historical mortgage rates: Newlyweds -- Merge Mortgage With Refi - 06/26/10 08:28 PM
Couples who decide to get married have many decisions ahead of them as to how they will live their lives after they are married. Merging finances is typically one of the first things worked out. If both own homes, that issue should fall at the top of the list. One decision might be to keep both homes - live in one and rent the other out, and then do a mortgage refinance on both. Another might to sell one, live in the other and do a mortgage refinance.

How to Determine Which House to Sell

There are several … (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Federal Mortgage Assistance for Disaster Victims - 02/23/10 04:22 PM
Are you a homeowner or renter that lives in a declared disaster area? If so, you may be eligible for a low-interest, long-term loan for losses you've sustained that are not covered entirely by your insurance.

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) provides affordable financial assistance for eligible homeowners and renters who live in declared disaster areas. Home and Property Disaster SBA loans provide federal assistance to repair and rebuild non-farm disaster loss in the private sector. The loans provided by this program are the only assistance the SBA does not limit to small business.

Up to $200,000 … (2 comments)

historical mortgage rates: How Mortgage Loan Rates Are Determined - 01/31/10 06:06 PM
It is a common misperception by the general public that fixed rate mortgage interest is tied directly to Federal Reserve interest rate movement. On the contrary, the determinant is the performance of mortgage backed securities (MBS), most of which are issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

What does that mean in layman's terms? MBS are securities traded on the open stock market and are backed by assets, like real estate. When you obtain a home loan, it is typically sold, pooled into a group of home loans as a securities package called MBS to be sold as … (2 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Home Loans - Use a Mortgage Lender or Broker? - 12/31/09 06:22 PM
Some people just have a preference based on experience and others need to research as to whether they want to use a broker or lender. There are some distinct differences between the two, and it is always good to be informed before you buy. Before subprime lending bit the dust, it used to be a greater advantage to use a mortgage broker. Today, that may not be such an advantage.

When you use a lender to finance your home loan, you are being loaned money for your mortgage out of the lender's own reserves, out of the lender's own pocket. … (1 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Rise Off of Historic Lows - 12/14/09 04:55 PM
Two weeks ago mortgage rates hit historic lows with the 30 year falling to 4.78. The next week they fell even further to 4.71. This week they rose back up to 4.81. Although they rose a tenth of a point the mortgage rates are still near historical lows. Below are the nine lowest rates of all time. Not surprisingly they all occurred in 2009.

1. Dec 3rd - 4.71
2. April 30th - 4.78
3. April 2nd - 4.78
4. Nov 26th - 4.78
5. April 23rd - 4.80
6. Dec 10th - 4.81
7. April 16th - 4.82
8. … (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: New Home Construction Trends - 12/05/09 06:26 PM
With the drastic downturn of activity in new construction, builders are becoming much more savvy in the ways of home building, and new homebuyers are receptive to the changes.

Since the bottom fell out of the real estate market last year, builders have had to become more creative in order to survive. New construction trends are giving new home construction a shot in the arm. Builders have basically been re-inventing themselves and becoming more clever in their craftsmanship to draw a new audience.

Federal stimulus dollars and historically low mortgage rates definitely generated some activity in the real estate … (1 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Lenders under Government Scrutiny - 11/22/09 05:24 PM
Topping the list of institutions under fire are the familiar faces of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the poster children for good intentions gone bad. The government entities faced renewed federal scrutiny earlier this year. What to do with the troubled HUD groups, however, is still up in the air. The issue is delayed until after the current federal bank restructuring effort is completed, which is anticipated by year-end.

Reformation is definitely on the horizon for these two lenders. The Treasury Department is considering an expansion of options on guidelines officials released in June regarding both lenders. Privatization, nationalism, hybrid … (1 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Continue to Fall - 11/15/09 04:51 PM
While the expectation has been that mortgage rates would start to rise they have fallen for the last 2 weeks. This week the 30 year rate fell from 4.98 to 4.91 (last week it fell from 5.03 to 4.98). Besides October 8th its the lowest rate we have seen since the start of the summer. So how does 4.91 fit in with historical mortgage rates. Its lower than any point before March 26, 2009. Its also the 11th lowest recorded rate in history (all of the 10 lower recorded rates occured in 2009).

While the 30 year mortgage rate is … (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Continue To Rise: Are Sub 5 Rates Gone Forever? - 11/01/09 04:57 PM
So are sub 5.0 rates gone forever? The short answer is probably yes. While rates might briefly fall below 5 in the next month for the most part the era of sub 5.0 rates is over. Mortgage rates rose for the third straight week. The thirty year rate rose from 5.00 to 5.03. The 15 year rate rose from 4.43 to 4.46. The 5 and 1 year rates rose from 4.40 to 4.42 and 4.54 to 4.57. Its interesting to note that the 1 year arm has had a higher rate than the 5 year arm for the last few weeks. … (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Remain at Summer Lows - 09/29/09 05:52 PM
Mortgage rates remained steady this week. The 30 year again was at 5.04 which is a low for the summer. The other mortgage products remained relatively stable this week except for the 1 year arm which fell from 4.58 to 4.52. Below are rates for the last few weeks. As we can see overall for the last month rates have been steadily falling. But overall the movement has been very small with 30 year rates only dropping 1/10 of a point in the last month.

