mortgage rates

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Mortgage Rates Drop Below 4% for First Time

30-year fixed loans hit historic low

(Newser) - The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage this week fell below 4% for the first time ever, to 3.94%. And mortgage rates could fall even further now that the Federal Reserve plans to reshuffle its portfolio of securities to try and lower long-term rates. Freddie Mac said the...

US May Let Millions Refinance at 4%

Proposal could save homeowners $85B annually

(Newser) - Help could be on the way for struggling homeowners with government-backed mortgages: The Obama administration is considering a proposal that would allow such homeowners to refinance their mortgages at today's interest rates, which hover around a low 4%. Many homeowners can’t currently refinance because they owe more than...

White House: Let's Kill Fannie, Freddie

Obama administration wants to get out of the mortgage market

(Newser) - The Obama administration will propose dissolving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reducing the federal government’s role in the mortgage market, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The White House is set to release three plans for moving forward without the government-owned mortgage giants, which originated nine out of...

Bernanke's Rationale Looks Too Rosy

Felix Salmon isn't thrilled with Fed chief's op-ed

(Newser) - The Fed's controversial plan to buy $600 billion worth of Treasuries to stimulate growth has brought the phrase "quantitative easing" out from the obscurity of financial blogs. Will it work? Two columns today on the subject from Ben Bernanke himself in the Washington Post and Felix Salmon at Reuters...

Now's the Time to Buy a New Home
 Now's the Time to 
 Buy a New Home 
analysis
Dec 29, 2009 5:35 PM CST

Now's the Time to Buy a New Home

Prices and mortgage rates are down—a 'winning combination'

(Newser) - Today's new stats on housing prices yield one shakable fact amid tons of useless information: If you’re in the market for a house, this could be your moment. “Homes are now cheap,” writes Brett Arends. The combination of a 30% drop in home prices since 2005 and...

Home Sales Take Biggest Jump in 8 Years

(Newser) - New home sales jumped 11% in June, the biggest gain in eight years, the Commerce Department announced today, as the supply fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. With mortgage rates and prices staggeringly low—the median home price fell 12%—buyers came out of the woodwork....

Burgeoning Interest Rates Threaten to Stifle Recovery

Demand for refinancing shrivels as 30-year rates hit 5.75%

(Newser) - The steady rise in interest rates over recent weeks is threatening to trample the green shoots of recovery in the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates on 30-year mortgages hit 5.79% yesterday, more than a point above the 4.75% "trigger" level analysts say spurred the...

Home-Sale Index Skyrockets, Boosting Recovery Hopes

(Newser) - Pending sales of existing US homes soared in April, posting their largest jump since October 2001. Combined with a 3.2% jump in March, the 6.7% increase in April—far more than the forecast 0.5%—suggests a longer-term upward trend, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dipping prices, low...

'F@$%! I Wish I'd Refinanced My House'

With mortgage rates rising, homeowners regret not acting sooner

(Newser) - Many homeowners are kicking themselves for not refinancing sooner now that mortgage rates are climbing, ABC News reports. “I was going to save $325 a month, and that covers all kind of things, from gas to groceries,” lamented one. “$325 is a lot of money.” And...

Mortgage Rates Hit 3-Month High

Housing and consumer-spending rebound hopes endangered

(Newser) - Mortgage rates jumped to a three-month high yesterday, putting hopes for a rebound in the housing market and consumer spending at risk, the Wall Street Journal reports. The average 30-year fixed rate hit 5.44% from 5.29% the day before and 5.03% Tuesday. The rates make it tougher...

Banks Launch Mortgage Refinancing Program

(Newser) - The country’s top lenders are slowly implementing the Obama administration’s plan to help otherwise ineligible borrowers to refinance their mortgages at the current bargain-basement rates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The program is open to those with mortgages owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae who are current...

Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower
 Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower 
Analysis
Mar 20, 2009 8:48 AM CDT

Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower

(Newser) - The extraordinary measures the Fed has taken to reduce long-term mortgage rates may have hit their limits. Lenders are now quoting an average rate of 4.75% on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, and that’s probably as cheap as it’s going to get, says James Hagerty of the Wall Street ...

Scammers Set Sights on Desperate Homeowners

Calif. AG: Be 'deeply skeptical' of offers to help refinance

(Newser) - A record 5.4 million homeowners across the country are behind on their mortgages, and scam artists are looking to cash in, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Ads offering help lowering mortgage payments are everywhere. But these "loan negotiators" usually provide services that homeowners can handle on their own,...

Mortgage Rates Plunge to Lowest Ever

But plunging house values make refinancing impossible for many homeowners

(Newser) - The benchmark 30-year mortgage interest rate has fallen below 5% for the first time ever as the collapsing economy continues to force interest rates down. Adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.25%, reports MarketWatch. But many homeowners can't take advantage of the new low rates to refinance because the value of...

Mortgage Refinancing Rush Continues Into New Year

30-year fixed mortgage rate is lowest on record

(Newser) - Homeowners continue to scramble for refinancing in order to lock in currently low interest rates, MarketWatch reports, with applications jumping 25.6% last week, to the highest level since June 2003. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 0.10% for the week ending Jan. 9, to...

Senate Homeowner Aid Moves Big Step Closer

Citi drops opposition to Senate proposal

(Newser) - A Senate plan to help struggling homeowners keep their houses moved closer to fruition yesterday as Citigroup ended its opposition to the bill, the Wall Street Journal reports. The measure would allow so-called “cramdowns,” in which judges in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases could set lower principal and interest...

30-Year Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Low 5.01%

Fed buys $10.2B in agency mortgage bonds

(Newser) - Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to a record low 5.01% this week, Bloomberg reports. The drop—the 10th weekly fall in a row—comes as the Federal Reserve purchased $10.2 billion of mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae as part of a...

Mortgage Applications Leap 48%

Low rates bring out the borrowers

(Newser) - Mortgage applications skyrocketed last week, shooting up 48% from the previous week, and 124.6% over the same week last year, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey. The borrowing blowout was prompted by falling mortgage rates, which left the 30-year fixed-rate at its lowest level since June 2003,...

Fed Cut Won't Translate Into Much for Consumers ... Yet

Its plans to buy more debt may unfreeze market in '09, but consumer rates stuck for now

(Newser) - Consumers hoping for lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages after the Federal Reserve dropped a key interest rate to near 0% yesterday aren’t likely to get a break soon, reports MarketWatch. But loans could be easier to get once the Fed’s other actions—buying...

Bernanke Plugs More Help for US Homeowners

Fed chief outlines ideas for public, private sector to slow foreclosures

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says more must be done to halt record US home-foreclosure rates, the New York Times reports. The Federal Reserve chief suggested several options today, including the government buying bad mortgages en masse and refinancing them through a government-insured program, and strengthening a scheme aimed at lowering homeowners’ monthly...

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