New Year, Great Mortgage Rates
As a new year dawns, we already have great news to report: Mortgage rates are at historic lows. The news on the economic front may continue to be dismal, but this is actually great news for homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance.
The big financial headline for the first business day of the year was the release of the ISM Manufacturing index, a key economic indicator.
Numbers released today showed that the performance Read more
Due to Low Mortgage Interest Rates Homeowners Continue to Apply for Mortgages in Record Numbers
Undaunted by the holiday season, consumers continued to apply for mortgages in record numbers last week, according to the latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, released today by The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The MBA reports that its Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, shows the number of people applying to refinance their mortgage”:/refinance dipped only 0.4 percent while the purchase Read more
Low Interest Rates, Low Housing Prices and Lower Down Payments. The Home Buying Stars Have Aligned.
Want to start off the New Year with some good news? (We thought so.) If your New Year’s resolution centers around buying a home, there are THREE big things going on that you should know about.
The home buying stars have aligned, and they’re telling you to take advantage.
#1 Mortgage interest rates have dropped to the lowest they’ve been in 50 years. With mortage interest rates at historic lows, the number of people Read more
Mortgage Re-Default Rates Going from Bad to Worse
The percentage of current and performing mortgages fell from 93.33 percent at the end of the first quarter to 91.47 percent at the end of the third quarter, according to the OCC and OTS Mortgage Metrics report released today.
Meanwhile, efforts to get bad mortgages back on track seem to be failing at a rather high clip, with 55 percent of loans modified in the first quarter 30 days late and nearly 37 percent 60 days Read more
Lower Mortgage Rates Lead to a Bona Fide Refinance Boom
That’s right folks, you read that correctly. Right now, as a result of the lowest 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates since 1971, we are officially in a refinance boom.
According to Marketwatch.com, “The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tumbled to a national average 5.17% this week, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began its weekly rate survey in 1971.”
Good news for the economy. Good news for homeowners Read more
Mortgage Rates Lowest in Freddie Mac Survey History
Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest point since mortgage financier Freddie Mac began its weekly interest rate survey in April 1971.
“Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates fell for the seventh consecutive week, moving these rates to the lowest since the survey began in April 1971,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist.
“The decline was supported by the Read more
Home Builders Wants Mortgage Rates at 2.9 Percent
The chief executive of the National Association of Home Builders reportedly wants a government program launched to lower interest rates on home loans to 2.9 percent, along with an expanded homebuyer tax credit.
With these two initiatives in place, NAHB boss Jerry Howard believes the glut of unsold housing inventory could be off the market in six to 12 months.
He believes 4.5 percent mortgage rates aren’t Read more
How the Fed Rate Cut Affects Mortgage Rates
Last year, we wrote an article - Does the Fed Rate Cut Affect Your Mortgage Rate?, where we outlined how the Fed Funds Rate, as part of the larger economy and economic markets, can affect mortgage interest rates.
This week, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) lowered the Fed Funds Rate to 0.25% - its lowest in history (and even zero in some cases). This has been like a defibrillator to the sluggish economy, shocking some life into the markets Read more
Mortgage Applications Continue Their Rally Due to Very Low Mortgage Rates
Americans continue refinancing their mortgages in massive numbers according to this morning’s Market Composite Index, released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The Market Composite Index, which measures and compares mortgage loan application volume from week to week, showed that for the week ending December 12, mortgage activity jumped 2.9% from the previous week’s numbers. The number of refinance applications Read more
Mortgage Rates Near Five Year Low
Mortgage rates on the highly popular 30-year fixed dropped to their lowest point in nearly five years, according to the latest report from government-sponsored entity Freddie Mac.
The average rate on the product fell to 5.47 percent during the week ending December 11, down from 5.53 percent a week earlier and 6.11 percent this time last year.
It’s now at its lowest point since March 25, 2004, when it Read more