Massive refinance plan on the way?
The Obama administration is discussing a massive refinance plan to help millions of homeowners refinance at today's historically low rates and avoid foreclosures, The New York Times reported this week.
Wait, wasn't that what HARP was supposed to have done when the government launched it in 2009? HARP, the Home Affordable Refinance Program, was designed to
More bad housing news
Bad news for the housing market just keeps coming. This morning, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales slipped 0.7 percent in July, a bigger-than-anticipated decline. The seasonally adjusted 298,000-unit annual rate is less than the 310,000 units forecast by economists and a five-month low. The supply of new homes on the market in
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 stuck in the doldrums.
Borrowers with good credit and a large down payment
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Tagged Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, mortgage, Mortgages, Rates
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Mortgage delinquencies rise
The delinquency rate for residential mortgage loans increased in the second quarter.
About 8.44 percent of the more than 43 million outstanding mortgages in the United States are past due, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Delinquency Survey.
That's an increase of 12 basis points compared to the last quarter and it does not include mortgages
Short sale failure
More than a year has passed since the government launched the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, or HAFA, a short-sale program that provides incentives to lenders and homeowners in an effort to avoid foreclosures. But few have benefited from the program.
With so many homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages, you would think millions of borrowers would have
Big lenders lower loan limits
If you plan to refinance or take out a big mortgage but have not applied yet, you might have to work a little harder to get the lowest rate.
Three of the nation's biggest lenders have stopped taking applications under the current higher loan limits. The new loan limits won't take effect until Oct. 1., but
Good time to invest in a rental?
Home prices and mortgage rates are low, the number of potential renters is increasing and the stock market is in the midst of bear-market gyrations. So is this a good time to invest in rental real estate?
Investors seeking ways to diversify their stock portfolios are eyeing real estate-buying opportunities ahead of potentially higher borrowing rates
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Housing starts fall
The latest housing starts depict a market that remains gridlocked by a glut of unsold homes and a weak economy. According to the Commerce Department, permits to build new homes in July fell 3.2 percent and the number of new homes being built slipped 1.5 percent. That's the bad news.
The good news is that the drop
Help solve the housing crisis
Have a few ideas about how to solve the housing crisis you're just dying to share with the people in charge? Step right up: The Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, is seeking input on creative solutions to get foreclosed homes off the market and has joined with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or
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Tagged Fannie Mae, FHA, foreclosed, Freddie Mac, homes, housing, Mortgages, properties
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