The News Review:
- Mortgage volume spikes on refinancing
- Sec. Paulson Remarks on Financial Markets and Mortgage Crisis
- Union workers eligible for mortgage relief
- Big rush to refinance
- Spooked: Credit Market Concerns Haunt Commercial Mortgages
- McCain warns against hasty mortgage bailout
- Swift Steps Help Avert Foreclosures in Baltimore
Mortgage volume spikes on refinancing
Forbes – Mar 26, 2008
1 percent during the week ending March 21 compared with the previous week, according to the trade group Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey. The MBA’s application index increased to 965. 9 from 652 the previous week. Volume surged on an 82.
Sec. Paulson Remarks on Financial Markets and Mortgage Crisis
Washington Post – Mar 26, 2008
We must sort through each of these shared and desired outcomes, carefully choosing policies that minimize the impact of — but do not slow — the housing correction. Availability of Mortgage Finance Turbulence in the financial markets has disrupted and reduced the availability and increased the cost of mortgage financing. The secondary mortgage market is still facing liquidity and pricing issues. We are taking steps to increase the availability of affordable mortgage financing. The Federal Reserve’s temporary lending facility for non-banks will help in this area, as will the Federal Housing Finance Board’s decision to authorize the Federal Home Loan Banks to increase purchases of agency mortgage backed securities, which could provide over $100 billion in new MBS market liquidity. Another helpful step is the agreement reached last week among Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and OHFEO, their independent regulator, to inject more capital into the mortgage market. Fannie and Freddie, two of the nation’s housing Government Sponsored Entities or GSEs, have been playing an important, countercyclical role in supporting the secondary market for mortgage finance… The subprime mortgage market accounted for a large portion of housing purchase growth before the downturn, and the market for subprime mortgage financing is now largely closed. Last August, President Bush launched the FHASecure initiative, an important new solution for subprime homeowners. To date, FHASecure has helped more than 130,000 families refinance their mortgages and stay in their homes. That number is expected to reach 300,000 by year end. Secretary Jackson continues to examine administrative tools to make FHA mortgages more widely available. And it is essential that Congress pass FHA modernization that would provide FHA the authority to help as many as 250,000 more homeowners at this critical time.
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Union workers eligible for mortgage relief
Inman.com – Inman.com (subscription) – Mar 26, 2008
Besides mortgage unemployment insurance, there is mortgage life and personal (private) mortgage, known as PMI. This can be complex territory, so here’s a capsule explaining the specific kinds of mortgage insurance coverage: 1. Mortgage life is an option for the borrower and is offered each time you take out a loan. If you purchase mortgage life insurance for the full value of your home loan, your home will be paid off if you die. It is typically offered at closing and then again after you sign. Its big selling point is that it permits the surviving spouse to stay in the home without using other assets to pay off the mortgage. Mortgage life is still available if you did not accept coverage at the time you took out your loan or refinanced.
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Big rush to refinance
NEWS.com.au – Mar 26, 2008
2 per cent in February, after back-to-back interest rate rises. getElementById(“print-logo”)){ document. getElementById(“print-logo”)… “If you have to sell your house during a fixed-rate period, there are usually associated penalties,” he said. “If you have to sell on a variable rate, usually there are no penalties. “Also, there is limited or no opportunity to advance pay or place a lump sum to your mortgage on a fixed rate. “A far-fetched scenario — though it is very unlikely — if interest rates go down you will be stuck with paying a higher interest rate, or paying more to get back on a variable. ” There would always be an economic cost for breaking an existing loan structure. “My advice would be to research your options and all the costs associated and, of course, seek the advice of an industry expert,” he said. “Always have a long-term view and have a look at the economic situation at a local, national and international level.
Spooked: Credit Market Concerns Haunt Commercial Mortgages
CoStar Group – Mar 26, 2008
Lately the commercial mortgage market appears to be spooked. top)
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top… CMBS loans have already refinanced this year shows the commercial real estate market debt continues to function so far this year,” said Fitch senior director Adam Fox. Fitch expects that the $28. 5 billion CMBS fixed-rate loans coming due in the balance of 2008 in the transactions it monitors will continue to be easily refinanced. Search Over 900,000 ListingsAcross the U.
McCain warns against hasty mortgage bailout
International Herald Tribune – Mar 26, 2008
His approach drew a rebuke from economic policy experts aligned with Democrats. “He's not only far behind what either Clinton or Obama have proposed, he's six months behind what the administration has already been doing,” said Andrew Jakabovics, associate director for the Economic Mobility Program at the Center for American Progress, a Democrat-leaning research group in Washington. Jakabovics was an early champion of programs like those now being discussed by Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, to have the government either buy up or refinance millions of troubled loans. Larry Rohter reported from Santa Ana, and Edmund L. Andrews from Washington. Patrick Healy contributed reporting from Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Swift Steps Help Avert Foreclosures in Baltimore
New York Times – Mar 26, 2008
Savage, 75, despaired that they could ever catch up. Skip to next paragraph… Last fall, however, the payments were adjusted to $1,181, and they fell behind. Miller is now helping the couple refinance to a low-cost loan through the city. He also put them on a budget for the first time, cutting out lottery tickets, restaurants and some clothing purchases. “We used to eat out every Friday,” Mr.