Loans Expert

The value of home mortgage advances in January fell by half from December, when there was a late rush to complete deals before a tax break ended at the New Year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said Friday.

The value of home mortgages in January was 4.7 billion pounds ($7.1 billion), down 45 percent from January. The value of remortgage loans dropped by 12 percent from December.

“When December and January data are taken together, they show little change in underlying market conditions compared with recent months, with activity still slow but well up on the lows of a year earlier,” said the Council’s director, Michael Coogan.

Some of the state’s public service workers are getting help from a program that is expanding to help teachers, fire fighters, police officers and EMS workers get low-interest loans.

Drive down just about any street and you’ll see there’s no shortage of homes for sale. One program is giving some heroes just what they need to make the big purchase.

“The everyday heroes are the people that touch and serve the needs of South Carolinians in the state,” said Valarie Williams.

People like teachers, firefighters, police and EMS workers.

Rates for 30-year home loans rose above the 5% threshold for the first time in three weeks, but remained near historically low levels.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.05% this week, up from 4.93% a week earlier, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Rates had dropped to a record low of 4.71% in December, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce consumers’ borrowing costs.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day, often in line with long-term Treasury bonds.

Even though home mortgage loan rates are very close to all-time lows some homeowners are still struggling to make ends meet. At the present time J.P. Morgan Chase has helped to modify many home loans. If you are looking to stay in your home and avoid foreclosure then you may have to go through the home loan modification process.

With many people struggling to make ends meet financially it has become harder and harder to make the mortgage payment. Many homeowners do not have access to the current low home mortgage loan rates. Luckily, J.P. Morgan Chase recognizes this to be the case and has worked very hard to help people get their home loans modified.

Delinquency and foreclosure rates among US homeowners climbed to their highest levels on record in the fourth quarter of last year, as the Obama administration unveiled its latest effort to aid the housing market.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said 15 per cent of all home loans were either in foreclosure or late on a payment, the highest proportion since its surveys began in 1972.

The data were released as President Barack Obama announced $1.5bn (€1.1bn, £970m) in support for housing finance agencies in the states worst-hit by the housing crisis – Nevada, Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan. All have seen falls of more than 20 per cent in house prices.

Rates for 30-year home loans edged lower for the second straight week, a report said Thursday, but remained above last year’s record lows.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 4.93 percent this week, down from 4.97 percent a week earlier, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said.

Rates dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent in early December, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce consumers’ borrowing costs.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day, often in line with long-term Treasury bonds.

The once popular adjustable-rate mortgage has fallen out of favor with borrowers, and more homeowners are working faster to whittle down their mortgage debt.

A quarterly Freddie Mac report on refinancing activity showed fixed-rate loans were overwhelmingly preferred by borrowers, with 95 percent of all refinancings being a fixed-rate product. Freddie Mac said a fixed-rate loan was the preferred choice, regardless of whether the borrower’s original loan was an ARM or fixed.

“The lowest fixed-interest rates in more than a generation, coupled with the comfort that a constant monthly principal and interest payment provides the homeowner, are important drivers in fixed-rate product choice,” said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft.

Bank of America refinance mortgage rates have been below 5% for the entire year of 2010. At the present time 30 year home loans are at 4.85%. It is very interesting that the 30 year fixed-rate mortgage has been in a very tight range between 4.8% and 5% for the entire year. Once it breaks out of this range you can expect some wild movements.

Many analysts have predicted that mortgage interest rates are going to rise starting in the spring of 2010. There’s a very good possibility that we are seeing the calm before the storm as mortgage rates have moved very little since the beginning of January. Once we start to see movement there could be wild fluctuations in the 30 year fixed mortgage rate.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s home loan delinquencies rose 4.2 per cent in October and the companies modified more mortgages under President Barack Obama’s anti-foreclosure program, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

The number of borrowers at least 60 days behind on home loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose to 1.65 million in October from 1.59 million in September, and has more than doubled since a year earlier, FHFA said in a report today. Delinquencies of 60 days or more as a share of mortgages serviced by the companies rose to 5.4 percent, from 5.2 per cent.

Rates for 30-year home loans edged lower for the second straight week, a report said today, but remained above last month’s record lows.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.06 percent this week, down from 5.09 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said.

Rates dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent in early December, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce consumers’ borrowing costs, but then rose steadily for the rest of the month.