Home Mortgage News and Information

Almost a quarter of all U.S. borrowers could eventually gain access to an Obama administration program to refinance mortgages to obtain lower interest rates, analysts say.
At issue are millions of so-called “underwater” borrowers who owe more than their home is worth and can’t refinance to current low rates using traditional means.
The Obama administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, has sought to provide refinancing options to some of these underwater borrowers who have no equity in their homes as long as that mortgage is backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie …

New Zealand home buyers haven’t had it this good since September 2003 when the Rugby World Cup was last held in this part of the world, a new survey of affordability has found.
A fall in house prices nationwide and renewed expectations of lower interest rates for longer has improved affordability to its best levels since September 2003, just before the Rugby World Cup was contested in Australia and just before house prices surged, the Roost Home Loan Affordability report shows.
Affordability improved in most cities and provincial areas, including Auckland Central, …

Sales of residential properties in Canada were stable in July compared with the previous month with just over half of local markets posting gains, according to the latest statistics from The Canadian Real Estate Association.
Major markets that saw gains compared to June include Edmonton, Montreal, Newfoundland and Labrador. Activity also held steady in Toronto, while Vancouver recorded a small decline.
‘The continued stability in national sales activity shows that homebuyers remain confident about the soundness of investing in a home. Mortgage interest rates are low and keeping home affordability within reach, …

Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday revealed gross mortgage lending in July came in at an estimated £12.6bn, down from £12.7bn in June, and £13.3bn in July last year.
Bob Pannell, chief economist at the CML, said: “UK economic prospects have deteriorated as a result of weaknesses in some of the major economies and renewed stresses in the eurozone area associated with the sustainability of government finances.
As a result, UK interest rates look like staying lower for longer.
“Housing market conditions remain subdued, but pretty stable. Seasonal factors continue …

Despite near-record-low mortgage rates and the cheapest housing prices in eight years, U.S. home lending has slipped this year to the lowest level since 1997, the Mortgage Bankers Association says.
The laggard loan market can be explained in part by the slow economy, numerous foreclosures and the proliferation of “underwater” loans, those that exceed the value of the properties they secure.
But other factors are compounding the problem, including so-called refi burnout – how many times, after all, can one refinance a home? – and a wave of people who have decided …

With the recent US debt debacle and subsequent downgrading of the US economy from AAA status to AA+ it’s timely to re-visit the housing market fundamentals in the USA. As a brief and simplistic retrospective, US home values started sliding in May 2006 after more than 9 years of virtually uninterrupted capital gains. Since the market peaked back in 2006 US home prices have fallen by -32%. Falling home values acted as a catalyst, causing mortgage defaults to rise which in turn caused severe distress across the finance sector not …

Will Clarkston Bank be the first community bank since the recession began in 2008 to escape with its life from a consent decree from state and federal regulators? It’s a good bet.
Eleven community banks have gone under in Southeast Michigan since the collapse of the housing and commercial real estate markets. Community banks had little to do with the home mortgage bubble and everything to do with having a lucrative niche in small business and real estate lending that quickly went south. Think of all those empty or half empty …

“ANZ now leads the market with a two and three-year fixed rate of 6.44 percent (effective 17 August),” Mr Smith told Nine News Finance. “NAB’s three-year fixed rate of 6.79 percent is pretty competitive, and they’ve tended to focus on having the lowest standard variable rate in their advertising, but they’re unlikely to sit still for long.”
Over the weekend the ANZ bank cut its fixed-rate loans.
ANZ chief executive Philip Chronican said there was a “great deal of uncertainty” in global markets and economists had divided views on the future movement …

Disclosures, notices, statements, forms and tax documents — it was about 300 pages, and it was just a home loan.
Last year, reviewing the bank’s 455 home loan applications created more than two months of work for Harlan, a compliance officer at City State Bank in Norwalk, Iowa.
“I’ve yet to see the benefit to the customer,” said Harlan. “It’s highly technical and confusing for the borrower.”
Harlan says the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which became law in July 2010, nearly doubled what she must review and report to …

The bad news is that we are currently living through a frightening economy. The good news is that mortgage rates have never been this low in the last half of a century. The mortgage process, for buyers as well as home owners is a challenge at best but if you are prepared you can save money and get through the process with your sanity in tact!
Why should you refinance? There are costs involved with the process, but if you plan to stay in your home long term (five – 15 …