Mortgage News
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Mortgage Rates Plummet While Applications and Refinancing Increase
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008Mortgage rates plummeted last week as week economic
reports, chiefly jobs and unemployment reports came in at the weakest
levels in several years.
The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported that the 30-
year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) dropped 20 basis points from the previous
week to an average of 5.87 percent.
The current Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey (for
the week ending January 11,) confirmed that the trend of higher mortgage
applications is continuing…
Citigroup Announces Unprecidented Losses; Dividend Cut
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008According to Reuters, the investment group said that Citi’s “failure
to manage mortgage-related risk” cost shareholders $126
in share value when the stock tumbled last year.
Merrill Lynch & Co is also out fund raising in
advance of an expected big loss due to be announced on Thursday. The big
U.S. investment bank announced Tuesday that…
NAR Launches New Public Info Campaign To Counter Slump
Monday, January 14th, 2008The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced
on Monday that it is launching a new campaign, reaching
out to consumers “with the facts about homeownership and the value of
real estate as a long-term investment.”
NAR’s Public Awareness Campaign is centered around a new website…
The Consumer Spending Problem Wall Street Doesn’t See Coming
Saturday, January 12th, 2008Well there certainly are a lot of opinions in the news media out there
concerning the economy, lenders, recession, etc…
Let’s just apply some common sense for the moment.
Consumer spending drives the economy. But what drives
consumer spending? Lot’s of things, but here are my thoughts. In the last
6 years, we’ve had rapidly rising home values. Any of you reading this
that have bought or owned homes from 2001-2006 have yourselves felt the
sense of security that came from knowing you had appreciating real estate
to “back you up.”
To compound this confidence in real estate appreciation, the last 6
years have held unprecedented recklessness in spending.
Spending is good, but reckless spending is bad…
Bank of America to Buy Countrywide
Friday, January 11th, 2008…By late afternoon both Reuters and the Wall Street Journal were
reporting the rumor as fact, saying that Bank of America
was preparing to follow-up its August investment of $2 billion in
Countrywide preferred stock (at approximately $18 per
share - ouch) with an outright purchase of the company…
Fed Chair Promises “Substantive Additional Action” on Behalf of Economy
Thursday, January 10th, 2008The headlines read “Chairman Bernanke Says Fed
Ready to Cut Interest Rates as Needed.” Well, not
exactly. What Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke actually said, in
remarks on Thursday was “We stand ready to take substantive additional
action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance
against downside risks.”
Housing at Heart of Recession Fears
Thursday, January 10th, 2008Wednesday Goldman Sachs became the latest “authority” to say that the
United States may be slipping toward an outright
recession, and that the housing and credit market
problems would be the primary cause.
In a research report Goldman Sachs said that the latest economic data
indicate that the recession has arrived or soon will and that there will
also be a decline in consumer spending, something that didn’t happen
during the tech bust recession of 2001.
It is clear that the housing downturn is…
Countrywide Reeling Again as Bankruptcy Rumors Fly
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008Countrywide, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, denied that there
was any truth to the rumors that it might seek bankruptcy protection but,
according to Reuters, one credit rating agency said that
Countrywide “is severely challenged and might falter if…”
Mortgage Applications Surge Into New Year
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008Interest rates were down significantly during the
week ended January 5, but the big news was the surge in mortgage
applications that welcomed in the New Year.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that mortgage loan
applications increased 32.2 percent on a seasonally
adjusted basis from the pace during the week between Christmas and New
Years. Not too surprising…
Paulson Hints at Expansion of Rate Freeze Agenda
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008An administration official stated on Tuesday that the White House was
involved in discussions with mortgage industry officials about expanding
the current
rate freeze program announced shortly before Christmas to other at
risk borrowers.
“One thing we will consider,” Paulson said, is “maybe
expanding this beyond subprime borrowers to other
borrowers.”