FHA 203k Renovation Loans - All You Need To Know

MORTGAGE LOCK ADVISORY 

January 25, 2012, 6:30 AM 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 0.02 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 3.88%   
MBS (3.5%) - 102.67, High: 102.75, Low: 102.66   
DJI Stocks currently $12,620.69,  Down $-55.06, Change -0.436%   
Asian & European Stock Market Indexes Down -0.21%   
Nymex Crude Oil Currently $98.22 Down $0.73

                  
MORTGAGE NEWS BRIEFS

 
FHA 203k Renovation Loans - All You Need To Know

Nine Minute Video

Mortgage Backed Securities Markets opened flat after Obama State of the Union Speech.

Five Top Banks offer $25 Billion to Troubled Homeowners.
 The nation's five largest mortgage lenders have offered a draft settlement to pay out as much as $25 billion to cover new terms for homeowners driven out by foreclosure. Read More Fox News

Investors buying with cash pressure home prices
 by KERRI PANCHUK Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Investors are gobbling up residential real estate with cash, pushing national home prices lower, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.  The overall proportion of cash buyers in the housing market soared to a record 33.2%, compared to 29.6% a year earlier. Read More HousingWire

Will Obama Slam the Mortgage Industry Yet Again?
By Paul Muolo
Yesterday news broke from HUD secretary Shaun Donovan that a robosigning deal was imminent. Today, we learn that maybe a deal isn't as close as Donovan portrayed. Then again, the 'State of the Union' address is next week and there is some talk that President Obama wants to mention the robo settlement using the speech as yet another opportunity to bash the mortgage banking industry Read More National Mortgage News

Mortgage Rates Reach New All-Time Lows. Again
Interest rates for mortgage loans plunged to new lows Thursday, as debt crises in Europe continued to weigh heavily on investors. Finance Web site Bankrate.com and mortgage company Freddie Mac released separate surveys signaling all-time lows for mortgage rates. For Freddie, the 30-year fixed-rate loan fell to 3.88 percent, down from 3.89 percent last week. Read More MReport

Housing starts fall 4.1% in December
by Jason Philyaw
Housing starts fell 4.1% in December, according to Commerce Department data, following a big increase the prior month. Read More HousingWire

Provide More Client Options with Energy Efficient Mortgages

4 Minute Energy Efficient Mortgage Video

Countrywide VIP mortgage program investigation goes dark 
 An investigation by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., into the Countrywide VIP loan program that allegedly gave connected policymakers in Washington sweetened mortgages has become increasingly hushed in recent weeks. The "Friends of Angelo" investigation has been waged over three years now. Previous subpoenaed information from members of [...]Read More HousingWire

Huntsman's Departure Highlights Politics of Housing Finance
By: Ryan Schuette 
Not unlike his fellow candidates - or the incumbent himself - Huntsman left out any mention of housing finance reform and homeowners as issues for voters in the 2012 general election.  Read More MReport.Read More MReport.

NAHB: List of Improving Housing Markets Nearly Doubles in January
A complete list of all 76 metropolitan areas currently on the IMI is available at: www.nahb.org/imi

. The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for

... Read More Huntington News

 
Home Sales, Housing Markets Will Lift in 2012: Fannie Mae

The economy will drift upward in 2012 as incremental changes take place in the housing market, with a divisive and uncertain policy environment the darkest cloud on the horizon, Fannie Mae said in an economic outlook Friday. Read More MReport