mortgage market: Is This The Start Of A Refi Boom? - 06/14/11 04:36 PM

Mortgage rates are falling, falling, falling.
On a wave of uncertainty about Greece and its debt; and weaker-than-expected economic data at home, conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates have fallen to levels not seen since December 2, 2010.
Mortgage rates have dropped 8 weeks in a row. Not even last year’s Refi Boom produced an 8-week winning streak. This season’s streak is historic.
The 30-year fixed rate mortgage now averages 4.49% nationally, down 42 basis points, or 0.42%, since early-April. For every $100,000 borrowed, that equates to a monthly savings of $25.24.
Adjustable-rate mortgages have shed even more, giving back … (1 comments)

mortgage market: Mortgage Rates hit all time low! - 06/13/11 07:32 PM
Mortgage markets moved in feverish fashion last week, changing with extreme frequency, and eventually ending slightly worse on the week. Conforming mortgage rates fell to a 6-month low Wednesday but, by Friday, they had retreated higher.
Last week marked just the second time in 8 weeks that rates in Irvine increased. During that span, Freddie Mac reports that mortgage rates have dropped 42 basis points, or 0.42%.
That equates to a monthly savings of $25.24 per $100,000 borrowed.
One reason why mortgage rates have been dropping is that the economy is growing more slowly than projected. In a speech last week, Federal … (2 comments)

mortgage market: Do You Know What Questions To Ask Your Lender? - 06/10/11 05:29 PM
 
A mortgage comes with many moving pieces and understanding them is the key getting a great deal. Unfortunately, studies show that few Americans have a firm grasp of how mortgages work — from mortgage types to mortgage fees.
In this back-to-basics interview on NBC’s The Today Show, you’ll learn some mortgage planning basics to help you get smarter with your next home loan in Newport Coast or anywhere else — purchase or refinance.
Some of the topics covered include:
The mortgage applicants for whom adjustable-rate mortgages are a better choice than fixed-rate mortgages Why you should include “How Good Is … (5 comments)

mortgage market: Moving To A New City? See How Much Your Cost Of Living Will Change. - 06/09/11 04:03 PM
It’s a fact: It’s more expensive to live in some cities than others. Beyond just the costs of buying a home, different cities also carry a different Cost of Living. For households relocating from California and  across state lines, the change in “life costs” can be jarring.
Depending on where you live, everyday expenses — from groceries to gasoline — make a different-sized dent in a household budget. And now you can see in numbers by how much your expenses might change.
Visit Bankrate.com’s Cost of Living Comparison Calculator. 
The Cost of Living Comparison calculator is as basic as it is thorough. … (7 comments)

mortgage market: Temporary Conforming Loan Limits Expire September 30, 2011. - 06/08/11 02:59 PM
If you live in a high-cost area, keep an eye on your calendar. Effective October 1, 2011, temporary conforming loan limits will be lowered nationwide. Perhaps by as much as 14 percent.
These limits range up to $729,750 currently.
“Temporary loan limits” were enacted as part of the government’s 2008 economic stimulus package. At the time, the financial sector was entering its crisis and private mortgage lending had all but disappeared. Financing was scarce for both homeowners and home buyers for whom loan sizes exceeded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s national $417,000 limit — even for those with excellent credit and … (0 comments)

mortgage market: “Homes Under Contract” Plunge 12 Percent In April - 06/07/11 08:48 PM
Hurt by foul weather and a soft market, the Pending Home Sales Index plunged 12 percent in April.
The monthly index is published by the National Association of REALTORS® and measures the number of homes on which new contracts have been written. 
It’s the association’s lone “forward-looking” report; meant to predict future, closed home sales. 80% of homes under contract close within 2 months.
Therefore, if the April Pending Home Sales Index is accurate, we should expect home sales to decline through June and July.
On a regional basis, “pending homes” varied. The Northeast Region posted growth. None others did.
Northeast … (3 comments)

mortgage market: Mortgage Interest Rates what are you doing? - 06/06/11 07:09 PM
Mortgage markets improved last week, carried by the same stories that have led markets better since April. Worries of a Eurozone sovereign debt default mounted, and the U.S. economy’s revival showed itself to be slower than originally anticipated.
In Greece, the nation readied itself for its second bailout in two years. The austerity measures of last year have not worked as planned. There are concerns that a default would lead to contagion, delivering the Euro region into an economic tailspin.
These fears spurred a flight-to-quality in bond circles to the benefit of U.S. mortgage rate shoppers.
In addition, last week’s U.S. jobs … (0 comments)

