Category: States Market

Applications for home mortgages and refinancing barely budged for the week, growing just four-tenths of one percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, despite the lowest mortgage rates in the surveys history. Refinances grew at the highest rate, but home purchase applications were marginal. The refinance index rose just 0.6% from last week and the… Continue reading Mortgage Applications Barely Budge on Low Rates

By Kevin Chiu Fueled by record low mortgage rates and lower home prices, flipping homes is enjoying a resurgence from California to Maine, despite the worst housing downturn in more than a half century. Buying, renovating and then quickly reselling homes had its hey-day during the real estate boom, but many flippers are now reporting… Continue reading Home Flipping Gets Profitable

By Kevin Chiu Freddie Mac, one of the nation’s two troubled mortgage giants reported a net loss of $4.7-billion today, a better $2-billion less than its loss in the last quarter. The total loss reported to shareholders was $6-billion after holders of its stock were paid $1.3-billion in dividends. The loss equates to $1.85 a… Continue reading Freddie Mac Loses Better $4.7-Billion

Even before the program to refinance underwater home mortgages is launched, a government analysis shows that fewer homeowners will be aided than government officials first announced. The HUD announcement to launch its Federal Housing Administration underwater refinancing program estimated that 3 to 4 million homeowners would be aided through the plan. But a HUD Regulatory… Continue reading Mortgage Refinancing Program Watered Down

In a government effort to help homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) today announced that it is launching a program to aid underwater mortgage holders. A growing segment of Americans are angered over the foreclosure crisis, many of whom have lost… Continue reading FHA Launches Underwater Mortgage Refinancing Program

Can mortgage rates get any lower? That’s the real question homeowners looking at refinancing and home buyers are asking today after rates hit a new low average of 4.49% on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to Fannie Mae. The rate was a slim five-one-hundredths of a percent lower than last week, setting a new… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Drop Even Lower

By Lois A. Vitt, Ph.D. A major principle to keep in mind when considering whether to become an investor in housing is risk tolerance. To answer the question of your risk tolerance level in home investing consider the factual information: Your age, income, experience, savings, future need for cash, and investing time horizon. They are… Continue reading Psychology of Home Investing

Fed up with bankers refusing to negotiate on their mortgages, homeowners are walking away from their homes in rapidly increasing numbers whether they can afford the mortgage or not. A new Housing Predictor survey culled from a sampling of more than fifty counties in 25 U.S. states has determined that homeowners who are upside down… Continue reading Mortgage Walk-aways Growing Anger

By Kevin Chiu Countrywide Home Mortgage has agreed to pay $600-million to investors in the largest settlement yet in the mortgage meltdown, but the settlement does nothing to answer a series of class action lawsuits filed against the company by mortgage holders. Countrywide was the nation’s largest mortgage company before encountering problems with its series… Continue reading Countrywide Record Settlement Covers Only Stock Holders

Driven by an increase in government backed mortgages, applications for home purchases rose for the third straight week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in its weekly survey. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 1.5% for the week ending July 30 th. The Market Composite Index, which measures all mortgage application types, also increased a slight… Continue reading Mortgage Applications Rise Third Straight Week