30-year mortgage rates are still averaging a rock-bottom 4%. The applications to purchase homes rose after Thanksgiving to the highest level in four months.
With Freddie Mac’s weekly report on home lender offerings released Thursday it showed the typical rate for a 30-yearloan at 3.99%, the sixth straight week at or slightly below 4%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed loan averaged 4.61%.
Fifteen-year fixed-rate home loans, a popular option for people refinancing homes, averaged 3.27%, down from last week’s 3.3%. A year ago, the 15-year loan averaged 3.96% according to Freddie Mac.
The typical mortgage rate for larger “jumbo” loans are running about a third of a percentage point higher, according toanother report this week from the Mortgage Bankers Assn. Jumbo loans are priced higher because lenders can’t sell them to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae These other big government-sponsored mortgage buyer.
Offering a bit of hope for housing at a time when foreclosures are drawing angry protests and government investigations, the mortgage bankers said applications for loans to buy houses reached the highest level since early August.
Refinances still made up about three-quarters of all applications for home loans, however.
A closely watched survey reported Tuesday that U.S. single-family home prices declined in September. This report highlight’s the fragility of a market as it struggles to get back on its feet.
As reported by The S&P/Case Shiller composite index, 20 metropolitan areas fell 0.6 percent from August on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Prices in August were also revised to show a decline of 0.3 percent after originally being reported as unchanged.
The broader trend here is that it appears that home prices over the last few months continue to get weaker.
This ties in with the current consumer attitude that has gotten a lot of more negative, particularly when it comes to making a long-term commitment, such as buying a home.
The index has leveled off in recent months and analysts are hoping the market is at least stabilizing.
Also over the last year home prices in most cities drifted lower, but the plunging collapse of prices seen in 2007-2009 appears to be behind us. Any chance for a sustained recovery will probably need a stronger economy.
The report also pointed out that third quarter prices were down 1.2 percent from the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis and were down 3.9 percent from the third quarter a year ago.
Compared to a year ago, price declines in the 20 cities continued to improve in September and were down 3.6 percent after a year over year decline of 3.8 percent the month before.
Its been reported that Fourteen mortgage servicers have begun mailing out 4.3 million letters to potential victims of robo-signing. The letters will invite borrowers to submit their cases for a free review by independent consultants.
Homeowners trapped by a foreclosure system that was riddled with misconduct and error are set to get a chance at winning some cash back from the banks.
Under orders from federal regulators on Tuesday 14 mortgage servicers began mailing out 4.3 million letters to potential victims of wrongful foreclosure practices. This letters will invite borrowers to submit their cases for a free review by independent consultants that will be funded by the lenders but vetted by regulators. Borrowers might be compensated if the reviewers and regulators find that the homeowners were harmed financially.
These requirements will help ensure that the servicers provide appropriate compensation to borrowers who suffered financial harm as a result of improper practices. The letters will be sent out to people who were in foreclosure in 2009 and 2010, a period identified by the regulators as the peak of foreclosure misconduct. There will also be an advertising campaign that will begin shortly to get the word out to people potentially harmed by the errors.
Regulators have not yet released a system for determining how much to compensate borrowers found to have been foreclosed on improperly. It also isn’t clear whether borrowers will have to give up their rights to further claims if they are compensated in some way.
The moves by the federal regulators could also detract from the efforts by state attorneys general that also are aimed at reaching a settlement with the nation’s largest banks. Those negotiations continue even though some states have voiced concern over the direction of the talks; California has dropped out of them altogether.
Each mortgage servicer is required to mail one letter to each customer eligible for the review. It is estimated that 70% of those potentially slated to receive letters are still in their homes.
