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Homeowners who refinanced their mortgage loans in the fourth quarter of 2012 reduced their interest rates by an average of 33 percent, a record savings not seen in 27 years of observance, according to Freddie Mac. ""On average, borrowers who refinanced reduced their interest rate by about 1.8 percentage points,"" said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac. This translates to about $3,600 in annual savings on a $200,000 loan, according to Nothaft.

The percentage of banks reporting stronger demand for mortgage loans dropped in the first quarter from the fourth quarter last year, the Federal Reserve reported Monday and a slightly greater percentage are lending standards. The results in the quarterly Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey are consistent with anecdotal reports that mortgage loans are becoming easier to obtain. In the case of ""traditional"" mortgage loans, 1.5 percent of respondents reported ""somewhat"" tighter standings, 4.6 percent reported standards easing somewhat, and 1.5 percent reported standards easing considerably.

The act of securitizing mortgage loans can lead to riskier lending, and ultimately more defaults, according to a study posted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. About 60 percent of outstanding mortgage debt in the United States is traded in the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market, ""making the U.S. secondary mortgage market the largest fixed-income market in the world,"" according to Fed researchers. While admitting the MBS market ""is an important innovation and has several merits,"" the study finds a darker side to the market.

Consumer confidence picked up somewhat in January, but the recent payroll tax hike put a ceiling on any major gains, according to the latest survey of consumers from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan (UMich). The Index of Consumer Sentiment climbed slightly to 73.8 in January from December's 72.9. The index read 75.0 in January 2012. According to a release accompanying the survey, January's potential gains were dulled by the payroll tax increase, which has had a significant impact on lower income households.

So, there's some sort of football game this weekend. Like many economists, I’m a bigger baseball fan than football, intrigued by the statistics in baseball, statistically a zero-sum game unlike most other sports. Just about every positive statistic in baseball for one player has a corresponding negative statistic for another.

Although the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFC) has concluded after regulators reached an $8.5 billion foreclosure settlement with 10 banks, questions still remain concerning the abandoned foreclosure review process and the terms for the current settlement. In the search for more answers, three lawmakers recently wrote letters to the Office of the Comptroller (OCC) and the Federal Reserve. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) sent a joint letter dated January 31 to the OCC and the Fed requesting specific information, including the results of all performance reviews.

If businesses had any reluctance to hire in December because of fiscal cliff concerns, they didn't make up for it in January: Payrolls expanded by 157,000, down from December, but the unemployment rate moved to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent a month earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Job growth for December, originally reported at 155,000, was revised upward to 196,000. November's growth was revised to 247,000 from 161,000.

Homeowners in foreclosure who were also impacted by Hurricane Sandy will get another 90 days of relief from a foreclosure sale or pending eviction, announced Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.

Fixed mortgage rates took a major leap up this week amid news of a growing economy led in part by the recovering housing market. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate averaged 3.53 percent (0.7 point) for the final week of January, up from 3.42 percent last week. The last time the 30-year fixed rate averaged above 3.5 percent was in September 2012. The 15-year fixed average also increased significantly, rising 10 basis points to 2.81 percent (0.7 point).

Forty-six state attorneys general and the District of Columbia reached a settlement agreement with Lender Processing Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries—LPS Default Solutions and DocX—to resolve allegations concerning the company’s foreclosure practices. As part of the multistate settlement, LPS agreed to pay $127 million. LPS previously resolved similar claims in Missouri, Delaware, and Colorado, leaving the company with one unresolved claim from Nevada.