Good Morning! Today is Thursday, September 30. The House plans to vote today on a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. A new AP poll finds President Biden’s vaccine mandate splits Americans down party lines. The NCAA will allow women’s basketball to use the phrase “March Madness,” which used to be restricted to the men’s tournament. And in mortgage and housing news… Freddie Mac: Interest rates rose to 3.01% this week, Freddie Mac’s PMMS reported. Investor Confidence Falls: Nearly half of real-estate investors believe the investment market is worse than a year ago, and 36% expect it to stay bad over the next six months. AIME Conference: 3,000 mortgage professionals attended AIME’s 4th Annual Fuse conference. Pending Home Sales Rebound: Pending home…
Mortgage rates rose to 3.01% over the past week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) reports the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.88 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.90 percent. “Mortgage rates rose across all loan types this week as the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield reached its highest point since June,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Many factors led to this increase, including the Federal Reserve communicating that it will taper its support of the capital markets, the broadening of inflation and emerging energy supply shortages which compound other labor and materials shortages.” On Tuesday, both Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before Congress…
Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, September 28. Rocket Mortgage will continue to sponsor the PGA’s Rocket Mortgage Classic through 2027. The presidents of Boston and Dallas’s Federal Reserve banks are resigning following reports of investment trading. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will tell Congress today that inflation will stay high for a few months before moderating. Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would prevent a government shutdown. And in mortgage and housing news… Forbearances Keep Falling: The share of loans in forbearance fell yet again, dropping to 2.96%. It’s the first time they’ve dipped below 3% since March 2020. Natural Disasters Cause Concern: More than half of respondents to a Realtor.com survey said they considered natural disasters when choosing where…
Forbearances fell again last week, continuing to trend down as relief plans expire, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. Forbearances made up just 2.96% of servicers’ portfolio volume, down from 3.00%. It’s the first time they’ve fallen below 3% since March 2020. The estimated number of homeowners in forbearance plans is around 1.5 million. For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, the August 2021 number was down three basis points to 1.44%. Ginnie Mae loans rose three basis points to 3.42%. Portfolio loans and private-label securities shares fell four basis points, from 6.95% to 6.91%. Independent mortgage bank servicers saw a drop of one basis point to 3.24%, and the share for depository servicers declined four points…
Good Morning! Today is Monday, September 27. Government funding is set to expire this week as Democrats push two sweeping legislative packages. States are beginning to roll out booster shots to at-risk Americans. China traded two detained Canadian citizens to bring home a Huawei executive accused of stealing trade secrets. And in mortgage and housing news… What Does Debt-Limit Mean For Mortgage Rates?: Mortgage rates could be impacted by Washington D.C.’s debate over raising the debt ceiling. “LIFT”: Legislation aimed at first-time homebuyers proposes creating a 20-year-fixed-rate mortgage program through Ginnie Mae. FHFA Loan Mods:Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 217,020 foreclosure prevention actions in the second quarter, with 47% of loan modifications lowering monthly payments by more than 20%.…
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae completed 217,020 foreclosure prevention actions in Q2, bringing the number of homeowners the GSEs have helped during conservatorship to 6.030 million, according to the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report. 57% of loan modifications reduced monthly payments by more than 20%, though the number of refinances began to fall in Q2. Forbearance starts dropped 32% to 6,233 in the second quarter, while third-party and foreclosure sales fell 9% to 2,281. The GSEs’ serious delinquency rate dropped from 2.48% to 1.99% by the end of Q2. The total number of loans in forbearance continues to drop from its latest peak in May 2021, though new forbearance plans fell but stayed high through Q2…
New legislation introduced in the Senate, known as the “Low-income First Time Homebuyer (LIFT) Act,” proposes creating a new 20-year-fixed-rate mortgage program through Ginnie Mae, subsidized by taxpayers. First-time, first-generation homebuyers with an income equal to or less than 120% of the area median income would qualify. Ginnie Mae, along with the Department of the Treasury, would subsidize the interest rate and origination fees for these 20-year mortgages. The result would be a monthly bill in line with a new 30-year FHA-insured mortgage. The bill is sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA). All except Sen. Kaine are members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and…
Good Morning! Today is Friday, September 24. The Congressional Committee investigating the January 6 riot issued four subpoenas, all for former advisers to Donald Trump. China is cracking down on cryptocurrencies, saying it will root out “illegal” activity and ban crypto mining. The House approved $1 billion for an Israeli missile defense system. And in mortgage and housing news… Fed Correction: FHFA and HUD released a joint statement clarifying Freddie Mac’s policy on buying mortgages secured by group homes. Homeowner Equity Up In Q2: Homeowners with mortgages gained $2.9 trillion in equity in the second quarter of 2021, up 29.3% year-over-year, according to a CoreLogic report. Housing Boom May Not Be Over: Early homebuyer demand reached its highest point in at…
Mortgage rates remained essentially unchanged over the past week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) reports the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.88 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.90 percent. “The slowdown in economic growth around the world has caused a flight to the quality of the U.S. financial markets,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “This has led to a rise in foreign investor purchases of U.S. Treasuries, causing mortgage rates to remain in place, despite the increasing dispersion of inflation across different consumer goods and services.” Khater continued, “On the housing front, homebuyers continue to snap up available inventory, which has improved modestly, and home price growth…
The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a joint statement Wednesday addressing an “incorrect” policy regarding Freddie Mac’s ability to purchase mortgages secured by a property owned by an individual and rented to a group home for persons with disabilities. “The clarifications follow a HUD investigation of a mortgage lender who had refused to lend to a homeowner that was renting their property to a company that was operating a group home,” the joint statement reads. “The lender’s refusal was based on the incorrect belief that Freddie Mac would not agree to buy the mortgage. After HUD reported this misunderstanding to Freddie Mac and FHFA, Freddie Mac worked with both…
