18th August 2008, 10:54 am
Rates on 30-year mortgages remained at the same level for a 3rd week while rates on other types of home loans posted small declines.
Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.52% this week which was the same rate as the two previous weeks and represented the second highest rate of the year.
The highest rate so far this year was 6.63% hit for the week ending July 24.
Rates on 15-yr, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, fell to 6.07%, down from 6.10% last week.
Rates on 5-yr, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.02% this week, down slightly from 6.05% last week. Rates on 1-yr, adjustable-rate mortgages dipped to 5.18%, down from 5.22% last week.
The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees (points). The nationwide average fee for 30-yr mortgages and 15-yr mortgages was 0.7%. 5-yr mortgages had an average fee of 0.6% while 1-yr mortgages carried an average fee of 0.5%.
A year ago, rates on 30-yr mortgages were at 6.62%, 15-yr mortgage rates averaged 6.30%, 5-yr adjustable-rate mortgages were at 6.35% and 1-yr adjustable-rate mortgages stood at 5.67%.
The housing market continues to struggle with the deepest downturn in decades. Home prices and sales are falling sharply and the glut of unsold homes is rising as more mortgages go into foreclosure.
10th August 2008, 11:51 am
Lenders and investors should refine their underwriting rules so more potential home buyers with good credit can once again qualify for financing. Lenders should make it easier for borrowers who continue to make their payments even though they owe more than their homes are now worth to either refinance or obtain loan modifications.
The mortgage brokers group says that lenders have tightened the rules so much that some otherwise creditworthy borrowers, particularly those who are self-employed or have part-time jobs, can no longer qualify.Unless teachers and police officers have had the same second job for at least two years, that income can no longer be counted. And entrepreneurs with multiple sources of income are now having trouble documenting their earnings to the satisfaction of lenders.
To help homeowners who are not yet delinquent, the group called on lenders and investors to devise payment modification plans and create streamlined refinancing programs without having to have their properties reappraised.
The mortgage brokers also pointed out the opportunity to obtain financing at favorable rates will close at the end of the year unless efforts to persuade Congress to declare California a high-cost market are successful.
On Jan. 1, the temporary $729,750 limit on loans in high-cost markets that can be insured by the Federal Housing Administration or purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will DROP back to $625,000.
Loans above the conforming loan ceiling are priced anywhere from 1.5% to 2% points higher than those under the limit.
31st July 2008, 09:40 pm
Affordability concerns continued to impact Ca. residential real estate market, with the share of first time home buyers declining to their second lowest level from 30.5% in 2005 to 27.1% in 2006,a transition year in which statewide sales of existing single-family homes decreased 23%, while price appreciation slowed dramatically. As well as the share of buyers who used a second mortgage climbed from 38% in 2005 to 43% in 2006, more than triple the percentage since 2001 and the highest percentage since 1982. The use of alternative loan products also registered a sharp increase.
Home sales in California fell in 2006 after 4 years of expansion. Home sales in the Southern California region followed the general direction of the state, declining 23% from the record level of 2005. Inventory levels in this part of the state nearly tripled from a year ago. The Central Valley had the largest decline in sales activity among the three regions in California.
More facts about Ca. Real Estate Market: Continue reading ‘California Real Estate Market’ »
31st July 2008, 06:31 pm
Real estate has turned more ordinary people into wealthy people than anything else. Many people believe that one of the most profitable areas of real estate investing is foreclosures. Investors can often pick up the properties for pennies on the dollar. If investors can make money off of it, why can’t you save $$thousands from using the same strategy? If you’ve been watching the news, you know that the number of foreclosures is growing nationwide.
