Boosted by a surge in refinancing, lending applications rose for the week as mortgage rates hit a new low for the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to an average 4.32% from 4.37% last week, setting a new low for 2011 on fully executed mortgage contracts.… Continue reading Lending Rises as Mortgage Rates Drop
Category: Sales
Investors Buying Fewer Homes
Investor purchases of homes and other residential properties fell for the third month in a row in July, according to the Campbell Inside Mortgage Finance Housing Pulse Tracking Survey. The survey said investors accounted for just 19.6% of U.S. home purchases during the month, down from 23% in April. Despite higher sales of existing homes… Continue reading Investors Buying Fewer Homes
Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate
By Kevin Chiu At least two of the U.S. largest commercial banks are increasing the volume of short sales in efforts to increase their profit margins even as more homes bloat the inventory of properties that aren’t producing profits for the lenders. The transition hasn’t been an easy one for lenders in these wild days… Continue reading Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate
Homeowners Flock to Fixed Rate Mortgages
As a result of the foreclosure crisis and risky lending practices consumers have witnessed over the last decade, homeowners are flocking to fixed rate mortgages in mass, according to Freddie Mac. Fixed rates accounted for 95% of refinancing based on the giant lenders’ new quarterly report for 2011. Fifty-five percent of borrowers who had an… Continue reading Homeowners Flock to Fixed Rate Mortgages
Should U.S. Become Biggest Landlord
By Mike Colpitts Under a proposal the Obama administration is making, the U.S. federal government would become the nation’s biggest landlord by renting out almost 250,000 foreclosed homes Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration currently own. The proposal could make the Federal Housing Finance Agency, started by the Obama administration to administer… Continue reading Should U.S. Become Biggest Landlord
Market May Lead Home Prices in Recovery
By Mike Colpitts Home and condominium prices soared higher for the first time in more than five years in Miami as existing sales in the metropolitan region rose at a rapid pace in July, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The spike in average home prices may signal a major turn around for the… Continue reading Market May Lead Home Prices in Recovery
Low Mortgage Rates Drive Few to Buy
By Mike Colpitts Mortgage rates are at near record lows again for the first time since last October when rates hit an all-time record low, but the lower rates seem to be doing little other than driving some homeowners to refinance their mortgages. Built up anxiety over troubles with the U. S. economy, consumer debt… Continue reading Low Mortgage Rates Drive Few to Buy
Real Estate Mortgage Tax Deduction in Jeopardy
By Kevin Chiu Bet you didn’t realize that the mortgage tax deduction is in real jeopardy as a result of Congress pushing through their last minute agreement on the budget? It’s been a quiet little secret in Washington, D.C. real estate circles because elected officials have taken so much heat on the subject. Some think… Continue reading Real Estate Mortgage Tax Deduction in Jeopardy
Home Sales Decline to Year Low
By Kevin Chiu Home sales declined for the third time in four months in July, falling to a new low for the year, indicating that what most real estate analysts have been saying for months is coming true—that the housing market is in for a long protracted recovery. Existing home sales fell 3.5% for the… Continue reading Home Sales Decline to Year Low
Mortgage Rates Drop to New Record Low
By Mike Colpitts Mortgage rates hit a new record low as economic volatility on Wall Street pushed rates down to hit a new average of 4.15% on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to Freddie Mac. The rate is lower than 4.17% last November, which ushered in a wave of home buying and refinancing activity.… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Drop to New Record Low