Mortgage Lenders Nationwide

Zillow reported today that 30-year fixed-rate home loans inched up a bit higher in the latest week.  Of course low mortgage rates typically boost mortgage origination and home loan activity.  In addition, cash out refinancing typically puts more money into consumers pocket to help drive the economy.  The Zillow Mortgage Marketplace published a article indicating that lower home loan rates also make homes more affordable as the housing market copes with the absence of government support.  30-year fixed rate loans are, the most widely used mortgages, were 4.30% on Tuesday afternoon, up from 4.28 % at the same time last week, according to .  The MBA also reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 4.34% on Friday.  FHA rates also dropped.

Home mortgage rates on other types of mortgages were mixed.  15-year fixed mortgage rates were 3.86%, up from 3.85% the prior week. Rates for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, were 3.27%, unchanged from the prior week.

Zillow’s rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage interest rates submitted daily to anonymous borrowers through the website. They are not marketing rates, or from a weekly survey.  Mortgage rates, which are linked to yields on Treasuries and yields on mortgage-backed securities, appear poised to move lower. Yields move inversely to price.  Treasuries rallied on Tuesday after the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve’s policy-making arm, said it plans to reinvest principal payments from its mortgage holdings to buy long-dated U.S. debt.

Cash refinancing plummeted once again as borrowers found it difficult to get approved.  30-year mortgage interest rates remain at a record low, but people who can get approved for home equity or cash out refinance loans are few and far between.  Freddie Mac’s report indicated that the total mortgage portfolio declined significantly in March, dropping 9.1% on an annualized basis from February figures.  This was the 3^rd straight month that the portfolio decreased in size.  The portfolio at the end of March was valued at $2.225 trillion.  The annualized growth rate for the entire year is -4.4%.  In February, Freddie Mac announced it would begin purchasing substantially all 120 days or more delinquent mortgages from its related fixed-rate and adjustable rate PCs, which totaled approximately $73 billion. 

However, according to the Monthly Volume Summary issued by Freddie Mac, the mortgage related investment portfolio skyrocketed, increasing by an annualized rate of 35.5%.  In February the portfolio was contracting at an annualized rate of 18.5.  The surge in the size of the retained portfolio was partially a result of government sponsored enterprise’s purchase of single family mortgage loans that were 120 days or more delinquent from its PCs.

Home loan delinquencies in all of Freddie Mac’s categories dropped for the first time in the past year.  4.13% of single family mortgages were delinquent at the end of March compared to 4.20% in February and 2.41% in February 2009. The delinquency rate for the non-credit enhanced portion of the portfolio decreased from 3.20% in February to 3.18% in March and the credit enhanced portion dropped from 9.12% to 8.87%.  Multi-family vacancies were also down slightly from 0.25% to 0.24%.

Freddie Mac also announced that, during the 1st quarter of 2010, one-half of borrowers who refinanced their conventional loans benefited from an interest rate reduction of at least 16 %.  The Enterprise’s first quarter Refinance Report stated that the average borrower moved into a loan with a rate 0.9 percentage points lower than their old loan.

The majority of mortgage refinance activity during the period either kept their outstanding loan balance the same or reduced it as a result of the refinancing.  18% of borrowers were involved in cash out refinance transactions that put cash in to the transaction to reduce the balance.  “Cash-out” borrowers, those who increased the home loan balance by at least 5%, represented 28% of new home loans.  This is the second lowest percentage of cash-out mortgages in a quarter since Freddie Mac began tracking the data in 1985.  The fourth quarter of 2009 had the lowest cash out figure at 24%. Through most of 2006 and 2007 over 80% of homeowners who refinanced increased the principal balance of their mortgages. The home equity cashed out in the first quarter of 2010 totaled $9 billion, the smallest quarterly inflation-adjusted amount since the third quarter of 2000. During the 2006-2007 period referenced above the cash-out numbers each quarter were in the $70-85 billion range.  Freddie Mac attributed the decline in cash-out numbers to reduced home prices and tighter underwriting standards for loan-to-value ratios.  The median appreciation of the collateral property was a negative 4% over the median prior loan life of 4.0 years.

Date is collected from a sample of properties on which Freddie Mac has funded two successive loans, and the latest loan is for refinance rather than for purchase. The analysis does not track the use of funds made available from these mortgage refinance loans.  “Rates on thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages during the first quarter remained low, averaging 5.0% in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey®,” noted Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “The median interest-rate savings for borrowers who refinanced their conventional loan in the first quarter was 0.9 percentage points. Refinances were about three-fourths of originations during the first quarter. In total, the lower rate translates into about $2 billion in interest savings for these borrowers over the first 12 months of the new loan.”

