Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

Continued speculation surrounding the Federal Reserve├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós bond purchase program drove long-term mortgages rates down this week, according to reports from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac, noted the decrease in fixed rates was likely the result of disappointing numbers for new home sales in July. While Bankrate also pointed to new home sales as a factor in this week's rate movements, developments abroad may have figured in, as well.

According to a report from Bloomberg, "people with knowledge of the matter" said Wells Fargo is removing 2,300 jobs--about 20 percent of its 11,406 loan officers as of March 31. In its story, Bloomberg cited an internal memo written by Franklin Codel, head of mortgage production at Wells Fargo, in which he noted that refinances have fallen to nearly half of total loan share--down from 70 percent in the year's first half. As a result, Codel said, the bank has "had to recalibrate [its] business to meet customers' needs."

The housing market experienced another downshift in July, with the number of homes under contract within two weeks falling to under 30 percent.

Fixed mortgage rates jumped this week as markets awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) July meeting, which contained hints of when the Federal Reserve might start reducing its bond purchases. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.58 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending August 22, up from last week's 4.40 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate.com reported a two-year high for the 30-year fixed average in its own weekly survey.

Mortgage application volume dropped 4.6 percent for the week ending August 16, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Refinances took a major tumble, with the Refinance Index seeing an 8 percent week-over-week decline. According to the association, the index has dropped 62.1 percent from the recent peak reached during the week ending May 3. The refinance share of total mortgage activity, meanwhile, fell to 62 percent from 63 percent the week prior.

Recent increases in mortgage rates have CoreLogic asking the question, "Will rising rates lead to declining originations?" When it comes to purchases, CoreLogic economists say in a recent report, "Though mortgage interest rates have recently risen, CoreLogic does not expect any significant slowing in purchase origination volumes." In contrast, "[t]he greatest impact of increasing interest rates on the mortgage originations market will be felt on refinance volumes."

Having spent the last several months bouncing around, average fixed mortgage rates were little changed over the last week as market speculation settled.

According to Redfin's Real-Time Demand Pulse for August, the brokerage's agents continue to report declines in both the number of customers touring homes and the number of signed offers.

Home values are on track to reach more than $167,000 by the end of 2013, according to economists and real estate experts surveyed by Zillow and Pulsenomics. According to Zillow, respondents predicted median home values will rise to $167,490 by the end of this year, a gain of 6.7 percent over 2012. The forecast is a significant jump from the 5.4 percent annual increase expected in the last quarterly survey. Based on current expectations, panelists on average predicted home values could approach new record highs by 2017.

Trulia reported a 0.3 percent decline in asking prices from June to July--the first drop since November 2012. While monthly changes can be volatile, Trulia explained the quarter-over-quarter change in asking prices confirms the slowdown, with July asking prices improving just 3.3 percent over the last quarter compared to the peak of 4.2 percent in April. Over the last year, asking prices were still strong, rising 11 percent, though Trulia noted the change won't be as apparent since the annual average is based on a longer time period.