By Kevin Chiu Mortgage rates barely budged rising a single basis point to 4.87% on a fixed rate 30-year mortgage as uprisings in the Middle East disrupted financial markets, but did little to move rates this week, according to Freddie Mac. Concerns over Middle East uprisings, especially in Libya and growing tensions in Saudi Arabia… Continue reading Mortgage Interest Rates Barely Budge Amid Middle East Uprisings
Category: Statistics
Home Price Index Shows Six Month Drop
By Mike Colpitts Home prices dropped for six straight months in the U.S., declining by 5.7% on average in January compared to a year earlier, despite the federal governments home buyer tax credit, according to Core Logic. The real estate research firm gathers mortgage data for the lending industry. The drop represented a 1% higher… Continue reading Home Price Index Shows Six Month Drop
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Foreclosure Preventions Double
By Kevin Chiu The number of foreclosure preventions by mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae doubled in 2010 over a year earlier, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency formed to administer the failed government lenders. But remains drastically under what the White House promised to deliver. Combined preventative measures by both mortgage giants… Continue reading Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Foreclosure Preventions Double
Home Purchases Jump as Mortgage Applications Rise
By Kevin Chiu Mortgage applications rose sharply for both refinancing and home purchases as lower rates drove more consumers back to the marketplace, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. Applications for home purchases had a jump to the highest level they have reached for the year. Refinances also jumped 17.2% to reach their… Continue reading Home Purchases Jump as Mortgage Applications Rise
U.S. Flooded in Underwater Homes
By Mike Colpitts More than one out of four homes in the U.S. with a mortgage is in or near negative equity as the nation is flooded in underwater homes, according to a major real estate research firm. The data indicates a declining number of homeowners with mortgages that are upside down on their homes… Continue reading U.S. Flooded in Underwater Homes
Victims of a Reverse Mortgage
Part 2 Mandatory HUD counseling required for reverse mortgages does not protect or help the borrower. The counseling is never done with the final figures of the contract, which changes absolutely everything, including the terms, disclosures, costs and fees, the amount of funds (money) to the borrower and most of all the ability to understand… Continue reading Victims of a Reverse Mortgage
Expecting Huge Penalties, Banks Want More Money Down
By Kim Olson Gone are the days when you could “put nothing down” to get a home mortgage. Lenders are pushing for bigger down payments, and want more money down, forcing borrowers to rethink just how much house they can afford. The developments come as the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, Bank of America, Wells Fargo… Continue reading Expecting Huge Penalties, Banks Want More Money Down
Mortgage Rates Drop Three Straight Weeks
Mortgage rates showed a drop for the third week in a row averaging just 4.87% on a 30-year fixed rate loan, according to Freddie Mac. The average dropped to the lowest level in more than a month as lenders slashed rates to get borrowers back into the market, down from an average of 4.95% last… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Drop Three Straight Weeks
Paying Homeowners Money to Stay Works
By Mike Colpitts A former Wall Street banker, who started a company to save homeowners with mortgages from foreclosure has enrolled just short of 10,000 borrowers in its RH Reward program that is paying cash rewards to hurting homeowners. The plan works with banks and other financial institutions, including hedge funds to work with upside… Continue reading Paying Homeowners Money to Stay Works
Wealth Effect Impact Enormous on U.S.
By Kevin Chiu The impact of the now near fatal “Wealth Effect” on the US is enormous with weakening consumer confidence over the economy. Just in case you hadn’t heard of it before, the Wealth Effect is the way people feel about their personal financial condition as a result of equity in their home or… Continue reading Wealth Effect Impact Enormous on U.S.