Mortgage Market & Lock Commentary - 12-29-2011

DAILY MORTGAGE LOCK ADVISORY 

December 29, 2011, 12:30 PM PST

Click for Lock Advice Updated Several Times Daily  

Mortgage Interest Rate lock Advice for locks within 7 days:  FLOAT
Mortgage Points based on 3.5% Mortgage Backed Securities are down 0.14 point. 

30 Day Mortgage Interest Rate Lock or Float Advice:  FLOAT with Caution

There is not conclusive evidence to lock but, In this uncertain market the best advice is to lock at historic low rates.

MORTGAGE MARKET INDICATORS 

National Average Fixed Rate Mortgage 3.91%         
MBS (3.5%) - 102.7, High: 102.81, Low: 102.5            
DJI Stocks currently $12,273.34,  Up $121.93, Change 0.993%            
Asian & European Stock Market Indexes Up 0.412%            
Nymex Crude Oil Currently $99.68 Up $0.32    

          
MORTGAGE NEWS BRIEFS  

Signs show strategic default on the decline
     New Survey Finds 59% of Homeowners Would Not Consider Strategic Default
RealtyTrac is calling 2011 the year of foreclosure litigation, strategic default, failing foreclosure law firms and shadow inventory.
     It also was a year of infighting between regulators, underwater mortgages and the year when Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems faced suits over everything from its business model to its assignment procedures. Read More Housing Wire  

FHA Ant-flip Waiver Extended; Tax Deductible MI Ending?
Dec 28 2011, 8:39AM  FHA lenders had reason for cheer and mirth at the end of last week. "In an effort to continue stabilizing home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante will extend FHA's temporary waiver of the anti-flipping regulations." With certain exceptions, FHA regulations prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days, but this rule is waived through December 31, 2012 Read More Mortgage News