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the mortgage loan application volume filed in the U.S. last week decreased by 8.5%, compared with the previous week.  Mortgage interest rates increased during the week ended Friday compared with the week before, according to the MBA weekly survey. The survey covers about half of all U.S. retail residential home loan applications.

The share of applications filed for a mortgage refinance dropped again last week. Mortgage marketing executive, Bryan Dornan believes, “the decrease in refinance applications can be directly attributed to homeowners becoming more educated on what is need to qualify for a refinance loan in today’s credit crunch.” Dornan continued, “Borrowers have either been denied recently or they understand that have late payments on their mortgage payment will prevent them from qualifying with traditional lenders.  Borrowers continue to seek help refinancing existing mortgages dropped to 68.1% of total loan applications from 69.3% the previous week.  The four-week moving average for all home mortgages was up 1.6%.

Adjustable-rate home loans made up 4.7% of total applications, up from 4.4% the previous week.  Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.03%, up from 4.94% the previous week, while 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.35%, up from 4.33%. The one-year ARMs interest rate grew to 6.8% from 6.67%.

Mortgage rates improved a few basis points yesterday. Home loan applications have decreased across the country over the last few weeks.  Home lenders were somewhat subdued in passing along mortgage rate improvements though. This is a function of a few reasons. First, mortgage-backed securities prices have held to a tight range over the course of the week. The second reason is a bit more obvious, the FOMC meeting ended today at 2:15pm. This was a major market event, so it makes sense that mortgage lenders would be defensive ahead of a scheduled event that had the potential to move interest rates in either direction. Before getting to the impact of the FOMC on mortgage rates, allow me to recap the day’s economic data releases. 

Early this morning, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association released their weekly applications index. The MBA survey covers over 50 % of all US residential mortgage loan applications taken by mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts.  The data gives economists a look into consumer demand for mortgage loans.  A rising trend of mortgage applications indicates an increase in home buying interest, a positive for the housing industry and economy as a whole.  Furthermore, in a low mortgage rate environment, such a trend implies consumers are seeking out lower monthly payments which can result in increased disposable income and therefore more money to spend on discretionary items or to pay down other debt.

The report indicated a 3.3% decline in purchase application activity and a 15.1% decline in refinances.  Of note, the MBA issued a rare comment: “Although rates remain low, there appears to be a smaller pool of borrowers who are willing and able to refinance at today’s rates.” I agree, mortgage rates in the low 5% range are still extremely aggressive when you look back at the history of mortgage rates, but I think a more accurate statement would have been “many borrowers want to refinance to take advantage of near record low mortgage rates, but the tightening of lender guidelines has made it too difficult for borrowers to qualify.”   Maybe that’s what the MBA was really trying to say? What is your opinion?

For more on the MBA Applications Index and the potential impact on the Fed’s intentions to exit the MBS market, check out the other mortgage news stories.  We also received another look into the strength of housing: the New Home Sales survey. This survey is primarily based on a sample of houses selected from building permits. Since a “sale” is defined as a deposit taken or sales agreement signed, this can occur prior to a permit being issued. Changes in sales price data reflect changes in the distribution of houses by region, size, etc., as well as changes in the prices of houses with identical characteristics. It takes four months to establish a trend of new home purchases.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday Mortgage refinancing applications rose last week as home mortgage rates declined.  Refinance loan applications increased 18.2 % last week, the MBA said, following the third straight week where rates on 30-year home loans stayed below 5%. This brings mortgage refinance applications to their highest level since May.   “Such low refinance rates are spurring mortgage loan demand,” said Frank Northaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. On Thursday, Freddie Mac said the average rate on 30-year home loans stood at 4.87 %, down 4.94 % from last week. This is the lowest rate since the week of May 21, when they averaged 4.82 %. The record low on mortgage rates is 4.78 %, set last spring.   Average rates on 30-year fixed rate mortgages stood at 5.94 % this time last year.   Homeowners who are considering home refinancing their mortgage may want act soon.  Mortgage rates could inch back up as the home purchases diminish.

The average mortgage rate on a typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 5.07 % in the latest week, McLean, Virginia based Freddie Mac told mortgage lenders last week. That’s down from as high as 5.59% in June, and up from the record low of 4.78% in April. While mortgage refinance applications rose to the highest since late May in the latest week, they remained 64% below the high this year set in January, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association index. Read the complete article at Mortgage Related News > Bonds for Mortgage Loans Yields Decline.

