A rate lock helps protect your buyers from fluctuating mortgage rates as they’re getting ready to buy a home. It locks in the interest rate for a loan for a certain period of time until the buyer makes it to closing. Your buyers will know what to expect and won’t then fall mercy to a week of rising rates, for example. However, if rates dip, they could get stuck paying a higher rate too. So it can be a catch-22.Here is when your buyers likely
Home buyers along coastal housing markets are being impacted the most by rising mortgage rates over the past few weeks, according to an analysis by the National Association of REALTORS®.The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage went up from 3.5 percent in November to about 4.12 percent in January.Home buyers in San Francisco County, Calif., have felt the pain of that jump the most, with nearly a $375 increase to their average monthly mortgage paym
Just hours after being sworn in, President Donald Trump moved to suspend a plan to reduce the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance premiums that was set to go into effect on Jan. 27. The plan had been announced just a few days ago by the outgoing Obama administration and Housing and Urban Development head Julian Castro.The reduction in premiums by 25 basis points, or a quarter percentage point, “has been suspended indefinitely,
For the third consecutive week, fixed-rate mortgages edged down, lowering borrowing costs for buyers and refinancers.Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Jan. 19: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.09 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 4.12 percent. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.81 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.34 perce
JPMorgan Chase will pay $55 million in a settlement over claims the bank giant charged thousands of African American and Hispanic borrowers higher interest rates on mortgages than white counterparts.Federal officials say the bank charged Black and Hispanic borrowers, on average, $1,000 more than similar mortgages issued to whites. The mortgages were reportedly issued by third-party independent brokers, but then funded by JPMorgan. Such a practice
Banks continue to clean out the pipeline of loans that were originated during the housing boom days that have since turned sour.Most of the homes that are still being foreclosed on are from loans originated between 2004 and 2008, known as “legacy foreclosures,” according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2016 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.The following markets are seeing the biggest cases of backlogs with legacy foreclosures: District of Columbia:
Total mortgage applications – including for refinances and home purchases – were essentially flat last week, rising just 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, despite mortgage rates at their lowest averages in a month. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday that applications are now 14 percent lower than a year ago.Refinance applications have been falling significantly over the last few weeks as interest rates have edged hi
For prime investment locations, it may be time to look South. Forbes teamed up with Local Market Monitor, a company that tracks more than 300 housing markets, to uncover the top cities for investors in the new year. The markets that dominate this year’s list reflect two major benefits: affordability and growth.“If you are planning on making an investment, either by buying a home or by buying a rental property, these are really good markets,
Mortgage rates edged down for the second consecutive week, a temporary reprieve from what had been weeks of rising rates."After absorbing a mixed December jobs report; the 10-year Treasury yield fell 8 basis points,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate moved in tandem with Treasury yields falling 8 basis points to 4.12 percent, the second decline since the presidential election. The December jobs re
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