Loans Expert

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Mortgage purchase applications sank 27.1 percent to the lowest level since May 1997 in the absence of the popular government support, the group said. U.S. housing groped for footing after more than a year of homebuyer tax credits worth up to $8,000 expired on April 30.

Requests for home purchase loans have fallen almost 20 percent over the past month despite low borrowing costs.

Small Business Administration loans to businesses in New Hampshire increased by 91 percent in the first two quarters of fiscal year 2010, the agency reported.

According to the SBA, in the first six months of the fiscal year, 387 SBA loans totaling more than $69.8 million were approved, compared with 203 loans totaling $27.6 million in the first six months of fiscal year 2009.

“The data demonstrates that our SBA lenders throughout the state are actively looking for opportunities to lend to qualified small business owners,” said Witmer Jones, the SBA’s district director.

Demand for home loans continued to wane in February, even before the two latest interest rate increases, data released on Monday shows.

Just 50,287 mortgages were granted to owner-occupiers in February, down by a seasonally-adjusted 1.8 per cent compared to January, the fifth consecutive month of decline, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.

Economists’ forecasts had centred on 1.0 per cent fall in February home loan commitments.

Last year’s three interest rate rises and an end to the federal government’s more generous first homebuyer grant at the end of 2009 were blamed for the steady drop-off in mortgage demand.

Rates for 30-year home loans surged last week, rising to the highest level in eight months due to the improving economy and the end of a government push to keep rates low.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.21 percent this week, up from 5.08 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the highest since mid-August, when the average rate was 5.29 percent.

Rates had dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent in December, pushed down by a campaign by the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs for consumers. The program ended last week, but the Fed left the door open to reviving the program if the economy weakens.

U.S. mortgage applications fell for a second straight week, with demand for home loan refinancing sinking to its lowest level in a month as interest rates jumped, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Demand for purchase loans, a tentative early indicator of home sales, edged higher, but activity was down from a year earlier, further evidence that the housing market has hit a lull after showing signs of a recovery late last year.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended March 19, decreased 4.2 percent.

Rising home prices and an improving economy are expected to spark a modest rebound this year in home equity lending. But lenders and homeowners will be more cautious about converting their equity to cash, muting any boost to the economy, said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst.

“Home equity borrowing won’t be the economic crutch it was a few years ago,’’ said McBride.

As borrowers tap into the value of their properties, lenders will make about $36 billion in new home equity loans in the next 12 months, according to a forecast by Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pa. That will increase the outstanding balances of the loans by 4.2 percent to $903.5 billion from a two-year low of $867.3 billion this quarter.

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.