FHFA Responds to NPR Freddie Mac Refinance Story
A ProPublica–NPR news story recently suggested that a mortgage financing vehicle utilized by Freddie Mac may be preventing homeowners from refinancing. While FHFA does not typically comment on its supervisory activities, the circumstances here require some clarification, according to the …
Buying a Home? Finally, Times Are Good!
Everyone knows that the housing market has been a little daunting for the last several years. Ups and downs, talk of good news and bad news, and a confusing amount of information about rising and falling mortgage rates has rendered…
Legislative and Regulatory Recap – The Year in Review
Editor’s Note: The below article, which originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Real Estate magazine, features updated information regarding the National Flood Insurance Program.
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) is a leading advocate regarding federal legislative and…
Mortgage Defaults: Signs of Recovery
The UFA Default Risk Index for the fourth quarter of 2011 edged lower to 131 from last quarter’s revised 133, which suggests that residential mortgage default and prepayment risks are continuing their return to normalcy.
According to the latest UFA…
Loan Modification is Stressful; Know Your Options
When the Obama administration rolled out the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in 2009, officials estimated 3 to 4 million borrowers would seek relief from their mortgages through the program amidst the worst recession and housing market collapse in decades.…
Delinquency Rate Hits 3-year Low as Boom Loans Improve
The national delinquency rate for residential home loans fell to 7.99 percent in the third quarter—the lowest reading since the fourth quarter of 2008. This represents a decline of 45 basis points from the second quarter of this year, and…
Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications increased 10.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 4, 2011.
According to the release, the Market Composite Index, a measure…
Mortgage Interest Deduction a Must for Middle Class
Eliminating or curtailing the mortgage interest deduction would have a disproportionate impact on younger, middle-class families, who would see their ability to become home owners significantly diminished, with sober implications for their longer term financial prospects, the National Association of…
Pending Home Sales Decline in August but Remain above a Year Ago
Pending home sales slipped in August with a mixed regional performance but are higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 1.2 percent…