Tag Archives: HARP

Lawmakers introduced a bill on Monday with plans to once more revamp the Home Affordable Refinance Program for current borrowers with eligible loans with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez, among others, drafted the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act to increase lender competition, open up refinance opportunities to all current borrowers with government-backed mortgages, and strike through appraisal costs and upfront fees on home loans.

From January 2012 to July, 519,339 loans were refinanced under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), FHFA announced Friday. Two factors were named as the main drivers behind the high volume of refinancings: record-low mortgage rates and HARP changes such as the removal of the loan-to-value (LTV) ceiling.

360 Mortgage Group is seeing a significant increase in refinancings being offered to homeowners under HARP 2.0, the company announced Thursday. Since HARP 2.0 went into effect in March, 360 Mortgage has seen a dramatic increase in the active loan pipeline and anticipates more in the future.

For borrowers who refinanced in the second quarter, shorter fixed-rate mortgages dominated consumer preferences. Among those who refinanced in Q2, more than 95 percent opted for fixed-rate loans, according to the Freddie Mac Quarterly Product Transition Report.

A report from Lender Processing Services (LPS) revealed that in judicial states, the share of aging past due loans is significantly higher than in non-judicial states. In judicial states, nearly 60 percent of borrowers with loans in foreclosure have not made a payment in 2 years, whereas in non-judicial states, that percentage is at about 30 percent. Among those with loans 90 days or more past due, 50 percent of borrowers in judicial states have not made a payment in more than one year, compared to slightly more than 40 percent in non-judicial states.

HARP-assisted refinances drove record refinance activity in the month of June, FHFA revealed Tuesday. The agency released its Refinance Report for June 2012, showing that refinance volume remained strong in June as mortgage rates fell to all-time lows. An estimated 33 percent of refinance volume was done through HARP, the highest percentage since HARP's inception. The report revealed that at the end of June, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had refinanced 422,969 loans through HARP in 2012, more than the estimated total of 400,000 for all of 2011. This brings the total number of HARP refinances by the GSEs to 1.4 million.

HUD and Treasury Department released the latest scorecard Friday, providing a look at a market in recovery but threatened by an expected increase in foreclosure activity. According to the report, foreclosure starts and completions both declined in June, painting a picture of continued recovery. However, officials expect foreclosure activity to pick up in coming months as firms lift delays in foreclosure processing.

Freddie Mac released the results of its second quarter refinance analysis Wednesday, revealing that homeowners who refinance continue to strengthen their housing situations. Freddie Mac's report showed that 81 percent of homeowners who refinanced their first-lien home mortgage either maintained the same loan amount or lowered their principal balance in the year's second quarter.

The GSE announced that it will align requirements for mortgages with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios that are equal to or less than 80 percent with those for mortgages with LTV ratios greater than 80 percent. In addition, Freddie Mac said it is evaluating the Relief Refinance program by focusing on its Open Access offering and determining the best approach to maximize the program's reach.

Sen. Jeff Merkley(D-Oregon) announced a plan Wednesday to allow underwater homeowners to refinance at lower interest rates through the creation of a Rebuilding American Homeownership Trust. His plans call for a one-time trust he says is similar to the Homeownership Loan Corporation created during the Great Depression. As banks refinance underwater homeowners, the trust would purchase the loans from the banks. Meanwhile, the trust would receive funding from bond sales.