Tag Archives: Refinance

Treasury has released a new progress report on its Making Home Affordable initiative, covering all the ""H"" acronyms. Since the program started in April 2009, 857,000 homeowners have received permanent loan restructurings under HAMP, and 894,000 have refinanced their mortgages through HARP. HAFA transactions tally just under 19,000. Officials say they continue to see a fall in mortgage defaults due in part to foreclosure prevention programs reaching more borrowers upstream in the process, but there's ""much more work to do.""

Mortgage interest rates dropped sharply this week as investors rushed to U.S. Treasury bonds amid concerns over the European debt crisis. Data released by Freddie Mac Thursday puts the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4.00 percent for the week ending November 3rd. That marks its second lowest reading since hitting an all-time low of 3.94 percent in early October. The 30-year rate fell 10 basis points from 4.10 percent last week. Last year at this time, it was averaging 4.24 percent.

While the newly revised Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) includes several provisions aimed at widening the program's reach, Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and Johnny Isakson of Georgia are asking the Obama administration to broaden the program even more by opening it up to homeowners with higher equity in their homes. Currently, the revised program is aimed at helping those with less than 20 percent equity. Lawmakers say nearly 12 million more borrowers would benefit if there were no equity restraints.

The nation's second largest mortgage company is asking the U.S. Treasury for another $6 billion in capital support after posting its largest quarterly loss in over a year. Freddie Mac says it recorded a net loss of $4.4 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, after shouldering a $4.8 billion loss on derivatives and a $3.6 billion provision for credit losses related to high levels of mortgage refinancing and lower mortgage insurance recoveries. The GSE's REO operations expense skyrocketed to $221 million in the third quarter, compared to $27 million for the second quarter.

The administration unveiled its revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) last week to allow borrowers who owe significantly more than their home is worth take out new loans with lower interest rates. CoreLogic says the impact will be targeted to those markets and local economies that have suffered the most from the housing collapse. The company believes HARP 2.0 will be positive for the GSEs and the origination market, negative for bondholders, and neutral for housing itself because distressed borrowers and shadow inventory are left out of the equation.

State attorneys general and the nation's five largest mortgage servicers could be within weeks of reaching a $25 billion agreement to settle allegations that foreclosures were improperly processed. Details of the settlement terms obtained by DSNews.com indicate that individual servicer penalties will be based on the number of foreclosures they've completed. Collectively, $5 billion would come in the form of cash fines and $20 billion would be satisfied with principal-reducing modifications and refinancing for underwater borrowers.

The industry's four largest mortgage servicers all say they will be taking part in the revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo have each expressed their support of the program and the changes that will allow more underwater homeowners to refinance. Government officials expect the program's revisions to expand its reach and increase competition for mortgage refinancing, with an estimated 1 million homeowners to receive assistance under the new guidelines.

Fixed mortgage rates showed little change for the second consecutive week amid mixed consumer confidence and housing data, and remain near their 60-year lows. Freddie Mac puts the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4.10 percent for the week ending October 27, and the 15-year rate at 3.38 percent. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) exhibited slightly wider swings.

With the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) retooling of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), one change in particular may hold the answer to just how much of an impact the initiative will have -- FHFA's decision to waive representations and warranties on loans that are refinanced through the program. The debate has already begun about whether such a move will indeed persuade lenders to step up participation in the program. Some lenders do see it as an opportunity, but market analysts say the rep and warranty waiver may be less effective than expected.

Refinance applications and appraisal complications are holding up home sale closings, according to a HousingPulse survey released Monday. The report states that the normal timeline for a closing is about 30 days. That timeline has been extended to between 45 and 60 days. However, the delay is even more exacerbated among short sales and sales of foreclosed homes - which according to the survey made up 44.4 percent of the market in September.