because their mortgage is under-wtarer. If you have a Fannie Mae-owned loan, you may qualify for refinancing up to 125% of your home’s value. To see if you have a Fannie Mae loan, go to fanniemae.com/loanlookup. There’s a similar program for Freddie Mac loans, too. Go to https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/, to see if you have a Freddie Mac loan.
Read more online > When Is the Best Time for Home Mortgage Refinancing?
28 Jul 10 Mortgage Refinance Activity Falls
Mortgage applicants seeking home refinancing dropped to 78% last week from 79.4% the prior week, which was the highest level since April 2009. The average mortgage refinance rate on a 15-year fixed rate home loan rose to 4.12% from 4.05%, and the mortgage rate on a 1-year adjustable rate mortgage decreased to 3.15 % from 3.17 %
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index fell 4.4% in the week ended July 23, the Washington-based group said today. The mortgage refinance measure fell 5.9% from the prior week’s one-year high, but the home purchase index did increase 2%. The average mortgage refinance rate with a 30-year fixed rate increased to 4.69% from 4.59% the prior week, which was the lowest since data began in 1990. Read the original mortgage news post online > Mortgage Refinancing Applications Drop.
22 Jul 10 Freddie Mac Reports More Record Low Rates
Freddie Mac published their weekly rate report showing that rates for 30-year mortgages had dropped again to 4.56%. The mortgage icon reported that home loan rates declined to break the previous record set last week. Many first time home buyers will certainly make a move to lock the interest rate on their home loan.
The National Association of Realtors said today that last month’s sales fell 5.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million. As previously reported, the housing market has been stalled since the federal tax credits for first home buyers expired on April 30th. Home refinance applications increased in recent weeks but home purchase loan applications have stalled. With home loan rates this low you have to wonder what kind of incentives consumers need to finance a home. Sales of previously occupied homes fell in June and are expected to keep sinking. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that last month’s sales fell 5.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million. The housing market stalled after federal tax credits for homebuyers expired at the end of April. Home sales have dropped off, homebuilder confidence has waned and consumer sentiment is in the dumps.
Read the original mortgage news article > Mortgage Rates for First Time Homebuyers
Tags: 30-year home mortgages
14 Jul 10 3rd Week of Record Low Mortgage Rates Drive Refinancing
For the third consecutive week mortgage interest rates fell to shatter records for the lowest rates in our era. Borrowers across the country seemed optimistic that conventional, FHA and VA home mortgage products were meeting their refinance needs. No one can say that the Federal Reserve, mortgage lenders and the government haven’t made a concerted effort in 2010 to aid the housing recovery nationwide.
Affordable Home Refinancing with Record Low Interest Rates
Most industry insiders believe that home purchase loan market will stay weak over the next few months as the housing market adjusts to the end of government incentives. According to Jerry Mlinar of Woodfield Planning, an Illinois mortgage lender said, “First time home buyers are motivated by low rates, but existing homeowners have a huge incentive to refinance because they stand to save significant money monthly immediately.” Mlinar confirmed that his company saw an increase in home refinance applications, but cautioned that guidelines for refinancing had tightened over the last few years. The lender said that the stated income and no equity mortgages are no longer available.
The average 30-year mortgage rate was little changed in the week ended July 9th, dipping to 4.49%. The mortgage rate rested just below the record low of 4.61% set in March 2009, according to the MBA’s records that date back to 1990. Fifteen-year mortgage rates dipped to 4.08% last week from the record low 4.06 % set the prior week. FHA and VA rates posted a rate reduction as well and more borrowers requested rate and term refinancing rather than cash out loans.
Tags: Illinois mortgage lender, Jerry Mlinar, no equity mortgages, VA home mortgage products, Woodfield Planning
07 Jul 10 FHA Mortgage Rates Dip to New Lows
MBA reported that FHA mortgage rates dipped to record lows last week. This spurred homeowners to go online to shop mortgage refinance rates. According to a spokesman from the FHA Home Loan Company, “Many borrowers are making a last ditch effort to refinance their adjustable rate loan into a more secure fixed rate mortgage that guarantees no interest rate changes for thirty years.”
