Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

Mortgage interest rates began to climb again last week, after falling the week prior for the first time in more than a month. Freddie Mac says the results of its latest survey reveal increasing mortgage rates for all loan products included in the study except the 1-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). Rates across the board climbed higher in a separate study released by Bankrate. More than half of the industry experts surveyed by Bankrate believe mortgage rates will continue to rise.

Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, says he expects long-term mortgage rates to hold below the 5 percent threshold throughout 2011, as key macroeconomic drivers provide a backdrop that supports a continued, albeit gradual, housing recovery. Turning to home prices, Nothaft says markets that have large inventories of for-sale homes and REO properties will continue to see home-value weakness in 2011, but he believes price indexes for the U.S. as a whole are close to bottoming out.

Long-term fixed mortgage interest rates fell back this week, breaking a six-week streak of steep increases. Data released by Freddie Mac Thursday showed rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 4.81 percent, and 15-year rates at 4.15 percent. A separate study by Bankrate also showed declines for most loan products - all except for the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate, which inched higher to 5.59 percent. Bankrate expects continued economic improvement to push mortgage rates higher as the new year unfolds.

Home prices bounced back slightly during the month of October, according to data released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Wednesday. FHFA's house price index is calculated using purchase prices of homes backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It showed that residential property values rose 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from September to October, however, September's price change was revised downward.

For every home loan held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that was modified during the third quarter, 2.3 loans were foreclosed on during the same period. The GSEs initiated foreclosure on 339,000 home mortgages during the July to September timeframe. Loan modifications completed in the quarter totaled 146,500, with the majority of those completed through non-HAMP programs. The two companies approved 29,500 short sales during the third quarter.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) issued a notice to its members Monday alerting them that Freddie Mac plans to cut back the amount of commission paid for REOs sold in certain states. The GSE said it decided to institute the commission reductions in order to reduce expenses, after considering various data in the affected states. The new payment structures apply to Freddie Mac-owned HomeSteps properties that are listed with a real estate broker on or after January 1, 2011.

Freddie Mac will delay initiating and resuming foreclosure for at least nine months for financially troubled service members released from active duty through the end of 2011. The decision will give lenders more time to work with service members and explore relief options designed to assist them, according to a statement from Freddie Mac.

Congressman Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), chairman of the House oversight subcommittee, has released a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) expressing concern about reports that the Obama administration is pressuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down principal mortgages. Neugebauer argues that the GSEs' participation in such a program would increase taxpayer losses - already approaching $150 billion - and run counter to the statutory obligation of FHFA to minimize taxpayer exposure.

After more than a year-long investigation, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has pushed the release date of its findings to January 2011, instead of December 15, 2010, as mandated by Congress. The four Republican members of the 10-person committee, though, broke ranks and published their own report this week. They are placing blame for the housing bubble that brought the nation's economy to its knees squarely on the shoulders of the federal government, going all the way back to the mid-1990s.

Borrowing costs on home loans continue to increase, with mortgage rates rising sharply for the past five weeks in a row. New data from Freddie Mac shows that the average rate for a 30-year mortgage jumped 22 basis points over the last seven days to 4.83 percent. The 15-year rate climbed 21 basis points to 4.17 percent. A separate study by Bankrate shows that the average 30-year rate offered by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 U.S. markets already hit the 5 percent mark this week.