mortgage

Mortgage Insurance Rates Skyrocket (For Homeowners That Still Qualify)

August 21, 2008

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is an insurance policy paid to a lender in the event that a homeowner defaults on his home loan. With the growing number of mortgage defaults nationwide, mortgage insurers are finding their balance sheets under attack and their revenues in the red. So far this year, mortgage insurers have paid out $6 […]

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The Mortgage Market’s Abnormal Reaction To July’s Producer Price Index Reading

August 20, 2008

The Producer Price Index is a business inflation meter and it’s now up 9.8 percent annually. This is a huge number for PPI and represents the highest year-over-year rate of inflation since 1981. Normally, blowout inflation like this would be terrible for mortgage rates but mortgage markets are actually improved since Tuesday’s data release. Usually, a rocketing PPI would […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : August 18, 2008

August 18, 2008

Mortgage rates overcame a terrible Monday last week, climbing back to unchanged by Friday.  And like most weeks this year, rates were volatile. Most interesting about last week, though, was that there was a ton of news that should have dragged mortgage rates down, but it didn’t seem to happen. A popular inflation measure reached […]

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How Russia Invading Georgia Can Change Your Mortgage Rates

August 14, 2008

The connection between the world’s political events and mortgage rates here at home is not always clear, but Russia’s invasion of Georgia provides a strong working lesson. Georgia is a former Soviet republic on the eastern shores of the Black Sea.  Oil pipelines within its territory supply about 1 percent of the world’s daily oil […]

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n Pictures : Mortgage Guidelines Get Tough For All Borrower Types — Quickly

August 13, 2008

It’s not your imagination — getting approved for a home loan is becoming increasingly more difficult. Taken from the Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey of 84 banks, it illustrates the changing dynamic of mortgage guidelines. Most notable is the steep curve for “prime” mortgages, a type of home loan given to applicants exhibiting: A well-documented credit […]

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How To Make Sense Of The Pending Home Sales Index

August 12, 2008

When home sellers accepts a contract on MLS-listed property, the property’s official status changes from “Active” to “Pending”. By measuring the number of “Pending” homes nationwide, the National Association of Realtors® publishes its once-monthly Pending Homes Sales Index. The real estate industry group positions the report as a predictor of future home sales activity, stating that […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : August 11, 2008

August 11, 2008

In a week packed with mortgage news and economic data, mortgage rates swung hard in both directions last week before settling into the weekend slightly higher across the board. Adjustable-rate mortgages worsened more than their fixed-rate counterparts and both broke a two-week streak in which mortgage rates had improved. But, if we look at all of the […]

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Fannie Mae Increases Its Mandatory Loan Fees For All Borrowers

August 7, 2008

Fannie Mae announced a new risk-based pricing model and additional mortgage delivery fees this week, adding to the cost of buying or refinancing a home. Risk-based pricing was first introduced by Fannie Mae this past April. It added new, mandatory loan fees for high-risk borrowers while rewarding a small group of low-risk borrowers with fee […]

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Why It May Be Prudent To Lock Your Mortgage Rate Before 2:15 P.M. ET Today

August 5, 2008

The Federal Open Market Committee meets today and is widely expected to hold the Federal Funds Rate at 2.000 percent. This does not mean that mortgage rates will stay flat, too, however. The Fed Funds Rate is a different type of interest rate from the ones charged to American homeowners for their mortgages. The Fed […]

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Making English Out Of Fed-Speak (August 2008 Edition)

August 5, 2008

For the second consecutive meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee left the Fed Funds Rate unchanged at 2.000 percent. In its press release, the Federal Reserve addresses inflation, saying that it “has been high”, fingering energy and commodity costs as culprits.  The Fed does expects inflation to moderate later this year, however. Regarding recession, the Fed […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : August 4, 2008

August 4, 2008

In a week in which stock markets moved 1 percent or more on four separate days, mortgage markets displayed a relative calmness that helped pull rates lower. It was the second consecutive week that mortgage rates improved. Last week’s biggest story came Monday when the housing bill was passed into law.  The new law provides lifelines […]

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Changing Mortgage Guidelines Impact Buyers Of Second Homes And Investment Properties

August 1, 2008

Conforming mortgage guidelines are the Home Loan Rule Book, delineating between applicants that approved for a mortgage and those that do not. Effective today, the rule book just got a little bit tougher. According to Fannie Mae, homeowners converting their primary residence into a second home or investment property will be subject to additional underwriting […]

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How Falling Gas Prices May Increase Your Home Purchasing Power

July 30, 2008

Falling gas prices is doing more than saving Americans money at the pump — it’s also helping to pressure mortgage rates lower. Mortgage rates had spiked between mid-June and mid-July, mostly because economists identified inflationary signals in the U.S. economy. The largest signal, of course, was the ever-rising cost to fill a car with gasoline.  […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : July 28, 2008

July 28, 2008

On the wave of a two-day rally, mortgage rates improved last week overall.  This despite a Friday reversal that had caused rates to tick higher just before weekend house-hunting began. And, like so many other weeks this year, last week’s mortgage market activity was defined by its quick-moving interest rates. At least one major mortgage […]

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Freddie Mac’s SEC Filing : The 2 Sentences That Matter In A 1,394-Page Document

July 24, 2008

Sometimes, the hardest part about news is knowing where to find it. In its filing with the SEC last week, Freddie Mac stated that it will “pursue increases” to its middleman fee.  This would likely make mortgages more expensive for every conforming borrower in the country. The exact verbiage from the filing is extremely opaque and […]

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How Hurricanes Change Home Affordability

July 23, 2008

After falling 7 cents per gallon over the last 7 days, gas prices are being pressured higher today as Hurricane Dolly barrels through the Gulf of Mexico. The first landfall hurricane of the season is expected to flood the southern Texas coast and cause minor disruptions to the nation’s oil supplies. Versus Hurricane Katrina in […]

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Looking Back And Looking Ahead : July 21, 2008

July 21, 2008

Mortgage rates soared last week as mortgage markets experienced a 4-day freefall. By the end of the trading week, conforming mortgage rates had jumped by as much as 0.500 percent. The spike in rates can’t be pinned on any one factor, but 3 contributing factors include: The lingering impact of high energy prices on inflation […]

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Mandatory FHA Loan Fees Increase For Some, Fall For Others

July 18, 2008

For the first time in its history, the FHA changed its funding fees and mortgage insurance structure this week.  FHA-insured home loans are now subject to a risk-based pricing adjustment, as shown by the table above. Because of risk-based pricing, FHA home loans are now more expensive for borrowers with less-than-ideal credit profiles, and less expensive borrowers […]

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Mortgage Rates Spike On Highest Cost Of Living Index Since 1991

July 17, 2008

Another day, another piece of inflationary data. June’s Consumer Price Index showed a 5 percent year-over-year increase in what is now the largest annual Cost of Living increase for Americans in 17 years. This is bad news for both home buyers and homeowners in want of a new mortgage because rising costs are inflationary and […]

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10 Cities That May Be Signaling That The Worst Of Housing May Already Be Over

July 16, 2008

Last week, Forbes Magazine published a Top 10 list that should grab the attention of housing market bottom-feeders. The Top 10 list of Increasingly Affordable U.S. Housing Markets shows that falling home prices and steady mortgage rates are providing a support floor in some of the country’s most beat-up regions. The report’s methodology is simple: […]

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