This was supposed to be the year that U.S. mortgage rates soared. Instead, they’re retreating. Interest rates unexpectedly fell this year after the Federal Reserve began scaling back the stimulus that held borrowing costs near record lows since 2011. After five weeks of declines, rates for 30-year fixed loans are at 4.12 percent, the lowest…
After tying the record for most consecutive days with no change, mortgage rates moved significantly lower today. The significance isn’t due to the size of the move–as far as day to day changes go, there have been bigger. Rather, the impressive part of today’s rally is that it occurred while rates were already effectively at…
The government shutdown may be good for homebuyers, with mortgage rates falling this week amid the uncertainty. Freddie Mac says a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.22 percent in the week ending Oct. 3, down from 4.32 percent last week. A 15-year fix fell to 3.29 percent, from 3.37 percent. A one-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.63…
With the mortgage boom officially over, banks are closing facilities and units that have been servicing customers looking to refinance their home loans. JPMorgan laid off more than 2,000 employees in early August—about half of them in originations, according to a person familiar with the situation. The bank had said in February that it would…
There is something new and different for home mortgages: Jumbo mortgage loans are being made at lower interest rates than traditional home loans. That’s kind of like a first class airplane ticket being cheaper than riding in coach. At first this seems crazy. For as long as anybody can remember, homeowners have had to pay…
Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages declined this week amid signs the economic recovery is slowing. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.50 percent from 4.57 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.54 percent from 3.59 percent last week.…
Demand for existing homes continued to rise over the previous thirty days according to the National Home Sales Snapshot released by DataQuick while home values rebounded after three weeks of declines. There were 269,817 properties sold over the previous thirty-day rolling period ending September 12th, up 0.9 percent from the previous week’s total of 267,316…
WASHINGTON — Sales of existing houses climbed 1.7 percent in August to a six-and-a-half-year high, and factories grew busier in the mid-Atlantic region this month, providing signs that rising borrowing costs are weighing only modestly on the economy. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing houses were selling at an annual rate…
Average fixed rates on U.S. long-term mortgages neared their highs for the year this week amid signs of further strength in the economy. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan was 4.57 percent this week. That’s up from 4.51 percent last week and close to its high this year of…
The last full week of July has been a quiet one for mortgage-related news, but next week could be a very different story. In terms of macro-economic developments which could affect mortgage rates, the last one of any significance came on July 16 with the announcement of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase for June.…
Mortgage rates may be inching up, but they have not put a damper on the American housing market’s rebound. Housing Numbers Reassure Investors (June 26, 2013) The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index on Tuesday showed a 12 percent increase in prices in 20 cities from April 2012 to April 2013, the largest gain…