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Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

Mortgage Financing Increases While Distressed Sales Fall: Survey

The popularity of FHA mortgages is slowing down, while the use of mortgage financing is growing overall, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. FHA-backed transactions accounted for 25.9 percent of home purchase transactions in August, a decrease from 27.3 percent in January. Overall, mortgages were used to finance 68.9 percent of home purchase transactions in August, an increase from 67.5 percent in July.

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Fixed Mortgage Rates Find New Lows in Wake of QE3 Announcement

The Federal Reserve's announcement confirming a third round of quantitative easing sent long-term mortgage rates tumbling to all-new record lows this week. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed a drop in both the 30-year and 15-year fixed. According to the survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.49 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending September 20, down from 3.55 percent the week before. The 15-year FRM also fell this week, averaging 2.77 percent (0.6 point). The previous survey showed an average of 2.85 percent.

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Mortgage Rates Flat as Investors Await Stimulus News

Mortgage rates saw little change this week as investors await news from the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) about a possible third round of quantitative easing. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.55 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending September 13, no different from the week before and only slightly above its all-time low achieved earlier in the summer.

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Freddie Mac: Fuel Price Spike Unlikely to Stall Recovery

In the GSE's most recent U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist Frank Nothaft looked at energy costs and their potential effects on the economic recovery. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that gas prices averaged $3.84 per gallon on September 3, up about $0.50 over the past two months. While rising energy costs can divert spending away from consumer goods, Nothaft said he isn't especially worried.

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Fannie Mae: Falling Economic Confidence to Slow Housing Recovery

According to the GSE's August 2012 National Housing Survey, consumers maintain a cautious but improving view of homeownership and the housing market. The average home price change expectation is 1.6 percent, mostly consistent with July's results and down from a June high of 2.0 percent. Meanwhile, 11 percent of those surveyed say home prices will go down in the next year, holding steady at the lowest level since the survey began in 2010.

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Rates Hold Steady After Falling Week Before

Amid uncertainty regarding another stimulus from the Fed, mortgage rates generally declined over the week last week. In his recent speech, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke left the door wide open for further stimulus, according to Bankrate.com. Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft reports mortgage rates ""were little changed"" overall last week. According to the GSE, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.55 percent (0.7 point), demonstrating a decline from both the previous week and last year. The rate the GSE reported the previous week was 3.59 percent.

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Poll: 4 Out of 5 Americans Won’t Refinance or Buy Despite Low Rates

Despite recent gains, homeowners still feel antsy about the housing market, with 4 out of 5 home-owning Americans unlikely to buy or refinance their homes, according to a recent poll. Union Plus, an arm of the AFL-CIO, conducted the survey with Harris Interactive. The findings? Only employees between ages 18 and 34 felt interested in making a housing investment over the next 12 months.

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New York Fed Reports Mortgage Delinquency Rates Down in Q2

Low interest rates and better debt management brought mortgage delinquencies down in Q2, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Wednesday. The New York Fed released its latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, revealing that the delinquency rate for mortgages declined from the first quarter to 6.3 percent. Meanwhile, an estimated 256,000 consumers had a foreclosure notation added to their credit reports, the lowest number since mid-2007.

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Mortgage Rates Slip as Investors Wonder About Stimulus

After a month of weekly increases, mortgage rates followed Treasury bond yields down this week. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed averaged 3.59 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending August 30, down from 3.66 percent in the previous week's survey. Bankrate's survey showed that the 30-year fixed average took a substantial tumble, falling to 3.80 percent from 3.91 percent before.

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