Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates decreased slightly for the week ending August 6, 2009 from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.22% with 0.6% in fees and points, down from 5.25% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.52%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages decreased slightly as well, down to 4.63% from 4.69% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.73% and 1 year ARM’s as well as 4.78%. This time last year these arms were 6.05% and 5.22% respectively.
“Better-than-expected economic reports helped to keep mortgage rates low this week,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “The economy slowed by an annual rate of 1 percent in the second quarter, which was more positive than market forecasts.”
Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates increased slightly this week from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.25% with 0.7% in fees and points, up from 5.20% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.52%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages held steady at 4.69%, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.75% and 1 year ARM’s rose slightly to 4.80%. This time last year these arms were 6.07% and 5.27% respectively.
“Bond yields rose slightly higher this week on market optimism that the economy may be stabilizing somewhat and mortgage rates followed those yields,” said Fronk Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.
“Other economic reports confirm that the housing market may indeed be bottoming out. New home sales rose for the third consecutive month in June to an annual pace of 384,000 homes, the most since November 2008 and the number of new houses on the market fell to the lowest amount since February 1999, according to the Department of Commerce. Sales of existing homes also showed a three-month gain to 4.89 million, the most since October, 2008, and the share of distressed homes fell to 31 percent compared to almost half at the beginning of the year, the National Association of Realtors reported.
Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates increased slightly this week from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.20% with 0.7% in fees and points, up from 5.14% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.63%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages increased slightly as well, up to 4.68% from 4.63% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.74% and 1 year ARM’s as well as 4.76%. This time last year these arms were 6.18% and 5.49% respectively.
Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates increased slightly this week from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.20% with 0.7% in fees and points, up from 5.14% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.63%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages increased slightly as well, up to 4.68% from 4.63% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.74% and 1 year ARM’s as well as 4.76%. This time last year these arms were 6.18% and 5.49% respectively.
Wells Fargo recently announced that, in the first half of 2009, through lower rates, refinances and modifications, it alone has helped nearly one million American homeowners lower their mortgage payments or restructure their mortgages.
Included in the loan modifications were:
Earlier this year, the Obama Administration announced the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan with the potential to help between seven and nine million families restructure or refinance their mortgages over a period of years so that can avoid foreclosure.
“Toward that end, we’re pleased by the number of customers Wells Fargo helped in the first six months of this year,” said Mike Heid, co-president, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. “We continue to strongly support the Administration’s efforts, adding HAMP and HARP to the existing programs Wells Fargo already had in place.
Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates dropped this past week slightly from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.14% with 0.7% in fees and points, down from 5.20% the week before. This is the lowest rate reported in Freddie Mac’s survey for a 30 year fixed rate loan since May.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages dropped very slightly as well, down to 4.63% from 4.69% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.83% and 1 year ARM’s dropped from 4.82% to 4.78%.
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Back in April I first did a post on avoiding foreclosure and loan modifcation scams but record numbers of homeowners facing foreclosures and foreclosure scams on the rise I thought it was worth talking about again.
The Federal Reserve , in a public service announcement, published “5 Tips for Avoiding Foreclosure Scams”:
- Work only with a nonprofit, HUD-approved counselor
- Be sure the counseling agrency is on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s list of approved agencies. HUD’s website has a searchable list of approved housing counseling agencies. If you prefer you can call 877-483-1515 to check the HUD list.
- Don’t pay an arm and a leg
- You should NOT have to pay hundreds–or thousands– of dollars. Most HUD-approved housing counselors provide no-cost counseling services and many more provide low-cost counseling. Do not agree to work with a counselor who collects a fee BEFORE providing you with any services or who accepts payment only by cashier’s check or wire transfer.
- Be wary of “guarantees”
- A reputable counselor will not guarantee to stop the foreclosure process, no matter what your circumstances. Working with a legitimate counselor can certainly increase your chances of keeping your home–but be wary of people who promise a sure thing. Again, get the details of your transaction, along with any promises, in writing first.
- Know what you are signing-and be sure YOU sign it
- Don’t let a counselor pressure you to sign paperwork you haven’t had a chance to read through carefully or that you don’t understand. Don’t sign any blank forms or let “the counselor” fill out forms for you. Be sure to talk with an attorney before signing anything that transfers the title of your home to another party.
- If it sounds goo good to be true, it probably is.
- If you feel you may be the target or victim of foreclosure fraud, trust your instincts and seek help. For tips on spotting scam artists, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s webpage on foreclosure rescue scams. Report suspicious schemes to your state and local consumer protection agencies, which you can find on the Federal Citizen Information Center’s Consumer Action Website.
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
If you plan to obtain a mortgage to buy a home, or to refinance an existing mortgage, after July 30th you will notice changes in the process. While the changes that are being implemented are going to slow down the process I think it is time well spent as you will receive more information in advance and will have more time to digest and understand the cost of the mortgage you are about to get yourself into.
These changes come as a result of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) which was passed by congress in July 2008 as a sweeping and broad piece of legislation to help homeowners struggling with their mortgages as well as provide incentives to help encourage consumers to purchase a home. Read more…
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The survey, which focused on affordability, foreclosures and refinancing showed:
- Employment concerns and the ability to make mortgage payments are the greatest barriers to home ownership today. This is particularly true for those people 25-49 years of age.
- More than three-fourths (77.4%) of consumers think a median income family can only afford 50% or fewer of the homes for sale in their area. This is in sharp contrast to that fact that a family earning the median income can actually afford nearly 75% of the current homes for sale on Realtor.Com.
- Homeowners that have recently refinanced their mortgages are using the monthly savings from lower payments in different ways: 12.2% to pay their monthly expenses and 12.3% to remodel or repair their home
- One out of five people (20.1%) who say they or someone they know may be facing foreclosure in the near future have not yet taken steps to resolve their situation. Additionally 22.4% have not taken any steps yet but plan to do so before the Making Home Affordable refinance program expires June 10, 2010.