mortgage market: Home Values Rolling Back 9 Years! - 06/03/11 06:16 PM

The March Case-Shiller Index was released this week and it corroborates the findings of the government’s most recent Home Price Index — home values are slipping nationwide.
According to the Case-Shiller Index’s publisher, Standard & Poors, home values fell in March from the year prior.
The March report was among the worst Case-Shiller Index readings in 3 years. On a monthly basis, 18 of 20 tracked markets worsened. Only Seattle and Washington, D.C. showed improvement, rising 0.1% and 1.1%, respectively.
On an annual basis, price degradation was even worse.
Washington, D.C. is the only tracked market to post higher home values … (6 comments)

mortgage market: Making A Rate-Lock Plan Before Friday’s Jobs Report! - 06/02/11 05:22 PM
Tomorrow morning, at 8:30 AM ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report for May. If you’re floating a mortgage rate right now — or are in the process of shopping for a loan — consider locking your rate sooner rather than later. The Non-Farm Payrolls report can be a major market mover, causing large fluctuations in both conforming and FHA mortgage rates in Laguna Beach. It’s because of the report’s insight into the U.S. economy. More commonly called “the jobs report”, Non-Farm Payrolls is issued monthly. Sector-by-sector, it details the U.S. workforce and unemployment rates. Jobs momentum … (0 comments)

mortgage market: Mortgage Guidelines Start To Loosen At The Country’s Biggest Banks - 06/02/11 05:19 PM
Another quarter, another sign that mortgage lending may be easing nationwide.The Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey of senior loan officers revealed that an overwhelmingly majority of U.S. banks have stopped tightening mortgage requirements for “prime borrowers”.
A prime borrower is one with a well-documented credit history, high credit scores, and a low debt-to-income ratio.
Of the 53 responding “big banks”, 49 reported that mortgage guidelines were “basically unchanged” last quarter. Of the remaining four banks, two said mortgage guidelines had “eased somewhat”, and the remaining banks said guidelines “tightened somewhat”.
It’s the second straight quarter in which fewer than 5 percent of banks tightened guidelines, … (2 comments)

mortgage market: How Much Lower Can Rates Go? - 05/31/11 06:04 PM
Mortgage markets improved last week ahead of Memorial Day and a 3-day weekend. Bond pricing ending the week higher, pushing conforming mortgage rates in California down for the 5th week out of six.
Most economic news reported worse-than-expected. Initial Jobless Claims increased sharply, GDP was unchanged, and Durable Orders posted the largest one-month decline since October. Each of these stories reduced inflationary pressures on the economy, contributing to lower mortgage rates.
However, the main driver for U.S. mortgage rates last week was Europe.
One year ago, Greece pledged to lower its spending, cut its deficit, and reduce the number of public … (1 comments)

mortgage market: Home Affordability Still Soaring! - 05/27/11 02:40 PM

Home affordability moved higher last quarter, buoyed by stable mortgage rates and falling home prices in California and nationwide. The National Association of Home Builders reports that Q1 2011 Home Opportunity Index reached an all-time high for the second straight quarter last quarter.
Nearly 3 of 4 homes sold between January-March 2011 were affordable to households earning the national median income of $64,400. It’s the 9th straight quarter in which home affordability surpassed 70 percent, and the highest reading in more than 20 years of record-keeping.
From metropolitan area-to-metropolitan area, though, affordability varied.
In the Midwest, for example, affordability was … (4 comments)

mortgage market: Home Price Index Shows Values Down 19%... - 05/26/11 07:45 PM
Home values dropped for the sixth straight month in March 2011, according to the Federal Home Finance Agency’s Home Price Index. The Home Price Index is a government-sponsored home value tracker.
The HPI report is the latest in a string of “falling home values” stories — a trend that’s troubling home sellers across Newport Coast and nationwide.
However, although the Home Price Index says home values are falling, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are. Like most statistics in the housing sector, the Home Price Index is plagued by poor methodologies and a lack of timeliness.
In short, the Home Price … (0 comments)

