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Mortgage Interest Rates Fall Again to Yet Another New Record Low

Today Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey,showing average mortgage rates have dropped to new all-time record lows! [...]

Mortgage Rate Update;Should you Rent or Buy a Home?

Until recently,home ownership was no bargain compared to renting,according to Paul Diggle,a housing economist at Capital Economics. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau and published statistics from Thomson Datastream indicate that rising rents and falling mortgages are tipping the scales towards home ownership. The median monthly mortgage payment has fallen to about the same as a median monthly rent check. [...]

St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update;What income is required for a mortgage?

What income is required to qualify for a mortgage? That largely depends on your monthly debt payments and the current interest rate. This calculator collects these important variables and determines your required income to qualify for your desired mortgage amount.(click here)

 

Mortgage interest rates have fallen this [...]

Mortgage Delinquences Increase in December but are Down over 25 percent from a year ago

Mortgage delinquencies in December increased to 2.24 percent of all mortgages,a slight increase from the month before when delinquencies were at 2.22 percent but a decrease of over 25 percent from a year ago when the rate was 3.01 percent. The mortgage delinquency rate is something I pay close attention to because it is the “leading indicator”of foreclosures and foreclosures and REO’s are one of the major hurdles to a recovery in the housing market. Declining delinquency rates are our first clue that the housing market is headed to a recovery. [...]

Mortgage interest rates fall to match all time low!

This morning,Freddie Mac released the results of it’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealing that the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.91 percent,matching the all-time low! Makes me want to go out and borrow some money! :) At this time last year,the interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.77 percent. [...]

Mortgage Rate Update;Trends that will affect the housing market in 2012

The National Association of Realtors’research staff recently released its comprehensive annual report:Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers for 2011. Market researcher,Paul C. Bishop,Ph. D.,Vice President and Jessica Lautz,Manager of Consumer Survey Research state that they’ve identified “trends that have not been seen in the last 10 years,”which will affect the housing market as we enter 2012. [...]

Mortgage Rates Finish 2011 Near Historic Lows

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey®(PMMS),showing average fixed mortgage rates finishing the year near their all-time historic lows. Thirty-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 3.95 percent and have been at or below 4.0 percent for the past nine consecutive weeks keeping homebuyer affordability at a near all-time high. [...]

Hawaii homeowners have highest mortgage amounts in U.S.

Ah the beauty and splendor of Hawaii! Living in paradise comes at a price though as Hawaii,by far,leads the nation in average loan amount on a home,coming at $677,299 according to a report just released by LendingTree.com. Coming in a rather distant second is Washington D.C. at $393,453,followed by New Jersey at $344,240 and New York at $340,124. At the other end of the spectrum,Mississippi has the lowest average home loan at $137,182. The national average is $222,261. [...]

Credit Score FAQ’s

An extraordinary 18 percent of Realtors have experienced contract failures in the last few months according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is double the levels of a year earlier. One of the top reasons that cause these contract cancellations is credit issues. In many cases,understanding how the credit system works [...]

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Matches All-Time Record Low at 3.94 Percent

This morning Freddie Mac released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) which showed average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages matched an all time record low of 3.94 percent,and there was an all-time record low rate for 15-year fixed rate mortgages. [...]

Mortgage Rate Update; The Benefits of ARM’s

Even though over the past few years,ARM’s (adjustable rate mortgages) have received somewhat of a “bad name”,there are truly benefits to them including:[...]

Mortgage Rate Update; FHA good alternative for many home buyers

In this tighter credit environment,FHA remains to be a great alternative for buyers with limited resources for a down payment and closing costs or past credit problems. Underwriting guidelines are more lenient than conventional guidelines. [...]

How long after a foreclosure or short sale do you have to wait to get a home loan?

Over the past few years many people that had never faced financial trouble found themselves in foreclosure,doing a short-sale or deed in lieu or filing bankruptcy as a result of the burst of the housing bubble,record unemployment and a weak economy in general. People in this situation,many of whom were homeowners for years,were forced to lived with relatives or friends,or rent until they were able to get through their financial crisis. Now,many of these folks have been able to get back on their feet and want to buy a home again but don’t know when,or if they will be able to get a home loan again due to their past. [...]

Mortgage delinquency rate increases for first time since 2009

This morning,Trans Union released a report showing the national mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased to 5.88 percent (from 5.82 percent in the 2nd quarter) during the third quarter of 2011,after falling in the previous quarter by the largest rate in two years. This is the first time mortgage delinquency rates have increased since the end of 2009. [...]

Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) Guidelines Eased and Deadline Extended

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced it eased the requirements as well as extended the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to December 31,2013 from the current expiration date for the program of June 30,2012. According to FHFA,as of August 31,2011,nearly 894,000 borrowers have been refinanced through HARP and they (FHFA) feel easing the requirements will make it possible for many additional borrowers to refinance as well. [...]

