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Mortgage loan applications have increased 23% this last week due to record low rates.

Mortgage loan applications have increased 23% this last week due to record low rates.

 

Orlando, FL (MBNews.org) -- Historic record low have encouraged many homeowners to refinance according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

We have seen refinancing activity climbed 26.4% just this week week ending January 13, to its highest level since early August, the MBA reported. Meanwhile applications for new mortgages climbed 10.3% week-over-week.

 

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Time to buy a house? Home prices have fallen and mortgage interest rates are lower than they have ever been.

Miami (MBNews.org) — Time to buy a house? Home prices have fallen and mortgage interest rates are lower than they have ever been.

A recent report from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, titled “Housing: A time to buy,” written by David Kelly and David Lebovitz, made the case for why a home may be a wise purchase. Read more: Mortgage rates plunge beyond expectations.

Although the U.S. housing market remains extremely depressed, we believe that given current valuations and demographic dynamics, now may be the time to consider an investment in housing,” the report said.

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Goldman, Two Firms Agree on Foreclosure-Signing Practice

Goldman Sachs will compensate some home loan borrowers for wrongful foreclosures under an agreement reached with a New York state banking regulator.


The agreement, which New York financial services superintendent Benjamin Lawsky reached with Goldman [GS  112.16     -4.06  (-3.49%)    ] and Ocwen Financial [OCN  13.28     -0.52  (-3.77%)    ], contains several measures to strengthen the oversight of foreclosure proceedings.

It also will allow Goldman's planned sale of its Litton Loan Servicing LP unit to continue.

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U.S. asks Bank of America to report back up plans if conditions worsen

The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to sue "more than a dozen" major banks for billions of dollars over alleged misrepresentation of mortgage-backed securities sold before the housing bubble burst, the New York Times reported late Thursday.

The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to sue "more than a dozen" major banks for billions of dollars over alleged misrepresentation of mortgage-backed securities sold before the housing bubble burst, the New York Times reported late Thursday.

Read more...

U.S. asks Bank of America to report back up plans if conditions worsen

U.S. regulators have pushed Bank of America Corp. to show what measures it could take if conditions worsen for the Charlotte, N.C., lender, according to people familiar with the situation.

U.S. regulators have pushed Bank of America Corp. to show what measures it could take if conditions worsen for the Charlotte, N.C., lender, according to people familiar with the situation. Read more...

More Americans at Risk of Foreclosure

The number of Americans at risk of foreclosure is rising, reflecting the U.S. economy’s continued struggles.

The number of Americans at risk of foreclosure is rising, reflecting the U.S. economy’s continued struggles.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday that 8.44 percent of homeowners missed at least one mortgage payment in the April-June quarter. That figure, which is adjusted for seasonal factors, rose 0.12 percentage point from the January-March period. Read more...

New York AG Kicked Off Foreclosure Probe Panel

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said late yesterday that his New York counterpart, Eric Schneiderman, had been removed from the executive committee working on a multistate foreclosure probe – and potential settlement – with U.S. banks.

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U.S. Fixed Mortgage Rate Falls to Lowest on Record PDF Print E-mail
Business: general
Thursday, 26 March 2009 00:00

The average rate is the lowest in the Freddie Mac weekly survey dating back to 1971, the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage buyer said today in a statement. The rate fell from 4.98 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac said.

The Federal Reserve said March 18 it will purchase up to an additional $750 billion of mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae to support home lending. The Fed is trying to lower rates by reducing the supply of outstanding mortgage bonds, boosting their price and lowering yields. That would allow banks to reduce the rates on new mortgages and still sell mortgage securities at a profit.

The Fed announced a program in November to buy $500 billion of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie Mae. That helped drive 30-year fixed mortgage rates down to 4.96 percent for the week ended Jan. 15.

Mortgage applications in the U.S. rose for a third consecutive week as a drop in borrowing costs helped spur a wave of refinancing and encouraged purchases.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan soared 32 percent to 1,159.4 in the week ended March 20 from 876.9 the prior week. The group’s refinancing gauge surged 42 percent and its purchase index gained 4.2 percent.

Earlier Rates

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan fell to 4.63 percent, the lowest level since the Mortgage Bankers group began records in 1990, from 4.89 percent the prior week. New home sales rose in February from a record low as plummeting prices and cheaper mortgage rates lured some buyers. Sales increased 4.7 percent to an annual pace of 337,000 after a 322,000 rate in January, the Commerce Department said yesterday in Washington. The median sales price fell 18 percent to $200,900.

Sales of previously owned homes rose 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.72 million in February from 4.49 million in January, the National Association of Realtors said March 23. The median price slumped 15.5 percent from a year ago, the second- biggest drop on record, and distressed properties accounted for 45 percent of all sales.

Housing prices “aren’t that far from where we need to be if the economy stabilizes and starts growing again,” Susan Wachter, professor of real estate finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview on March 24.

 SOURCE: Bloomberg



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