The News Review:
- Week-to-week mortgage applications up 16.8%
- Freddie: Less homeowners are borrowing from equity
- Hedge fund, private-equity firm to get help with mortgage investments
- Japan Land Prices May Fall as Property Funds Fail to Refinance
- Q: Can points from a refinanced mortgage be deducted on my taxes?
- More US Homeowners Have Mortgage Higher Than House Is Worth
Week-to-week mortgage applications up 16.8%
MarketWatch
30, 2008
A previous version of this story had an incorrect headline that said mortgage applications declined. The story has been corrected. CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Mortgage applications filed last week rose a seasonally adjusted 16. 8%, due mainly to an increase in refinancing activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Application volume was still down 30% on an unadjusted basis for the week ended Oct. 24, compared with the same week in 2007, data compiled by the Washington-based MBA showed. The MBA’s weekly survey covers about one half of all U.
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Freddie: Less homeowners are borrowing from equity
Forbes, NY
About $30 billion in home equity was cashed out through refinancing of loans made to prime borrowers in the third quarter – $10 billion less than the second quarter, she said. In the third quarter, 78 percent of homeowners who refinanced loans purchased by Freddie Mac cashed out at least 5 percent of their equity. “Higher mortgage rates during the third quarter reduced the number of borrowers that refinanced solely to obtain a lower interest rate or shorter term,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economistNothaft said borrowers who did refinance wanted to cash-out some of their home equity or to move from an adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed-rate loan. Economists watch these numbers closely because it affects consumer spending and investment decisions. Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity, remains under severe strains, as the downturn in home prices, combined with rising food and energy costs, have hurt consumer confidence. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Hedge fund, private-equity firm to get help with mortgage investments
MarketWatch
30, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Fortress Investment Group unveiled a joint venture with Quicken Loans Inc. that will help the firm with its mortgage portfolios and investments. Quicken, the largest Internet-based retail mortgage lender, will help refinance and modify the home loans Fortress owns. Quicken has up to 2,600 staff available to help borrowers throughout the U. refinance into new mortgages, including loans offered by the Federal Housing Administration, Fortress (.
Japan Land Prices May Fall as Property Funds Fail to Refinance
Bloomberg
New lending to Japan's real estate sector fell19 percent in the three months ended June 30. “Delinquencies and refinancing failures are rising,especially from this month,'' said Kumamaru, who said propertymanagers may fail to refinance about 40 billion yen in loansthis year because of tighter credit. One upshot is likely to be further withering of Japan'scommercial mortgage-backed securities market, where bankersbundle mortgages and then sell them to investors in the form ofbonds. A total of just 209. 4 billion yen in these securities wassold so far this year, compared with 1. 36 trillion yen for allof 2007, according to Bloomberg data. Moody's Japan forecast this year's total sales of thesecurities, known as CMBS, may amount to no more than 30 percentof what was sold last year after global financial firms recordedat least $680 billion in losses and writedowns related to thecredit crisis.
Q: Can points from a refinanced mortgage be deducted on my taxes?
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY
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More US Homeowners Have Mortgage Higher Than House Is Worth
Bloomberg
31 (Bloomberg) — Almost 20 percent of U. mortgageborrowers owed more on their loans in the third quarter thantheir house was worth as foreclosures depressed prices and theeconomy weakened, according to First American CoreLogic. 5 million properties already have negativeequity and another 2.