Archive for the 'Homebuying' Category
FHA Extends Waiver on House Flipping Rules
December 29th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
WASHINGTON (CN) – The Federal Housing Administration will extend a waiver on its anti-flipping regulations until Dec. 31, 2012.
”This extension is intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods struggling to overcome the possible effects of abandonment and blight,” said Acting FHA Commissioner Carol J. Galante.
Under regulations adopted in 2003 the FHA does not insure mortgages on houses sold within 90 days of the re-seller’s acquisition, unless that seller meets certain exemptions such as being a government-sponsored entity or nonprofit organization approved to purchase homes owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The FHA said it adopted those regulations to protect consumers against collusion by mortgage lenders and appraisers to inflate the price of properties to which a speculative buyer has made only superficial improvements, if any.
Since the original waiver took effect in February 2010, the FHA said, it has insured nearly 42,000 mortgages worth more than $7 billion on properties resold within 90 days of acquisition.
The FHA said it had research showing that the regulations discouraged sellers from accepting FHA-backed buyers at a time when it needs to do everything possible to promote recovery in the housing market.
By TRAVIS SANFORD
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Fixed Rate Mortgages Hit Record Low of 4.01 Percent
September 30th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), coming on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s recent announcements as the conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged an all-time record low at 4.01 percent, with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Sept. 29, 2011, down from the previous week when it averaged 4.09 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.32 percent.
www.nationalmortgageprofessional.com
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Mortgage Rates Hold Near Lows
July 5th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
Mortgage interest remained near annual lows last week, with the 30-year fixed rate averaging 4.51 percent compared to the year’s low of 4.49 percent reached three weeks ago. The 15-year fixed rate, meanwhile, stood fast at 3.69 percent after hitting its 2011 low of 3.47 percent two weeks ago. Trackers say expiration of the central bank’s $600 billion bond purchasing program — which pushed down Treasury yields and, subsequently, mortgage rates — could mean higher interest this summer.
Detroit News (07/04/11) Kravitz, Derek
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Home Loan Rates Hover Near Lows
June 24th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
Freddie Mac reports that average interest on 30-year fixed mortgages was flat at 4.50 percent this week, while 15-year fixed loans rose from a 2011 low of 3.67 percent a week ago to 3.69 percent. The 30-year loan fell to a yearly low of 4.49 percent two weeks ago. Meanwhile, average interest on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages slid from 3.27 percent to 3.25 percent – its lowest level since researchers began tracking the statistic in 2005.
Modesto Bee (CA) (06/24/11) Wagner, Daniel
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Mortgage Rates Hold Steady
June 17th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate drifted up to 4.50 percent in the week ended June 16 from 4.49 percent a week earlier. Meanwhile, rates on 15-year fixed loans dipped to 3.67 percent from 3.68 percent over that same time span. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said rates held steady as market participants shrugged off recent reports that inflation was trending up.
Wall Street Journal (06/17/11) P. C9 Fitzgerald, Drew; Kell, John
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Sales Buoy Hopes for Housing Market
May 25th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
The Census Bureau reported a 7.1 percent gain in new home sales in April from a month earlier, raising expectations that the slump in residential construction could be close to bottoming. New homes sold last month at a pace of 323,000 units, which is still down 23 percent from the same month a year earlier. Shrinking inventory, meanwhile, sent the sales price of a new house up for the second consecutive month. It settled at a median of $217,900, an increase of 4 percent from April 2010.
Wall Street Journal (05/25/11) P. A8 Whelan, Robbie
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World Events Affect Your Mortgage Rate
March 29th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
International events such as the tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster in Japan, the Libyan revolt and the uprising in Egypt have helped to depress mortgage rates in recent weeks. Investors have been moving money from riskier investments into safer U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, causing mortgage rates to decline. According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates averaged 4.81 percent for the week ended March 24, with inflationary pressures leading to the slight increase last week; rates could rise on domestic issues such as the Treasury Department’s selling back mortgage-backed securities. Freddie Mac forecasts a slow increase for rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to 5.5 percent by the fourth quarter of 2011, which is a historically low level for rates.
MarketWatch (03/29/11) Hoak, Amy
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Falling U.S. Rates Give Borrowers Reprieve
March 18th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
The 30-year, fixed loan settled at 4.76 percent for the week ended March 17, compared to 4.88 percent last week and 4.96 percent a year ago, reports Freddie Mac, as investors sought low-risk U.S. Treasuries in response to uncertainty in Japan. Chief economist Frank Nothaft says economic growth could brake in the near term, which is important for residential lending. Some analysts believe lower rates will drive more borrowers to refinance, but others say banks must make credit more accessible to spur a housing recovery.
Financial Times (03/18/11) Kapner, Suzanne
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What does your credit score mean?
March 15th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
Your credit score is a number between 300 and 850.
| Credit Score Range | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 750 – 850 | A is excellent credit |
| 700 – 750 | B is good credit |
| 600 – 700 | C is average |
| 500 – 600 | D is poor |
| 300 – 500 | You don’t want to get there! |
If there have been 60 and 90 day late payments on your credit report, your score would drop. Foreclosures, bankruptcies and collections affect your score very badly.
Your FICO score can be obtained by the credit reporting bureaus. A 3-in-1 report will pull your score from the three of them.
It is not clear exactly how FICO score is calculated. High credit score means that the borrower has no recent bankruptcies, foreclosures and more than 30 day late payments.
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Mortgage Applications at Highest Level in 3 Months
March 9th, 2011
Written by Frost Mortgage
Thanks largely to an improving job market, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index of loan applications spiked 15.5 percent for the week ended March 4 — marking the highest level in three months and the biggest gain since June 11. MBA’s gauge of purchase-loan demand increased 12.5 percent, while its index of refinancing requests climbed 17.2 percent.
Reuters (03/09/11) Schnurr, Leah
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