By Mike Colpitts Refinancing picked-up speed as homeowners applied for lower mortgage rates in greater numbers to obtain lower mortgage payments even as home purchase financing slowed, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Almost half or 43% of those refinancing home mortgages chose shorter 15 or 20 year loans during the fourth quarter of 2011,… Continue reading Refinancing Picks Up Speed on Lower Rates
Category: Housing Market
Bank of America Settles Largest Mortgage False Claims Case
By Kevin Chiu The nation’s largest bank has settled the biggest mortgage false claims case with the U.S. government in history. Bank of America will pay $1-billion to resolve wrongdoing uncovered by the U.S. Justice Department in mortgage lending by loan officers operating for Countrywide Mortgage, which BofA acquired at the height of the financial… Continue reading Bank of America Settles Largest Mortgage False Claims Case
Record Low Mortgage Rates Hold Steady
By Mike Colpitts Record low mortgage rates remained at their all-time record low this week as a troubled world economy jittered financial markets, according to Freddie Mac. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate loan held steady at its lowest level in U.S. history for the second week in a row. The heavily watched 30-year mortgage averaged… Continue reading Record Low Mortgage Rates Hold Steady
2012 New Mexico Housing Market
A more diversified economy has helped New Mexico through the U.S. financial crisis, but it hasn’t been able to fully protect it from the economic hardship associated with its fallout. Better employment levels than most other areas of the country translate into a stronger local economy. Industries that have suffered, however, including some of the… Continue reading 2012 New Mexico Housing Market
2012 Arizona Housing Market
An inventory shortage is driving home prices up in some Arizona cities as the region faces a dwindling supply of cheaply priced foreclosures. But as more foreclosures hit the market later this year the rate of housing inflation is forecast to slow. Phoenix area home sales are sliding as a result of the inventory shortage… Continue reading 2012 Arizona Housing Market
2012 Maine Housing Market
Extraordinarily sluggish home sales and slowly declining home prices are preventing Maine housing markets from making a full-fledged recovery, but cities and towns throughout the state are hardly experiencing a major drop in home values either. Maine is turning out to be one of the safest bets so far in the fallout of the U.S.… Continue reading 2012 Maine Housing Market
Homeowners Receive Short Sale Cooperation
By Mike Colpitts Homeowners are receiving cooperation from banks and mortgage lenders to sell their unaffordable homes as short sales at higher levels. The increase in short sales is being driven by investors calling for banks to cut their losses, resulting in a reduction of homeowners walking away from their home mortgages. Scam artists preying… Continue reading Homeowners Receive Short Sale Cooperation
2012 Wisconsin Housing Market
The lowest mortgage rates on record and the lowest home prices in more than a decade are driving the Wisconsin housing market out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Home prices are even beginning to show some signs of movement, and are forecast higher in most of the state through the remainder… Continue reading 2012 Wisconsin Housing Market
Refinances Surge on Record Low Mortgage Rates
By Mike Colpitts Bolstered by a jump in home refinances, home mortgage applications surged higher last week on to nearly a record breaking pace. The Mortgage Bankers Association Refinance Index increased 9.4% from the prior week. The average contracted mortgage rate on a fixed 30-year loan dropped to 4.05%, the lowest in the history of… Continue reading Refinances Surge on Record Low Mortgage Rates
2012 North Dakota Housing Market
Driven by growing energy markets in natural gas and oil exploration, North Dakota was virtually immune from the Great Recession. The state is also seeing its biggest boom in history as thousands of newcomers flock to the region, but that doesn’t leave North Dakota in perfect shape either. The same booming scenario is forcing some… Continue reading 2012 North Dakota Housing Market