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purchase: Crazy to calm - a new week begins in financial markets with no jobs data on the way - June 1-4 market recap - 06/07/10 01:36 PM
Financial market recap for the week of June 1 to June 4
This is a new feature I plan to continue posting each Monday. I was planning to wait until next week, but an email server outage forced my hand. I hope you find this information helpful!
If I were looking for a word to recap what happened in the financial markets last week, I would probably settle on "disappointment". Last week was the first business week of the month, a week which normally brings big quantities of important economic data, and last week certainly had its share. Pending home sales, … (0 comments)
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purchase: Mortgage-Treasury Spread Hits New Lows - Are mortgages safer now? - 04/05/10 11:51 AM
Mortgage-Treasury Spread Hits New Lows - Are mortgages safer now?
In mid-March, a number of articles were published suggesting that the end of the Federal Reserve's Mortgage Backed Security purchase program might drive mortgage rates somewhat higher, fairly quickly. The Fed had telegraphed this upcoming action very loudly and very clearly since 2009.
The program has had substantial effects on mortgage rates over the past 16 months. It immediately lowered mortgage rates by 1/2% or more, and, over its course, brought 30-year fixed rates to their lowest point ever, at 4.71% in December of 2009. It also had a profound effect … (0 comments)
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purchase: 2010 New Hampshire FHA and Conventional Loan Limits by County - Jumbo Cutoffs - 01/12/10 04:38 PM
2010 New Hampshire FHA and Conventional Loan Limits by County - Jumbo Cutoffs
Wondering what makes a Jumbo mortgage in New Hampshire for 2010? Here's the updated limit information, compiled from the Federal Housing Finance Authority and the Federal Housing Administration by county.
County FHA Limit Conventional Limit
Belknap $281,250 $417,000
Carroll $271,050 $417,000
Cheshire $271,050 $417,000
Coos $271,050 $417,000
Grafton $281,250 $417,000
Hillsborough $402,500 $417,000
Merrimack $302,500 $417,000
Rockingham $523,750 $523,750
Strafford $523,750 $523,750
Sullivan $271,050 $417,000
Again, for 2010, neither Agency nor FHA loans will observe a different limit amount than 2009.
Please contact me if … (0 comments)
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purchase: 2010 Conventional Loan Limits for Rhode Island - 01/12/10 10:52 AM
2010 Conventional Loan Limits for Rhode Island
For 2010, conventional loan limits for Rhode Island have remained at the same level where they stood in 2009, according the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the group that oversees mortgage investment giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These limits define the maximum loan amount for loans that may be sold to the agencies, which is an important distinction, as the secondary market for loans meeting these requirements is much more active than the secondary market for larger loans, meaning that loans that conform to these size requirements carry much lower interest rates.
For … (0 comments)
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purchase: 2010 FHA Loan Limits for Massachusetts - A New Year, Same Numbers - 12/31/09 02:39 PM
2010 FHA Loan Limits for Massachusetts - A New Year, Same Numbers
As I reported previously for Rhode Island and Connecticut, 2010 is an year off from changes in maximum FHA loan amounts, and the same holds true for Massachusetts. Here are the area loan limits, by county:
Barnstable County: $462,500
Berkshire County: $271,050
Bristol County: $475,000
Dukes County: $729,750
Essex County: $523,750
Franklin County: $318,750
Hampden County: $318,750
Hampshire County: $318,750
Middlesex County: $523,750
Nantucket County: $729,750
Norfolk County: $523,750
Plymouth County: $523,750
Suffolk County: $523,750
Worcester County: $385,000
For those who have read the Connecticut article, you'll notice that … (0 comments)
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purchase: 2010 FHA Loan Limits for Rhode Island - Unchanged from 2009 - 12/31/09 01:28 PM
2010 FHA Loan Limits for Rhode Island - Unchanged from 2009
Yesterday, I wrote about the updated FHA lending limits for Connecticut. To learn more about the methodology used in calculating limits, I would suggest circling back to that article. Today, I want to pass along the same information for Rhode Island.