Mortgage deqlinquencies decline in September;Foreclosures on the rise

The “first-look”report from Lender Processing Services,one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data,shows mortgage delinquencies decreased 0.5 percent in September from the month before and decreased 12.7 percent from the year before. On the other hand,and perhaps part of the reason for the decline in the delinquency rate,the foreclosure rate increased in September by 1.7 percent from the prior month and was up 8.9 percent from the year before. [...]

Mortgage delinquencies on the rise but down significantly from a year ago

Mortgage delinquencies in September increased to 2.10 percent of all mortgages,a 2.9 percent increase from the month before when delinquencies were at 2.04 percent but a decrease of over 33 percent from a year ago when the rate was 3.14 percent. [...]

5 Tips on How to Find Rock-Bottom Mortgage Rates

Mortgage interest rates hit an all time low in the past month with 30 year fixed rate mortgages dropping below 4 percent for the first time ever! Over the past couple of weeks,rates have ticked up slightly but are still dirt cheap! So what can you do to make sure you are getting the lowest mortgage rates possible? According to Doug Lebda,Chariman and CEO of LendingTree.com,if borrowers follow the guidelines listed below they can increase their chances of being approved for a mortgage loan at the most desirable interest rate:[...]

FHA provides a reliable alternative in this tight credit market.

In this tighter credit environment,FHA remains to be a great alternative for buyers with limited resources for a down payment and closing costs or past credit problems. Underwriting guidelines are more lenient than conventional guidelines.

Highlights of FHA financing:[...]

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fall below 4 percent;first time in history

This morning,Freddie Mac released the results of it’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealing that the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.94 percent,dropping below 4.0 percent for the first time in history! All I can say is WOW! [...]

Housing market not out of the woods yet

Mark Fleming,Ph.D.,Chief Economist for CoreLogic,in a presentation yesterday,said the housing market is not out of the woods yet as the potential of a double-dip in our economy increases and as 30 to 40 percent of economists feel there is a chance of another recession. [...]

Record low interest rates coupled with low prices make buying a home more affordable than ever

This morning,Freddie Mac released the results of it’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealing that the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.01 percent,which is an all-time record low and the interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.28 percent,also an all-time record low! [...]

Mortgage loan fraud reports in 2nd quarter up 88 percent from a year ago

A report released today by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shows that financial institutions filed 29,558 reports suspecting mortgage loan fraud activity during the 2nd quarter,an increase of 88 percent from the 2nd quarter of 2010 when there were 15,727 reports. [...]

Restitution for victims of improper foreclosure practices

Robo-signing is one of those terms I never heard until the news of improper foreclosure practices by some of the nation’s largest lenders started hitting the news in the past year and now the word has become synonymous with bad foreclosure practices. As a result,in April of this year the Office of the Comptroller [...]

Mortgage delinquencies decline in August;down almost 12 percent from year ago

I keep saying that,until the foreclosure rate gets back down closer to a “normal”rate and the REO inventory is absorbed to the point where they are no longer putting such immense downward pressure on home prices,we are not going to see any sort of sustainable recovery in the housing market. It [...]

Double-dip recession concern by consumers is putting a damper on the housing market

Fannie Mae’s Economics &Mortgage Market Analysis Group says that we are not out of the woods yet and that the economy is “flirting with another economic downturn”now after more than two years since the worst recession since the World War II era. Fannie Mae Chief Economist,Doug Duncan,said “the weakening economic backdrop,[...]

Mistakes borrowers make when refinancing their home loan

The top five mistakes consumers make when refinancing their home loan were revealed by LendingTree Network’s newly released “Monthly Lender Marketplace Survey”. According to the survey,the top 5 mistakes made by consumers refinancing their home loans are:

Over-estimating the value of the home:With home values dropping in today’s market,borrowers typically over-value their [...]

Homeowners in negative equity position declines in 2nd quarter;majority have above market interest rates

A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 22.5 percent (10.9 million) of all homeowners in the U.S. with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the second quarter of 2011,down slightly from 22.7 percent the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater”or “upside down”and [...]

Minnesota Emerges as Mortgage Fraud Hot Spot

Minnesota has emerged as the state with the highest amount of mortgage fraud (in total dollar amount) according to the second-quarter 2011 Mortgage Fraud Index from MortgageDaily.com. With $184,715,000 of mortgage fraud activity in the 2nd quarter Minnesota inched out the first place spot from Florida which had $184,009,434 in loans with mortgage fraud involved.

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Mortgage interest rates dip to lowest rate this year

Mortgage interest rates have hit a new low for the year,dipping to an average of 4.29% (4.54% APR) for 30-year fixed mortgages,3.53% (3.90% APR) for 15-year fixed mortgages and 3.38% (3.63% APR) for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) earlier this week according to the LendingTree Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse. The report also [...]