Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

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).

Positive economic and housing news lifted fixed mortgage rates to their highest level in months this week. According to Freddie Mac&'s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.42 (0.7 point) for the week ending January 24, up from 3.38 percent last week. The last time the average 30-year reading was this high was September 29 of last year, Freddie Mac said. The 15-year fixed average also rose, climbing to 2.67 percent (0.7 point) from 2.66 percent previously.

Freddie Mac's Standard Short Sale program has been in effect for close to three months, and the GSE continues to work to publicize the program and inform borrowers of their options, most recently in a blog post Tuesday on Freddie Mac's website. ""Early results indicate that this program is beginning to take hold with homeowners and realtors,"" stated Tracy Mooney, SVP on the Executive Perspectives Blog. Mooney expressed an expectation that the program will reduce short sale timelines by between 50 and 75 percent.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey registered little motion among rates for the week ending January 17. The average 30-year fixed rate slipped to 3.38 percent (0.7 point), down from 3.40 percent last week. The 15-year fixed rate averaged 2.66 percent (0.7 point), the same as in the previous week's survey. Bankrate.com, on the other hand, reported more extreme shifts as markets grow increasingly nervous about the country's continued financial uncertainties.

Improving news on housing and employment has given a lift to consumer confidence, despite ""fiscal cliff drama,"" according Freddie Mac's U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for January. The report noted the 155,000 jobs that were added in December and the overall gain of 1.86 million jobs for all of 2012. Freddie Mac expects the U.S. economy to see another two million news jobs in 2013.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.40 (0.7 point) percent for the week ending January 10, up somewhat significantly from 3.34 percent in 2013's first survey. The 15-year fixed average also climbed--though not as drastically--reaching 2.66 percent (0.7 ppoint). The 15-year FRM averaged 2.64 percent previously.

In Q3 2012, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed about 134,200 foreclosure prevention actions, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Of that total, 62,500 foreclosure prevention actions were through loan modifications, and 38,000 were from short sales and deeds-in-lieu. Overall, since the start of their conservatorship in September 2008, the GSEs have completed 2.5 million foreclosure prevention actions.

After going into free-fall for much of 2012, fixed mortgage rates started off 2013 with very slight declines, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The average 30-year fixed rate was 3.34 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending January 3, down from 3.35 percent in the last week of 2012. The average 30-year fixed rate was 3.91 percent at the beginning of last year. The 15-year fixed average also fell, sliding to 2.64 percent (0.7 point) from 2.65 percent previously. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 3.23 percent.

Tailwinds should continue for specialty servicers in 2013, according to a report from FBR. As large, traditional servicers become unwilling to service certain asset that require more attention, FBR says it believes about $600 billion to $700 billion in ""high-touch, credit sensitive assets"" will eventually make their way into the specialty servicing and sub-servicing sectors.