Mortgage News
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Mortgage Regulatory System Now Operational
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008According to a press release from the Conference of State Bank
Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage
Regulators (AAMR), the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing
System (NMLS) about which we have
the past finally became operational on the first business day of the New
Year.
Seven states are initial participants in
the program…
FICO Speeds Rollout of New Product to Meet Lender Demands
Monday, January 7th, 2008The credit scoring system is being tweaked again as Fair Isaac
Corporation, developer of the FICO credit score rolls out a new model
dubbed FICO 08.
The new product was originally announced back in June but was not due
to be finalized for a while. A demand by users in the wake of both rising
mortgage defaults and consumer credit delinquencies for a better way of
analyzing risk has pushed FICO into speeding up the
release. It is expected that…
National City Job Cuts
Friday, January 4th, 2008National City Corporation, one of the 10 largest
banks in the country, will eliminate 900 jobs. The cuts will affect
approximately one-seventh of the bank’s mortgage staff and is the second
major layoff in a little over a year.
And, just to show that the subprime mess is affecting people and
institutions in places one would never have imagined a few months ago,
CNBC is quoting from a leaked internal memo from
executives at Bank of America.
Mortgage Rates Not Far From Where They Started 2007
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008Mortgage interest rates as reported by Freddie Mac
were only slightly changed if changed at all during the week ended
December 27 - the last full survey week of the year.
The Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported an average for the 30-year
fixed rate mortgage (FRM) of 6.17 percent with an average 0.5 point. One
week earlier the 30-year averaged 6.14 percent with 0.4 point.
Home Prices Remain Fairly Stable as New Home Sales Drop
Friday, December 28th, 2007Sales of new single family houses dropped again in
November according to a joint report issued Friday by the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Only in the West region were sales up from the previous month and then
by a…
Mortgage Rates Mixed While Applications Slow
Thursday, December 27th, 2007Mortgage rates were up slightly during the pre-
holiday week ended December 20 according to the Primary Mortgage Market
Survey conducted by Freddie Mac.
The 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.14 percent with 0.4
point for the week, up from 6.11 percent with 0.5 point the week before.
During the same week in 2006 the 30-year FRM carried an average interest
rate of 6.13 percent.
Widely Regarded Housing Study Reports Further Home Price Declines
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index
for October, released on Wednesday, fell again for what is the 10th
consecutive month. The 6.7 percent drop from figures a year earlier was
the largest recorded by the index since April, 1991 when prices declined
6.3 percent.
Miami was the biggest loser in the broad index
with…
ARM Freeze Yields Solution To All World Problems
Friday, December 21st, 2007The breakthrough came with the idea to freeze ARM
rates so that borrowers will not be subjected to the terms of
the agreements that they voluntarily signed. Combine that innovative
thinking with the ongoing efforts to save Wall Street from its own
irresponsible actions.
Until we are willing to confront
our own financial irresponsibility by facing the consequences
of…
Treasury Secretary Advocates GSE Assistance for High-End Borrowers
Thursday, December 20th, 2007Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced Monday
that he was in favor of temporarily lifting the dollar
limit on loans purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, allowing them to
provide a market for so-called “jumbo mortgages.”
Such a change, Paulson said, may…
Foreclosure Filing Up 68 Percent Since November 2006 Per RealtyTrac
Thursday, December 20th, 2007RealtyTrac, Inc., a company that tracks delinquencies and foreclosures
was reporting Thursday that the number of foreclosure
filings in November was 68 percent higher nationwide than those
in November 2006.