02 Sep 10 Mortgage Rates Fall for 11th Week in a Row
Freddie Mac announced today that the average 30-year mortgage rates dropped once again to a new record low of 4.32% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending September 2nd. In the previous period, the average was 4.36%, and the year-ago average was 5.08%. “The 12-month price growth of core personal expenditures remained at 1.4% in July, which kept overall inflation expectations well at bay. Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke reiterated this in his August 27th speech, noting that with inflation expectations reasonably stable and the economy growing, inflation should remain near current readings for some time before rising slowly. Amy Crews Cutts, Feddie Mac deputy chief economist said that as a result, home loan rates fell further this week to new historic lows.” It will be interesting to see if the record low mortgage rate streak can continue.
23 Aug 10 Home Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Lows Again
According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates dropped this week to more record lows amid concerns about the state of the U.S. economy. Home mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate home loans, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.42 % this week, down from last week’s 4.44% and its year-ago level of 5.12 %, according to the survey. Home mortgage refinance loan volumes have risen for three consecutive weeks as the 30-year mortgage rates have fallen to record lows for nine straight weeks. Freddie Mac started the survey in April 1971. Meanwhile, 15-year fixed-rate home loans averaged 3.9%, down from 3.92% last week, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began surveying this loan type in 1991. 15-year mortgage rates have hit record lows for six straight weeks.
Freddie Mac said rates on 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable in each following year, was 3.56%, unchanged from last week, remaining at its lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking this loan type in 2005.
Last year at this time, 15-year mortgages averaged 4.56 %; the one-year ARM was 4.69%, and the 5/1 ARM was 4.57%. Rock-bottom rates should continue to spur demand for home loan refinancing, putting extra cash into consumers’ hands that they can save, use to pay off existing debt or funnel into the economy through extra spending.
Home loan applications rose 13% in the week ended August 13th, fueled more by homeowners seeking a house refinance than by new buyers looking for loans, according to an index from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Record low interest rates have yet to spur home sales, which are being weighed down by unemployment and the end of a federally sponsored home-buyer tax credit.
29 Jul 10 Mortgage Rates Drop 4 out last 5 Weeks
Mortgage rates have steadily been falling in 2010. Yields on U.S. Treasury bonds have fallen as shaky investors look for safer investments. Mortgage rates tend to track the yields on Treasurys. Low mortgage rates helped spark a little activity in the sluggish housing market. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, home loan applications for home buying inched up 2% last week from the previous week. Mortgage refinance activity has faltered slightly over the last week even though the refinance rates were also lower on the 15 and 30-year loans. The FHA Home Loan blog reported that FHA rates dropped again last week.
Tags: refinance rates
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 Hybrid ARM Rates Decline
Mortgage rates on hybrid ARM loans declined again this week according to Freddie Mac. The 5-year ARM home loans averaged 3.79%, down from 3.85% a week earlier. Home mortgage rates on 1-year ARM home loans dipped to an average of 3.70% from 3.74%. The mortgage interest rates do not include loan origination fees known as points. One point origination is equal to 1% of the total loan amount. The national fee for home mortgage loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 a point for 30-year, 15-year and 1-year loans. The average fee for 5-year ARM home loans was 0.6 of a point.
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
12 Jul 10 Mortgage Rates Could Rise
As the benchmark mortgage rates were pressured higher by a modest rally in stocks, consumer borrowing costs held their ground and went into the weekend only a few basis points more expensive versus the previous Friday. As a result we are seeing the best 30-year fixed conventional mortgage rates in a range between 4.375 and 4.625% . Borrowers must qualify, meeting the lender guidelines for these low rates. Mortgage rate increases were only obvious via an uptick in “discount points” charged by lenders.
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
24 Jun 10 Federal Reserve Keeps Mortgage Rates at Record Lows
Certainly the Federal Reserve deserves some of the credit for our historic low mortgage rates. The low interest rates have been the driving force behind the increase in home loan applications for home buying and mortgage refinancing. Today the Fed struck a more cautious tone about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery, indicating Europe’s debt crisis poses a risk to it. Wrapping up a two-day meeting Wednesday, the Fed in a 9-1 decision retained its pledge to hold rates at record-low levels for an “extended period.” Doing so is intended to energize the rebound. The Fed expressed confidence that the recovery will stay intact despite threats from abroad and at home. But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues offered a slightly more reserved outlook than the last time they convened. The Fed said the economic recovery is “proceeding.” That was a bit less upbeat than the view at the April meeting, when the Fed said economic activity continued to “strengthen.” The Fed also said the labor market is “improving gradually.” While not mentioning Europe by name, the Fed said “financial conditions have become less supportive of economic growth “.largely reflecting developments abroad.” The fragile economic picture increases pressure on President Barack Obama and lawmakers in Washington. The Federal Reserve indicated that Europe”s debt crisis poses a risk to the U.S. economy and pledged to hold rates at record lows to make sure the recovery stays on track.
Federal Reserve Comments:
HOUSING
April: “Housing starts have edged up but remain at a depressed level.”
June: “Housing starts remain at a depressed level.”
INFLATION
April: “Inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.”
June: “Prices of energy and other commodities have declined somewhat in recent months and underlying inflation has trended lower. … Inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.”
INTEREST RATES
April: Leaves federal funds rate unchanged at a record low of zero to 0.25 percent, where it has been since December 2008, and repeats pledge to keep rates “exceptionally low” for “an extended period.”
June: Leaves federal funds rate unchanged and once again repeats pledge to keep rates “exceptionally low” for “an extended period.”
Tags: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, low interest rates
10 Jun 10 Refinance Applications Drop
According to Mortgage Refinancing Buzz, the home refinance applications fell last week. They noted that the “pool of eligible borrowers eligible for a home refinance has been shrinking significantly as lenders tighten refinance guidelines.” Home purchase loan applications dropped 5.625% last week which is down 42% since the end of April when the home buyer tax credit expired. The refinance index is seriously ailing even though fixed mortgage rates are below 5%. Mortgage refinance activity dropped 14% last week. Michael Fratantoni writes, “Despite the historically low mortgage rates, many homeowners can’t qualify because of negative equity or bad credit.” FHA refinance loans are available but borrowers can’t have any late mortgage payments being reported from their lender in the last year. In addition most FHA lenders are requiring a minimum of a 640 fico score, so that is eliminating millions of borrowers from home refinancing. Read the original article online > Credit Problems Hindering Mortgage Refinancing.
Tags: refinance guidelines
06 Jun 10 Fifteen-Year Home Loan Rates Hit Record Low
Mortgage interest rates did not change much last week as they held with recent lows. Freddie Mac did report a record for the fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgage loans. The thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage average rose slightly to 4.79% for the week ended Thursday, according to Freddie’s weekly survey.
Last week, the average mortgage rate was 4.78%, the lowest since December. Just a year-ago the average for the thirty-year mortgage was at 5.29%. Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said “The economy grew at a slower rate than originally reported in the first three months of the year … which suggests inflation will remain tame in the near term.” Nothaft continued, “As a result,” he said, “home loan rates held at historic levels this week.”
Mortgage rates on fifteen-year fixed-rate home loans averaged 4.2%, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking the mortgage in 1991, down from 4.21% in the prior week. 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.95%, unchanged from the prior week and the lowest level since May 2004. The 1-year ARM averaged 4.81% a year ago. The 5-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.94%, down from 3.97% in the prior week and 4.85% a year ago. Read more at FreddieMac.com.