This year has been a relatively quiet one in real estate pricing in Rhode Island. Almost all areas saw a decline in value, some very significant. If anything, I believe Rhode Island is fortunate not to have seen its FHA loan limits cut for this year. FHA limits are … (0 comments)
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purchase: 2010 FHA Loan Limits for Connecticut - Just How Much Can You Borrow with less than a 5% Down Payment? - 12/30/09 02:15 PM
2010 FHA Loan Limits for Connecticut - Just How Much Can You Borrow with less than a 5% Down Payment?
There are fewer than 36 hours left until 2010, so it's time to start thinking about some of the changes we'll see in mortgages in the New Year. One aspect of lending that changes eery year is the amount that can be borrowed using the government's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance program. Each county across the country is given a different amount based on average home prices within that county.
For 2010, as 2009, certain counties have received higher than normal … (2 comments)
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purchase: Mortgage-Backed Securities Losing their Stigma - What we can learn from the current Mortgage - Treasury Spread - 06/15/09 01:13 PM
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Investors may be suggesting so with the recent surge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from its March low below 7000 to a recent peak over 8700. Still, some doubt should exist considering the recent economic data hasn't so much indicated the United States economy is getting better, rather that the economy is worsening at a slower pace. Still there is one area, very close to the epicenter of the economy's troubles, that suggests recent changes are achieving their desired results.
In the 18 months leading up to December, 2008, the … (18 comments)
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purchase: From the Mailbag - FHA gift money - 05/21/09 10:59 AM
I got this message from a reader here on Activerain, and thought I'd share the answer.
Subject: FHA Gift Money (Sent via Activerain)
Dan, My wife and I are in the process of buying a house. During the FHA preapproval process we noticed that we possibly were going to need a little help monitarily. Mywife's parents were more than happy to help us out. The only catch and this is my problem, is that the money that they gave us was cash and is considered "matress money," as it was never in the bank. We have filled out a gift … (2 comments)
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purchase: FHA is great, but don't forget conventional options, too! - 05/11/09 05:55 PM
I know that FHA, and other government products, have been all the rage lately due to difficulty in getting conventional loans and conventional mortgage insurance, but I think that a lot of mortgage originators have forgotten that there are still good conventional loans available without the high down payments frequently associated with them. For cost conscious borrowers, this can be especially important, as conventional loans do not require the high upfront mortgage insurance or guarantee premiums associated with government programs.
In most areas, well qualified first time homeowners can get financing at as high as 97% of the purchase price of … (1 comments)
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purchase: Bowling for Finance and Entrepreneurship Education - 04/06/09 10:51 AM
Yesterday, I took part in Rhode Island Junior Achievement's 25th Annual Achieve-A-Bowl, a fund-raising event that has collected over $80,000 this year to support Junior Achievement's in-school education programs. I think this is a very important charity to support right now due to the obvious deficit of Finance and Economics education in our school systems. Considering that 34% of respondents to a survey conducted by Bankrate.com didn't know what type of mortgage they had, I fell it is very important to support anything that will increase financial literacy.
Participating in the event was a blast. I bowled on a team consisting … (0 comments)
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purchase: What's new in the mortgage market? Keeping up on recent changes - 03/30/09 11:26 AM
Good morning!
It’s been a little while since I had the opportunity to write, and I wanted to pass along a bit of information about what is going on in the financing market. There have been some changes recently that need to be considered, so I’d like to take a few minutes to run through them. If you have questions about any of these in particular, please don’t hesitate to call me.
FICO Updates
Over the past two months, many individual lenders have set credit score requirements that differ significantly from traditionally accepted criteria. At present, a 620 credit score is … (1 comments)
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purchase: Mortgage - Treasury Spread Closes as Homebuyer Incentives Suggest Home Prices May Stabilize - 03/12/09 04:03 PM
February was a significant month for the mortgage and real estate markets, as a massive bailout package was signed into law, and further talk of foreclosure prevention efforts at the federal level reassured mortgage investors of the safety of their investments. An $8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers sparked hope for increased home sales in 2009, both for starter homes and condominiums, as well as for so called "move-up" homes needed by those current homeowners able to sell into the current market and purchase significantly discounted replacement homes.
Entering March, the Mortgage - Treasury spread reached its lowest point since June, … (1 comments)
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purchase: Economic Stimulus Act Signed Into Law - What does it mean for homebuyers? - 02/17/09 12:02 PM
As I write this, the president is poised to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the $787 billion Economic Stimulus Plan. There has been much speculation about what this plan might do for housing, real estate, homebuyers, and mortgages, ranging from 2.99% to 4.5% mortgage rates, $15,000 tax credits, and more, but when the dust settles and the plan is signed into law, the final effect will be quite different.
