Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

Nearly 10.9 million, or 22.5 percent, of all residential mortgages had negative equity at the end of the second quarter of the year, according to a report released Tuesday by the analytics firm CoreLogic. The figure is actually a slight improvement from the 22.7 percent of all mortgages with negative equity in the first quarter of 2011. CoreLogic says nearly three-quarters of homeowners in negative equity situations are also paying higher, above-market interest on their mortgages.

Housing got only a brief mention in President Obama's highly anticipated jobs speech Thursday night, but it was a pledge that some pundits say is a step in the right direction. Others say it's likely to have little impact. Obama told Congress his administration will work to refinance millions of homeowners' mortgages at today's record-low rates. It's expected the program will give borrowers who are underwater or have bad marks on their credit the opportunity to take out lower-rate, lower-payment loans.

Industry data released Thursday show borrowing costs for home loans falling to new lows, slipping further from what was already reported as the lowest level for mortgage interest rates in more than a half-century. Economists attribute the continuing declines to ongoing employment concerns and economic uncertainty, as well as the debt crisis in Europe pushing investors to the safe haven of U.S. Treasury bonds. Freddie Mac now puts the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4.12 percent and the 15-year rate at 3.33 percent.

Americans continue to harbor a glum outlook for the housing industry and the economy at large. According to Fannie Mae's latest National Housing Survey, August was the third month in a row that more respondents expect housing prices to decrease than increase over the next 12 months. Twenty-seven percent of Americans say prices will likely head lower, while 20 percent hold out hope for appreciation. More than two-thirds say the economic recovery is on the wrong track.

After the mortgage industry lost more than 2,000 jobs in the first half of 2011, things may pick up later in the year, according to a newly released analysis of mortgage sector employment. During the second quarter of this year, the mortgage industry recorded a net loss of about 500 positions. The loss for the three-month period is less than the previous quarter's net job loss of 1,804. Looking forward, the report predicts a possible increase in hiring as mortgage rates remain at record lows and poor loan performance necessitates more manpower.

Mortgage rates, for the most part, headed lower this week. Data from Freddie Mac shows that the 30-year fixed rate remained unchanged over the past week, while all other loan products in the GSE's survey dropped. The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage set a new all-time record low at 2.96 percent, having fallen for the eighth consecutive week. The 30-year rate held at 4.22 percent, while the 15-year rate slipped to 3.39 percent.

Word on the street is the administration is sizing up a new program that would provide millions of homeowners with new, lower interest, lower payment mortgages. The initiative would allow borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance at today's rates, even if they are in negative equity or have bad marks on their credit. Two Columbia business professors say such a move would save homeowners an average of $350 a month and pump an extra $118 billion into the economy.

In its August 2011 Budget and Economic Outlook update, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts the government will spend $35 billion less on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2011 than in 2010. The CBO estimates it will spend $5 billion on the GSEs in 2011 after having spent $40 billion last year. The CBO says the decrease is mostly due to lower projections in losses for the GSEs in upcoming years. This updated 2011 estimate is $6 billion lower than the CBO's previous estimate.

Mortgage rates moved higher this week off the previous week's record lows as Treasury bond yields rose and other housing data showed improvement. One anomaly was the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage, which declined one-tenths of a percentage point to set a new all-time low. The 30-year fixed rate rose to 4.22 percent, while the 15-year rate came in at 3.44 percent.

Investors' growing appetite for the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds in the wake of European debt troubles and a stagnant economic recovery here in the U.S. have driven mortgage interest rates to their lowest level in over 50 years. Freddie Mac says both fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages have reached all-time record lows, providing further incentive for homeowners looking to refinance. By the GSE's assessment, the 30-year rate is now averaging 4.15 percent and the 15-year rate is at 3.36 percent.