Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

Fannie Mae released its July 2012 National Housing Survey Tuesday, showing that consumer optimism regarding the slowly recovering housing market remained strong during the month. Survey respondents said they expect home prices to increase 1.7 percent in the next year, slightly down from the 2.0 percent survey high recorded in June. Eleven percent of respondents believe home prices will drop, the lowest level recorded since the survey began in June 2010.

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 announced Thursday that after more than three months of record-low drops, mortgage rates slid up this week. The GSE's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.55 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending August 2, up from 3.49 percent the previous week. The 15-year FRM also slid up, averaging 2.83 percent (0.6 point) from 2.80 percent last week.

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.

Starting September 1, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will lower their standard modification interest rate from 4.625 percent to 4.25 percent. The GSEs stated the rates are adjusted based on market conditions.

In recent months, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, Freddie Mac, Bankrate, and other firms has shown mortgage rates steadily falling, hitting new lows week after week in some measures. However, Capital Economics contends that there is actually little evidence to suggest that this activity is translating into heavier demand. While the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Survey reported rising demand for mortgage finance in the past three quarters, this increase in demand hasn't shown up in mortgage applications for home purchase, which have remained relatively flat.

Lingering worries about the European debt crisis continue to drive investors to U.S. government bonds, sending fixed mortgage rates down to another record low. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.49 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending July 26, down from 3.53 percent the previous week. At the same time in 2011, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.55 percent.

A weakened second quarter may indicate a slowdown in economic activity for the rest of the year, Fannie Mae reported Monday. The GSE's Economic & Strategic Research Group revealed that it may have been too optimistic in its original 2012 GDP growth projection of 2.2 percent, revising its growth rate estimate to 2.0 percent. The group attributed the waning economic growth to drops in consumer confidence and employment opportunities.

According to the firm's U.S. Housing report, single-family housing starts are expected to trend upward, matching the strength of multi-family starts that has driven the housing recovery over the past year. Barclays also anticipates that home price indices will close out the year strong, suggesting a broadening and lasting recovery. Based on improved affordability, increased demand, and falling inventory, the firm projected a year-over-year home price increase of 2.9 percent by the end of 2012.

Increased home sales continue to help the United States out of its Great Recession, but uneven job growth is stunting recovery, according to Freddie Mac's U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July. The report, released Wednesday, showed that record-breaking low mortgage rates and refinances through HARP 2.0 drove up housing demand, leading to increases in housing starts, home sales, and prices in many markets. However, flagging job growth was a major issue.