mortgage market: New Home Sales Increase For The Second Straight Month! - 05/25/11 04:03 PM
Sales of newly-built homes surprised Wall Street, jumping 7 percent to an seasonally-adjusted, annualized 323,000 units last month.
In addition, the supply of new homes dropped to 6.5 months — a 2-month decrease from October 2010 and the best reading in a year.
The report runs counter to recent reports from the National Association of Homebuilders and the National Association of REALTORS® which suggest a looming housing slowdown. April’s New Home Sales report runs counter to that theory; it shows ongoing, steady, staggered improvement in terms of sales volume and sales inventory.
Broken-down by sales prices, the New Home Sales report … (1 comments)

mortgage market: Memorial Day Messes With Mortgage Rates! - 05/24/11 04:10 PM
Mortgage rates across the state are near year-to-date lows, but locking them in this week may be difficult. As Memorial Day nears, and Wall Streeters get a head-start on the long weekends, trade volume in the mortgage bond markets will dip.
When bond volume drops, mortgage rates get jumpy. It’s a relationship based more on scarcity than actual market fundamentals.
It works like this:
Conforming and FHA mortgage rates are based on the “market price” of a mortgage-backed bond Mortgage-backed bonds can’t be bought or sold without a buyer and a seller at a specific price As Friday gets closer this … (3 comments)

mortgage market: Distressed Homes Now Selling At A 20 Percent Discount!! - 05/20/11 08:30 PM
The housing market recovery stalled last month. At least temporarily.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, Existing Home Sales slipped 1 percent in April from the month prior, falling to 5.05 million units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. The reading is exactly in-line with report’s 6-month average which also reads 5.05 million units.
The data may appear “average”, but there’s another angle to consider. 
In April, as compared to March, the supply of existing homes for sales spiked. At the current pace of home sales, it would now take 9.2 months to exhaust today’s complete home inventory. This is almost one … (3 comments)

mortgage market: Fed Minutes Put The Heat On Mortgage Rates To Rise! - 05/19/11 04:44 PM
The Federal Reserve released its April 2011 Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes Wednesday. In the hours since, mortgage markets have worsened; rates in California are higher by 1/8 percent this morning, at least.
The “Fed Minutes” is published 8 times annually, three week after each scheduled FOMC meeting. The minutes are the Federal Reserve’s official recap of the conversations and debates that shaped the prior FOMC session.
Another way to consider the Fed Minutes is as the companion piece to the more well-known FOMC press release. The press release is issued on the day of adjournment, and is brief, narrow, and high-level. … (1 comments)

mortgage market: Building Permits Fade Faster Than Expected! - 05/18/11 05:07 PM
Single-family housing starts dropped by 21,000 units in April on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis.
The Housing Starts report measures the number of homes on which new construction “broke ground”. It’s tracked by the U.S. Department of Commerce which releases new data monthly.
Single-family housing starts fell 5 percent as compared to March 2011, and 30 percent as compared to April one year ago. 
The figures were worse than what Wall Street expected. For just the second time in 2 years, monthly single-family housing starts dropped below 400,000 units. In addition, single-family Building Permits fell in April as well, shedding 2 percent from March.
… (1 comments)

mortgage market: Home Builders Seeing More Sales Today; Fewer Sales Tomorrow... - 05/17/11 04:58 PM
Home builder confidence can’t shake its range, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The group’s monthly Housing Market Index put May’s builder confidence reading at a level of 16.
The Housing Market Index is scored on a scale of 1-100. A reading above 50 suggests favorable conditions for the new home housing market, as reported by home builders. A reading below 50 suggests unfavorable conditions.
May marks the sixth time in 7 months that the HMI posted a 16, the longest such plateau in the index’s history.
The HMI has not posted higher than 50 since April 2006.
As … (0 comments)

mortgage market: Mortgage Rates Going Lower This Week? - 05/16/11 04:08 PM
Mortgage markets worsened overall last week for the first time in 5 weeks.
Better-than-anticipated economic data plus dwindling concerns for Greece’s sovereign debt combined to a spark a bond sell-off. Conforming mortgage rates moved higher in California as a result.
Rate shoppers were hit especially hard last Tuesday.
At Monday’s close, conventional fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages were posting their lowest levels of 2011, but by Tuesday’s market close, rates had climbed as much as 0.250 percent across the board. In some cases, more.
The spike highlights how quickly mortgage rates can change in a recovering economy, and why “floating” a rate … (0 comments)