Mortgage Rates Dip on Weaker Economic News
The
average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.28 percent from
last week’s 4.37 percent following weaker than expected economic and housing
news, Freddie Mac said yesterday. At this time in 2013, the 30-year FRM rate
averaged 3.52 percent.
St Casimirs Mortgage Minute. . . Help in navigating the mortgage application process. Get advice from Nelson Bayne, 410-342-1404 mortgage specialist with over 35 years of experience in the Baltimore metro area.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Are Regulators Driving Banks Out of Mortgage Servicing?
Banks are calling for regulators to revisit Basel III rules that significantly restrict banks' ability to hold mortgage servicing rights, especially among smaller institutions. The rules may create an environment that makes it more difficult for banks to hold servicing assets, says Robert Davis, an executive vice president at the American Bankers Association. The issue centers around a provision in the Basel package of rules that limits mortgage-servicing assets to 10 percent of a bank's tier-one common equity, with additional holdings deducted from the tier-one capital account. Assets below that cap eventually would be risk weighted at 250 percent, and combined holdings of mortgage servicing and several other assets are limited to 15 percent. Although there is currently little chance of tangible legislative action on this issue, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) recently introduced a bill to delay the requirements from taking effect for smaller institutions until the banking agencies complete a study on the impact on the mortgage-servicing market.
From "Are Regulators Driving Banks Out of Mortgage Servicing?"
American Banker (03/04/14) Finkle, Victoria
Banks are calling for regulators to revisit Basel III rules that significantly restrict banks' ability to hold mortgage servicing rights, especially among smaller institutions. The rules may create an environment that makes it more difficult for banks to hold servicing assets, says Robert Davis, an executive vice president at the American Bankers Association. The issue centers around a provision in the Basel package of rules that limits mortgage-servicing assets to 10 percent of a bank's tier-one common equity, with additional holdings deducted from the tier-one capital account. Assets below that cap eventually would be risk weighted at 250 percent, and combined holdings of mortgage servicing and several other assets are limited to 15 percent. Although there is currently little chance of tangible legislative action on this issue, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) recently introduced a bill to delay the requirements from taking effect for smaller institutions until the banking agencies complete a study on the impact on the mortgage-servicing market.
From "Are Regulators Driving Banks Out of Mortgage Servicing?"
American Banker (03/04/14) Finkle, Victoria
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Mortgage Woes Approach Prerecession Levels
The number of troubled mortgages has declined to a level last seen since the early months of the recession. The delinquency rate fell to 6.39 percent of loans in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from 7.09 percent a year earlier and the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2008, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The backlog of foreclosure inventory declined to its lowest level since 2008 as well; and the number of loans on which lenders initiated foreclosure was the lowest since 2006, when the housing bubble was starting to burst. Also, three-quarters of the nation's problem loans were made in 2007 or earlier, and delinquency rates for loans made after that point are near historical norms. "The legacy of very high foreclosure rates is a problem of older loans," said MBA chief economist Michael Fratantoni. Florida had the highest share of loans in foreclosure, 8.56 percent, but the figure was down more than half of its peak rate.
From "Mortgage Woes Approach Prerecession Levels"
Wall Street Journal (02/21/14) Dougherty, Conor
The number of troubled mortgages has declined to a level last seen since the early months of the recession. The delinquency rate fell to 6.39 percent of loans in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from 7.09 percent a year earlier and the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2008, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The backlog of foreclosure inventory declined to its lowest level since 2008 as well; and the number of loans on which lenders initiated foreclosure was the lowest since 2006, when the housing bubble was starting to burst. Also, three-quarters of the nation's problem loans were made in 2007 or earlier, and delinquency rates for loans made after that point are near historical norms. "The legacy of very high foreclosure rates is a problem of older loans," said MBA chief economist Michael Fratantoni. Florida had the highest share of loans in foreclosure, 8.56 percent, but the figure was down more than half of its peak rate.
From "Mortgage Woes Approach Prerecession Levels"
Wall Street Journal (02/21/14) Dougherty, Conor
Friday, February 21, 2014
Friday Rate Update
Mortgage Rates Tick Up Slightly
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up slightly to 4.33 percent from last week's rate of 4.28 percent, Freddie Mac said yesterday. At this time in 2013, the 30-year FRM rate averaged 3.56 percent.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up slightly to 4.33 percent from last week's rate of 4.28 percent, Freddie Mac said yesterday. At this time in 2013, the 30-year FRM rate averaged 3.56 percent.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Student Debt May Hurt Housing Recovery by Hampering First-Time
Buyers
The housing recovery could lose steam amid escalating student loan debt carried by millions of Americans. With so many people owing so much for their college education, a generation of potential buyers is being discouraged and even blocked from making their first home purchase. Recent improvements in the housing market have been fueled primarily by investors, but that demand now appears to be ebbing as both prices and borrowing costs rise. A recent Mortgage Bankers Association analysis determined that loan applications for home purchases decreased almost 20 percent in the last four months versus the same period a year earlier. First-time buyers are simply not stepping up to fill the void, having accounted for only about 33 percent of activity over the last year -- well under the historical norm. The concern is that many young adults can no longer save for a down payment or qualify for financing.
From "Student Debt May Hurt Housing Recovery by Hampering First-Time Buyers"
Washington Post (02/18/14) P. A1 ElBoghdady, Dina
The housing recovery could lose steam amid escalating student loan debt carried by millions of Americans. With so many people owing so much for their college education, a generation of potential buyers is being discouraged and even blocked from making their first home purchase. Recent improvements in the housing market have been fueled primarily by investors, but that demand now appears to be ebbing as both prices and borrowing costs rise. A recent Mortgage Bankers Association analysis determined that loan applications for home purchases decreased almost 20 percent in the last four months versus the same period a year earlier. First-time buyers are simply not stepping up to fill the void, having accounted for only about 33 percent of activity over the last year -- well under the historical norm. The concern is that many young adults can no longer save for a down payment or qualify for financing.
From "Student Debt May Hurt Housing Recovery by Hampering First-Time Buyers"
Washington Post (02/18/14) P. A1 ElBoghdady, Dina
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