Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

President Obama embarked this week on a series of speeches designed to highlight the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós continued economic stress. The immediate response and from both ends of the political spectrum was to decry his efforts as same-old, same-old. And, it is true the President has made this pitch before, emphasizing that the significant progress has made is not enough.

Mortgage rates backed down for the second consecutive week, according to reports from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed-rate average at 4.31 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending July 25, down from last week's 4.37 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate's weekly national survey showed the 30-year fixed falling to 4.54 percent and the 15-year fixed dropping to 3.61 percent. The downward trend may not last, however.

Mortgage application volume remains on the decline, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales welled 8.3 percent in June to 497,000, according to a report from the Census Bureau and HUD. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected June sales to increase to 484,000 from May's originally reported 476,000. The median price of a new home fell 5.0 percent in June to $249,700, the third time the median price has dropped in the last four months. At the same time, May's median price was revised down to $262,800 from the originally reported $263,900.

A recent survey from United States Appraisals shows appraisers are less confident in the overall state of the housing market than they were at the end of the first quarter.

In the last three months, confidence is up 16 points, or almost 40 percent. With giddy numbers like these, one would think builders would rush to break ground, but they're not.

The originations market has been dominated by refinances for some time, but purchases are beginning to make a comeback, according to Ellie Mae's latest Origination Insight Report. Refinances made up just over half the market in June, with 51 percent of loan applicants seeking refinances. This is down from 58 percent in May and 54 percent in June of last year. Purchases closed one day faster than refinances in June (46 days compared to 47), though both categories took longer to close in June than they did in May, according to the report.

As home prices continue climbing, CoreLogic assures us housing is still affordable and any concerns that rising prices will make it not so are unfounded.

Mortgage applications fell another 2.6 percent (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending July 12, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

Market participants reacting to speculation that the Federal Reserve may taper its bond purchases later this year should refrain from acting too hastily, Freddie Mac says in its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July. According to Freddie Mac's metrics, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has jumped a full percentage point since mid-May as "taper talk" rules the day. Rates are expected to gradually move higher, closing out 2013 in the range of 4.6 to 4.7 percent.