November 17 2010 (Chris Moore) The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 5, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 14.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, and the Index's four week moving average is [...]
November 16 2010 (Shirley Allen) LendingTree LLC has agreed to buy a traditional mortgage originator with branches in Louisville, Nashville, Tampa, and Indianapolis. The $6 million deal for SurePoint Lending will be the first time since LendingTree was created that it has traditional brick and mortar branches. Read more...
November 16 2010 (Chris Moore) The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today released its annual report to Congress on the financial status of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund, FHA’s principal insurance account that includes all single-family and reverse mortgage activity and the news was good. Read more...
November 15 2010 (Shirley Allen) The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that first time homebuyers accounted for half of all home sales from July 2009 through June 2010 according to a survey it conducted of buyers and sellers. First time home buyers responding to the survey made up 50 percent of sales in 2010 [...]
November 15 2010 (Chris Moore) Freddie Mac has reported that over 95 percent of all refinanced mortgages in the third quarter of 2010 were fixed rate loans. The 30 year fixed rate mortgage was the most preferred loan by those who had previously either had a 30 year mortgage before or had an adjustable rate [...]
November 13 2010 (Chris Moore) President Obama recently signed legislation that would allow the higher conforming loan limits to continue in current high cost areas for another year. The provision means homebuyers and homeowners in expensive housing markets will continue to get a break on interest rates when they buy or refinance through 2011. Read [...]
November 13 2010 (Jeff Alan) As one might expect in an economy like this, the credit bureau Experian is reporting that consumers are spending less on monthly obligations than they were three years ago. The company said that average monthly payments made by consumers in 25 metropolitan areas has decreased by two percent in the [...]
November 12 2010 (Chris Moore) Depending on if you’re a “the glass is half full” or a “the glass is half empty” type of person is pretty much how you would sum up home prices for the third quarter of 2010. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), compared to the same period last [...]
November 12 2010 (Shirley Allen) Freddie Mac has released the results of its third quarter 2010 cash-out refinance report and the number of homeowners who took cash out when they refinanced is at a record low. 33 percent of the homeowners who refinanced their first lien home mortgage actually lowered their principle balance by paying [...]
