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The Commerce Department reported this week that housing starts fell 22.5% in February to 479,000 units, from an upwardly revised January figure of 618,000 units. It was the biggest decline in 27 years and finished just above a record low set in April 2009. Building permits — a hint of future construction demand — fell … Continue reading Affordable Financial Services Weekly Finance Review The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales in December jumped 12.3% from the previous month. The NAR recently reported a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.28 million units in December, compared to the upwardly revised figure of 4.70 million units in November. However, the December 2010 figures are 2.9% below the December 2009 figure … Continue reading Affordable Financial Services’ Weekly Finance Review The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently reported that the national average contract mortgage rate for the purchase of previously occupied homes by combined lenders was 4.42% for November. That figure is down from October’s rate of 4.47%. The FHFA also reported that the average interest rate on conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans of $417,000 or … Continue reading Contract Mortgage Rates Fall in November The National Association of Realtors recently reported that existing home sales in November rose 5.6% from the previous month. The NAR reported a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.68 million units in November, compared to the seasonally adjusted figure of 4.43 million units in October. However, the November 2010 figures are 27.9% below the November 2009 … Continue reading Affordable Financial Services Weekly Finance Review Housing Wire recently reported that mortgage applications to lenders fell 2.3% for the week ending December 10, marking the third straight week of declines. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the refinance index also declined for the fifth consecutive week by 0.7%. However, the refinancing share of the mortgage activity grew to 76.7% of total applications, … Continue reading Mortgage Applications Decline by 2.3% REALTORMag.com reported today that, for the fourth consecutive week, mortgage rates have risen after seeing record lows. Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans went from 4.46% last week to 4.61%, based on the most recent Freddie Mac survey. In addition, 15-fixed-rate loans averaged 3.96% last week, compared to 3.81% the week before. These rates are at … Continue reading Mortgage Rates Rise for Fourth Straight Week Bloomberg recently reported that mortgage-bond yields that guide home-loan rates have reached their highest levels in four months, suggesting that borrowing costs may rise from record lows. As of 9:30 Monday morning, Fannie Mae’s current-coupon 30-year fixed-rate mortgage bonds went up to 3.71%, tracking 10-year Treasury notes today as those yields rose from 3.64%. This is … Continue reading Mortgage-Bond Yields Reach Four-Month High REALTORMag reported today that applications to purchase homes were up last week, while mortgage rates for 15- and 30-year fixed-rate loans were mixed. According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association survey, mortgage purchase applications rose by 1.4% last week, compared to the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, purchases increased 0.2% … Continue reading Mortgage Purchases Increase; Interest Rates Mixed Economic experts are predicting another drop in home sales that will continue throughout the middle of next year, CNNMoney.com reported today. However, the housing market could bounce back by the middle of 2011, citing economic factors. Fiserv, a market analytics company, initially predicted in February a 4% increase in home prices through the end of 2011. … Continue reading Home Prices May Keep Falling Throughout 2011 Today’s Wall Street Journal reported that it will cost taxpayers another $154 billion to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat under the most likely scenario for home prices. But if the economy slides back into a recession and the housing market worsens, then the price tag to the taxpayers can be higher than that. The … Continue reading Fannie, Freddie May Need $154 Billion to Survive — Maybe More |
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