According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), average fixed mortgage rates moved down slightly this week and remaining near their 2015 lows as the spring home buying season continues.
Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist Len Kiefer said, "Mortgage rates fell slightly to 3.65 percent this week, positive news for potential home buyers in the market this spring. Purchase applications in 60 of the 100 markets that MiMi tracks are up from the same time last year, including 20 markets that are showing double-digit increases. Reinforcing this positive momentum, existing home sales surged 6.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million units in March, the highest annual rate since September 2013. Housing inventory rose 5.3 percent to 2 million homes for sale, but unsold inventory was little changed at a 4.6 month supply."
The government-sponsored enterprises officially announced Monday the introduction of new, lower down payment mortgages.
And already the mortgage industry is reacting, with one analyst arguing that the boost to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could come at the expense of the Federal Housing Administration.
Read more... http://www.housingwire.com/articles/32277-barclays-new-fannie-freddie-mortgages-will-take-business-from-fha
Black Friday 2014 may be over, but holiday home shoppers still have something to look forward to in the form of less stringent mortgage standards. Although shopping for a mortgage may not be as exciting (or dangerous) as competing for that one 42-inch flat-screen TV remaining on the store shelf, the recent loosening of mortgage qualification guidelines is a gift that promises to keep on giving for homebuyers and the economy at large.
I still own a typewriter. But Discover Home Loans conducted a national survey of more than 1,000 recent homebuyers and found that most homebuyers believed they were better buyers due to technology. The survey discovered that 89% of respondents used some form of online technology to help them in the home buying process, 76% felt technology made them a more knowledgeable home buyer and 69% said technology made them more confident. About half of respondents said that using technology saved them money and 92% said it saved them time. For Realtors out there, almost three quarters (74%) said it's essential for their real estate agent to be tech savvy and 42% of buyers working with agents said they did most of the work to initially find properties. And heck, most of the millennials haven't even hit the market yet!
Read more... http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/channels/pipelinepress/12012014-penguin-commercials-nina.aspx
Most of us want to keep our financial ducks in a row. Many of us work hard at it, living below our means, establishing emergency funds, saving and investing for retirement, and paying off or staying out of credit card debt. It's easy to think that it would be smart to pay off your mortgage early, and many financial experts recommend having it paid off by retirement. After all, the thought of having mortgage payments looming over you while you live on a more limited income can be unsettling. Give the decision some thought, though, because there are some reasons you may not want to rush to pay that loan off.
New York's attorney general on Monday accused Wells Fargo and Bank of America of violating the terms of last year's national mortgage settlement by failing to process hundreds of refinancing requests promptly.