The most important thing the finaliztion of this plan will accomplish is it will end that speculation. Over the past few weeks, I have spoken … (31 comments)
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purchase: Mortgage - Treasury Spread closes sharply in January - is Fed buying bringing stability? - 02/12/09 10:19 AM
In a month which saw the lowest 30-year fixed rates on record, it isn't surprising that the massive groundswell of refinancing we experienced happened. Its consequences could also be seen as quite predictable: lenders, fresh from laying off thousands of employees in 2008, saw their operations grind to a halt as they received an onslaught of mortgage applications. The reprecussions to market interest rates were rather more cryptic, though. By the end of January, the Mortgage-Treasury Spread had closed to its tightest range since September, 2008, closing the month at 2.28%.
The 10-week moving average stayed relatively level at 2.78%, bouyed … (4 comments)
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purchase: Builders converge, but does their idea make sense? - 01/14/09 09:59 PM
I attended a presentation yesterday regarding the possible solutions to the real estate problems currently facing Rhode Island, and, one of the things I learned about was a proposal by the National Association of Home Builders to stimulate home sales by artificially lowering 30-year mortgage rates to 2.99% for a 6 month period and to 3.99% for an additional 6-month period.
I was interested in the concept, so I did some additional research looking for news articles related to this.
I found one such article on the association website of the magazine of the landscaping industry. The two primary proposals offered … (1 comments)
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purchase: Fed Intervention Fails to Close Mortgage Treasury Spread - 12/05/08 10:47 AM
In spite of an unprecedented move by the Federal Reserve on November 25th to purchase $600 billion in mortgage-related assets, the spread between mortgage and treasury rates remained at its highest level on record for the week ending December 4th, closing at 2.96%. Investors sought the safety of treasury securities in droves, increasing their prices, and depressing the yield of the 10-year treasury note to its lowest close ever at 2.57% this Thursday. In spite of rampant speculation that the Fed may be prepard to act again, mortgage securities found few buyers. Mortgage rates averaged 5.53%, according to Freddie Mac.
The … (6 comments)
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purchase: Stop the insanity! No, wait, keep it going! - 11/26/08 02:36 PM
Phew, what a busy couple of days!
I’m sure at this point you’ve been inundated with emails from loan officers since yesterday morning, so I probably don’t need to tell you that many buyers are qualifying for 5.5% with no points today. We saw a huge drop yesterday in rates, so, rather than harping on how attractive they are, I thought I’d let you know some of the why behind it.
Over the past 4-5 weeks, investor demand for mortgage securities had waned considerably, as wave upon wave of bad economic news suggested consumers and homeowners would face greater difficulty in … (0 comments)
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purchase: Updates to Jumbo mortgage limits for 2009 - 11/24/08 04:33 PM
Earlier this year, we learned that the Jumbo mortgage was going to be a bit bigger for a time. For a year, the limit for mortgages purchasable by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was temporarily increased from $417,000 to as high as $729,750 through the beginning of 2009 as a component of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. That date is now fast approaching.
The original purpose of this temporary change was to address a mortgage market problem that arose in late 2007 and early 2008, specifically that demand for securities backed by Jumbo mortgages had decreased precipitously. By opening those … (0 comments)
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purchase: Financing Condominiums – What you need to know Part I: Financing Considerations - 10/31/08 01:37 PM
I’m going to open this up this article with a shocking revelation:
Condominiums are not the same as single-family homes.
Lenders do not view condominiums in the same way as single-family homes. There are additional risks that are considered, additional documentation that must be obtained, the result of which is that purchasing a condominium can be tougher than it seems. Let’s take a look at a few factors that are considered in evaluating condominium mortgages, and at the 5 ways that condos can be approved for conventional financing.
Completion
Banks are most concerned with the aspects of a condominium that … (0 comments)
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Dan Hartman
Providence,
RI
More about me…
Province Mortgage Associates - (401) 263-8655
Address: 10 Davol Sq, Providence, RI, 02903
Office Phone: (401) 490-4400 x 114
Cell Phone: (401) 263-8655
Email Me
Dan Hartman's Blog about mortgages, real estate, and the economy in New England, and the United States, especially Rhode Island Rates, Connecticut Mortgages, Massachusetts Rate Locks, and New Hampshire Home Sales. Let Dan leverage his MBA in Finance and experience as a college professor for you!
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