Tag Archives: mortgage
Homeownership dream fading?
Mortgage rates hit a new record low in last week’s Bankrate survey, but homeowners still aren’t biting, as proven by a drop in applications for new mortgages and refinance loans.
Homebuyers are holding back, for sure, as home prices keep falling and le… Continue reading
Reports of mortgage fraud spike
The deeper the banks go to uncover faulty or fraudulent mortgage transactions conducted during the housing boom, the uglier it gets. Accounts of mortgage fraud skyrocketed by 88 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to a report from the… Continue reading
Who are the new homebuyers?
Homebuying conditions look great on paper, but a bunch of factors is preventing traditional first-time buyers or those looking to trade up from getting into the game. Consequently, the new buyers are more often investors with cash or cautious buyers of… Continue reading
Lower rates, fewer loans
Lower interest rates were not enough to spur home sales and refinances last year, shows a study by the Federal Reserve.
Even though mortgage rates in 2010 were significantly lower than in 2009, lenders originated about one million fewer mortgages last … Continue reading
How low can rates go?
Thinking about getting a mortgage? You had better get started quickly.
Mortgage rates embarked on a downward spiral after the Fed announcement of Operation Twist. They will attract refinancers like moths to a flame, mortgage experts say.
“Homeown… Continue reading
Higher mortgage fees proposed
In the ongoing effort to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, the regulator that oversees the two agencies, proposed charging higher mortgage fees and sharing some of the lending risk wi… Continue reading
A slap for Fannie and Freddie
A three-year investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is close to being settled, according to an article in the New York Times, without either of the two mortgage companies… Continue reading
Big banks face firing squad
The big banks are fielding a barrage of litigation and accusations for their part in the mortgage mess.
The latest salvo came from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The regulator filed suit Friday … Continue reading
Low rates won’t save us
Mortgage rates across the board plummeted to the lowest level in the history of Freddie Mac’s weekly rate survey, to 4.15 percent for a 30-year fixed. But the low rates, coupled with low home prices, are unlikely to kick-start a housing market still st… Continue reading
Where are the refinancers?
Mortgage brokers say since rates plummeted this week, they have been swamped with calls from borrowers who want to refinance. But many of these calls don’t have a happy ending.
Why? Because millions of borrowers can’t refinance. Nearly one in four home… Continue reading