So, why not buy your first or DREAM home like an investor does? At least find out how they do it, so you know they can’t take advantage of you when you buy a “standard sale” from them. Because whether you like it or not, there will be A LOT OF foreclosed homes for sale for the next few years. That’s just the way it is. Continue reading ‘Buying Foreclosures - Without Using Your Own Money Or Credit’ »
28th July 2008, 09:20 pm
A. Summary of the “Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008″
This legislation strengthens and modernizes the regulation of the housing government-sponsored
enterprises – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the enterprises) and the Federal Home Loan Banks
(FHLBs or Banks) – and expands the housing mission of these GSEs. In addition, it creates a
new program at FHA that will help at least 400,000 families save their homes from foreclosure
by providing for new FHA loans after lenders take deep discounts. Continue reading ‘Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 - FHA H.R.3221’ »
27th July 2008, 09:38 pm
A more than a quarter percent point gain in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.63% during this week from the prior week, marking the highest level since it reached 6.68% last August.The 15-year fixed mortgage rate also increased, climbing to 6.18% from 5.78%.
Meanwhile, the five-year hybrid adjustable mortgage rate rose to 6.16% from 5.80%; and the one-year ARM surged to 5.49% from 5.10%.
Under a California initiative aimed to help prospective homeowners with modest means, lenders including Wells Fargo, HomeEq, CitiMortgage, and Fannie Mae will price their foreclosed properties at 12% below market value.The California Housing Finance Agency will offer 30-year loans at a fixed interest rate of 5.5% to first-time home buyers who purchase the foreclosed properties through the Community Stabilization Home Loan Program. To see more information about this program, please see my recent post State Agency Will Lend To First Time Homebuyers Also, if you are interested in buying foreclosures, please check out Buying Foreclosures- Foreclosure Search.
24th July 2008, 09:26 pm
A lot of people come to me and say, “I want a good deal.” “I want to buy foreclosures.” I understand everyone wants a good deal. As a matter of fact, I believe a real estate investor makes money when he buys. And more importantly, you buy because it’s a good deal, not because you can afford it. That way you know you are NOT paying a higher price only because it’s not “expensive” to you. So you buy good values with below market prices regardless of what you can afford.
Now you may ask me where you can get the money. Well, that will be a whole new topic for another day. But, I think if you want to do well, especially in Real Estate investing, you should deeply believe “Money Isn’t the Issue.” My point is that IF it’s a good enough deal, financing will be on its way. In fact, the better deal it is, the easier it is to get financed.
Continue reading ‘Buying Foreclosures - Foreclosure Search’ »
24th July 2008, 01:56 pm
Rescue legislation sailed through the House on Wednesday aimed at helping 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure and preventing the collapse of troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and lawmakers in both parties negotiated the final deal. It accomplishes several Democratic priorities, including aid for homeowners, a permanent affordable housing fund financed by the two mortgage companies and the money for hard-hit neighborhoods. The grants are for buying and fixing up foreclosed properties.
The bill would let the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) back $300 billion in new loans so an estimated 400,000 homeowners who cannot afford their house payments could try to escape foreclosure by refinancing into safer, more affordable mortgages. Lenders would have to agree to take a substantial loss on the existing loans, and in return, they would walk away with at least some payoff and avoid the often-costly foreclosure process.
For more information, please check out Updates On the Housing Bill.
23rd July 2008, 03:40 pm
Lenders started foreclosure proceedings on a record number of California homeowners, the result of declining home values and the risky home loans made in late 2005 and 2006.
Mortgage servicers recorded 121,341 “notices of default” during the April-through-June period. That was up 6.6% from a revised 113,809 for this year’s first quarter, and up 124.9% from 53,943 in second-quarter 2007. Last quarter’s number of defaults was the highest in DataQuick’s statistics, which go back to 1992. Continue reading ‘CA Mortgage Defaults Increase’ »
23rd July 2008, 08:34 am
The Bush administration and lawmakers in both parties teamed to negotiate the measure, which pairs Democrats’ top priorities — federal help for homeowners facing foreclosure and $3.9 billion for devastated neighborhoods — with Republicans’ goal of reining in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while reassuring financial markets of their stability.
Bush had objected to the neighborhood grants, which would be for buying and fixing up foreclosed properties, saying that they were aimed at helping bankers and lenders, not homeowners who are in trouble.
Congressional analysts estimated Tuesday that mortgage giant the rescue could cost $25 billion, but predicted there’s a better than even chance it won’t be needed at all.
The bill would let hundreds of thousands of homeowners trapped in mortgages they can’t afford on Continue reading ‘Updates On the Housing Bill’ »