A recent article from the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that home loan applications declined this week in response to the increase of mortgage rates last week.  The volume of home loan applications declined 3.5% compared with the previous week.  Loan applications filed were still up an unadjusted 16.1% for the week ended Aug. 7 from the same week in 2008, according to the MBA’s weekly survey.  FHA mortgage applications filed last week to purchase homes rose 1.1% from the week before. Volumes for conforming, VA and FHA home loan applications were all lower than expected.

Mortgage refinancing applications to refinance existing mortgages decreased 7.2%, on a week-to-week basis, reversing the 7.2% increase during the week ended July 31, according to the Washington-based MBA. The four-week moving average for all mortgages was down 0.7%. Home refinancing applications made up 52.3% of all applications last week, down from 54.2% the previous week. ARM mortgage loans accounted for 5.8%, up from 5.4%.

According to the MBA survey, thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage loans carried an average interest rate last week of 5.38%, up from 5.17% the week before. As for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, the average rose to 4.71% last week, up from 4.60% the week before. And 1-year ARMs averaged 6.71% last week, up from 6.67% the week before. Read the complete article online> Mortgage Loan Application Activity Slowing

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced that the mortgage refinance gauge decreased to 1,482.2, the lowest reading since November, from 2,116.3 the previous week. The home purchase index fell to 267.7 last week from a two-month high of 280.3.  Unemployment, which touched a 26-year high in May, and rising borrowing costs discouraged homeowners from refinancing, while a growing number of home foreclosures sidelined potential buyers waiting for house prices to stop declining.

The share of home loan applicants seeking to refinance loans plunged to 46.4% of total applications last week from 54%.  The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan fell to 5.34% from 5.44% the prior week. The rate reached 4.61% at the end of March, the lowest level since the group’s records began in 1990.  At the current thirty-year mortgage rate, monthly borrowing costs for each $100,000 of a loan would be $558, or about $62 less than the same week a year earlier, when the rate was 6.33%.  Many loan officers have voiced their concern that market needs to keep conforming and FHA mortgage rates low until the housing sector can recover.

2009 has clearly been a good year for mortgage rates and homeowner, mortgage lenders and brokers have all benefitted from the Federal Reserve’s commitment to lower interest rates.  Which direction will the mortgage rates go from here is anyone’s guess.

Home mortgage rates remain low as the Federal Reserve continues to make moves to keep them that way. Freddie Mac’s weekly rate report says thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average 4.82%, down from 4.86 % last week. A year ago, thirty-year mortgages were averaging about 6%. 

Long-term fixed rate mortgage loans are now on par with many adjustable rate mortgages. A one year ARM also averaged 4.82% this week. “Long-term fixed-rate mortgage rates have remained below 5% for the past ten weeks as the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve act to keep interest rates low through security purchases,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. “The treasury purchased $136 billion in mortgage-backed securities through April and the Fed bought $740 billion through mid-May.”

The Federal Reserve has also purchased $115 billion in Treasury bonds since March. Homebuilder confidence rose this month, according to the National Home Builders Association, despite a drop in housing starts. The decline in construction was led primarily by a continued drop in condo and apartment construction.

The Mortgage Bankers Association also reported this week a continued rise in home loan applications, led by refinancing activity.   Mortgage refinancing now accounts for 74 % of all mortgage applications.

Low mortgage interest rates continued this week amid mixed reports about the slowing economy, Freddie Mac’s chief economist said on Thursday.  According to Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft, “Both the core producer price and consumer price indexes ticked up in January, higher than the market consensus, while consumer confidence in February dropped to the lowest reading since records began in January 1967,” said, in a news release.  FHA mortgage rates remain low with 5.625% average on thirty year fixed rate home loans.

o    Low Rate FHA Home Loans

o    Mortgage Refinancing Tips

o    Renegotiating Lower Mortgage Rates

o    Home Equity lines of Credit

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.07% for the week ending February 26, up from last week’s 5.04% average but still lower than their 6.24% average a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conventional rates. Meanwhile, fifteen-year fixed-rate home loans averaged 4.68%, unchanged from last week and down from 5.72% a year ago.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.06% this week, up from 5.04% last week; the ARMs averaged 5.43% a year ago. 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.81% this week, up slightly from 4.80% last week; the ARMs averaged 5.11% a year ago.  To obtain current mortgage rates, the fixed interest mortgage loans and the 5-year ARM required payment of an average 0.7 point, while the 1-year ARM required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

In the news release Nothaft said “Reductions in home prices and affordable mortgage rates have yet to spur housing demand.” You can see how new sale prices continued to decline home. “For instance, house prices declined by 8.7% for the twelve months ending in December 2008 and were down 10.9% from their highs set in April of 2007, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s purchase-only monthly home price index.