Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

The gap between the listing price and closing price of an average home sold continued to narrow last year as market conditions gave the advantage to sellers.

Fixed mortgage rates continued to hold steady last week, according to data from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

Mortgage applications dipped last as long-term rates reached a five-month high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA's weekly Market Composite Index showed a 6.4 percent drop for the week ending February 8. On an unadjusted basis, the index was down 5 percent. After showing some strength in the previous week, purchase application activity also dropped, falling by an adjusted 10 percent (or an unadjusted 4 percent). Year-over-year, however, volume was still up 15 percent.

After spiking,, fixed mortgage rates held their ground last week as the economy showed signs of stability, at least for the near future.

Younger generations continue to hold a more favorable view of homeownership than their elders, according to Prudential Real Estate's end-of-year Outlook Survey. The report shows homeownership remains important to 96 percent of Americans, with 77 percent of respondents ages 25-34 and 78 percent ages 35-44 agreeing it is "very important." Those percentages fall off somewhat for older generations: 73 percent for the 45-54 crowd and 72 percent for those ages 55-64.

Fixed mortgage rates took a major leap up last week amid news of a growing economy led in part by the recovering housing market.

Mortgage applications declined for the week ending January 25, according to application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of application volume, decreased 8.1 percent week-over-week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the association reported. The results include an adjustment for the Martin Luther King holiday. After reaching a two and a half year high last week, purchase applications also dipped.

Following S&P's calculation of a 0.1 percent decrease in prices in November, analysis on home price data remained positive.

After steadily dropping throughout the year, mortgage rates closed out 2012 with one final monthly decline, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) December index. The contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans (both fixed- and adjustable-rate) was 3.28 percent in December, down from 3.36 percent in November. The effective interest rate, which reflects the amortization of initial fees and charges, was 3.42 percent, down from 3.49 percent the previous month.

After a lengthy waiting period banks and title insurers are beginning to prosper once again from a strengthening mortgage market.