Sep 24, 2009
30-yr 5.04 15-yr 4.46 5-yr ARM 4.51 1-yr ARM 4.52
… (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Are Mortgage Rates Primed To Rise - 08/13/09 08:38 PM
Mortgage rates rose again this week. This is the third time in the last 4 weeks that mortgage rates have risen. Why are mortgage rates rising? There are numerous factors at play but generally once the economy recovers it's expected that inflation, and mortgage rates, should rise. The last month of generally positive economic news has probably helped nudge mortgage rates up. Although rates are increasing they are increasing in small steps and not large strides. Since July 16th the 30 year rate has only moved from 5.14 to 5.29. While this is interesting it's certainly not a huge move upward.
… (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Stay Even - 08/10/09 04:23 PM
The saying "No news is good news" might be applicable with the recent trend with mortgage rates. For the last 2 or 3 weeks for the most part rates have stayed pretty much unchanged. The reason why this could be considered good news is that the economy and stock market seem to be improving. There was a lot of discussion that an improving economy would lead to inflation and in turn higher interest rates. While I still think we are eventually headed to higher interest rates it's nice that at least that is not happening now. This week the 30 year … (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: The Economic Recession and Austin Texas - 07/24/09 09:54 PM
The Federal Reserve has determined that household net worth--all the things of value a person has like houses and checking accounts--dropped nine percent in the last three months. This is the biggest quarterly decline in over fifty years. Things seem bad for the average American these days, but nine percent is nothing compared to the 25% drop in wealth of Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell.

What's even more interesting is, despite losing billions of dollars last year, Dell actually moved up 15 spots in the list of the world's billionaires. Forbes' annual list of all the world's billionaires was shorter … (1 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Move Up Slightly - 03/08/09 06:39 PM
Mortgage Rates moved up slightly this week. The 30 year rate moved up the most going from 5.07 to 5.15. The other three major mortgage products (15 year fixed, 5 year ARM and 1 year ARM) all moved up less the .05 points. What is interesting is this makes the other mortgage products all more viable. For the last few months it seemed that the 30 year mortgage was the only product worth considering. While that still remains the case the 5 and 1 year ARMs are moving closer to being relevant. The 15 year fixed mortgage is a pretty attractive … (0 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Interest Rates This Week - 05/29/08 03:57 PM

Mortgage rates on 30 Year Arms and 15 Year Arms jumped up this rate. 30 Year Mortgage Rates went from 5.98 to 6.08 and 15 Year rates went fom 5.55 to 5.66. Rates on 5 and 1 year ARMS remained relatively unchanged.
May 29,2008
30-yr 6.08 15-yr 5.66 5-yr ARM 5.62 1-yr ARM 5.22
May 22,2008
30-yr 5.98 15-yr 5.55 5-yr ARM 5.61 1-yr ARM 5.24
May 15, 2008
30-yr 6.01 15-yr 5.60 5-yr ARM 5.57 1-yr ARM 5.18
May 8, 2008
30-yr 6.05 15-yr 5.60 5-yr ARM 5.67 1-yr ARM 5.29
May 1, 2008
… (2 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Interest Rates This Week - 05/24/08 09:24 AM

Mortgages rates fell this week for 30 Year loan (6.01 to 5.98) and 15 year rates (5.6 to 5.55). Rates on 5 and 1 year arms increased (5.57 to 5.61 and 5.18 to 5.24) respectivly. Another interesting point is that 30 Year rates have now fallen for 4 weeks in a row which is an encouraging sign although it would be nice to have seen rates fall a little more.
May 22,2008
30-yr 5.98 15-yr 5.55 5-yr ARM 5.61 1-yr ARM 5.24
May 15, 2008
30-yr 6.01 15-yr 5.60 5-yr ARM 5.57 1-yr ARM 5.18
May 8, 2008
… (1 comments)

historical mortgage rates: Mortgage Interest Rates Update - 05/15/08 09:40 PM

Here is a breakdown for the last few weeks.
May 15, 2008
30-yr 6.01 15-yr 5.60% 5-yr ARM 5.57 1-yr ARM 5.18
May 8, 2008
30-yr 6.05 15-yr 5.60% 5-yr ARM 5.67 1-yr ARM 5.29
May 1, 2008
30-yr 6.06 15-yr 5.59% 5-yr ARM 5.73 1-yr ARM 5.29
April 24th, 2008
30-yr 6.03 15-yr 5.62% 5-yr ARM 5.68 1-yr ARM 5.29
So what would these rates translate into for a mortgage. Using our free mortgage calculator lets run some numbers.
Using our free mortgage calculator lets take a look at what the mortgage payment … (2 comments)

historical mortgage rates: What Is Going On With Mortgage Rates This Month - 04/13/08 08:06 PM
Mortgage interest rates remained relatively unchanged for the second week in a row.

April 10th, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.42% 5-yr ARM 5.56 1-yr ARM 5.19
April 3rd, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.42% 5-yr ARM 5.59 1-yr ARM 5.18
March 27th, 2008
30-yr 5.85 15-yr 5.34% 5-yr ARM 5.67 1-yr ARM 5.24
So what is going on? The FED has been attempting to stimulate the economy by cutting the FED Funds rate. But the first few times the fed cut rates in 2008 banks did not respond by lowering mortgage interest rates. Since this is one … (0 comments)