FHA mortgage rates are available at 4.75% on fixed 30-year loan terms. There is no pre-payment penalty for early pay-off and if the FHA interest rates drop, that borrowers can access the FHA streamline for rate and term refinancing. FHA mortgage programs are more appealing and more affordable than ever. Read the original article online FHA Home Loans for Refinancing and Home Buying
Tags: FHA mortgage programs
20 May 10 Home Purchase Loan Applications Drop to 13 Year Low
Yesterday, the Mortgage Bankers Association released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 14, 2010. The MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics, Michael Fratantoni said: “Home loan applications fell 27% last week and have declined almost 20% over the past month, despite relatively low mortgage rates. The data suggests that the tax credit pulled sales into April at the expense of the remainder of the spring buying season. In fact, this decline occurred even as interest rates on thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage loans dropped to 4.83% which is the lowest level in the six months….However, homeowners seeking mortgage refinancing did respond to these lower interest rates, with refinance applications up almost 15%, hitting their highest level in nine weeks.”
The Mortgage Banker’s application survey covers over 50% of all US mortgage loan applications taken by mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. The data gives economists a look into consumer demand for mortgage loans. In a low mortgage rate environment, a trend of increasing home refinance loan applications implies consumers are shopping for lower mortgage payments which can result in increased disposable income and consumer spending. Home purchase applications have widely been considered a strong indication of home buying interest nationally. Breaking it down further — Conforming loan applications declined 9% and FHA home loan applications rose nearly 5%.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of home loan application volume, decreased 1.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3.1% compared with the previous week. The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 0.8%. The Refinance Index increased 14.5 % from the previous week. The four week moving average is up 4.5 % for the Refinance Index. The refinance percentage of home loan activity rose to 68.1% of total loan applications from 57.7% the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 27.1% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 27.0 % compared with the previous week and was 24.1% lower than the same week one year ago. The four week moving average is down 4.6 % for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index.
This is the lowest Home Purchase Index observed in the survey since May of 1997….The average contract interest rate for thirty-year fixed-rate home loans dropped to 4.83% from 4.96%, with points increasing to 1.08 from 0.91 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate declined from the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for fifteen-year fixed-rate home loans decreased to 4.19% from 4.32%, with points increasing to 1.36 from 0.81 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. This is the lowest 15-year contract interest rate ever recorded in the survey. However, due to the increase in points, the effective rate was essentially unchanged from last week.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.81% from 6.86%, with points increasing to 0.37 from 0.35 (including points) for 80 % LTV loans. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained constant at 6.3% of total applications from the previous week.
14 May 10 Lowest Mortgage Rates of 2010 for Refinancing and Home Buying
Reuters reported that mortgage interest rates fell this week to the lowest level of 2010. Mortgage rates dropped to 4.93 % for 30-year fixed rate mortgage loans. Fears about Greece’s precarious financial situation have benefited American consumers and the mortgage loan industry in general. The home mortgage rates in the United States are closely tied to interest rates paid for long-term Treasury bonds. Investors have shifted money from risky European debt to safer U.S. securities. The Federal Reserve ended a program to push down mortgage rates this spring, but rates for home refinance transactions and home buying have continued to be available at ridiculously low rates. Talk to your loan officer about no cost refinance options that have been advertised with many mortgage lenders on the radio. Many lenders are offering the no fee mortgages in an effort to increase business and lure borrowers with good credit scores to consider refinancing.
Tags: no cost refinance
24 Feb 10 Home Purchase Loan Demand Drops
According to Reuters, U.S. home loan applications fell for a third straight week, with demand for home purchase loans sinking to the lowest level in 13 years as inclement weather weighed, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. The current mortgage rates remain the lowest interest rates in decades and high affordability helped the hard-hit U.S. housing market find some footing in 2009 after a three-year slump.
More key insight into the state of the housing market will emerge on Wednesday when the U.S. Commerce Department releases January new U.S. single-family home sales data.
