The News Review:
- Mortgage rates fall but many borrowers will have trouble qualifying
- Mortgage rates fall for 2nd day; won’t help all
- US MBA’s Mortgage Applications Index Rose 1.5% Last Week
- Mortgage-market revival: Try try again
- US commits $800 billion more to bail out consumer credit and …
- Mortgage Lenders Report Boom After Fed Rate Cut
Mortgage rates fall but many borrowers will have trouble qualifying
Los Angeles Timesnbsp;CAnbsp;
Homeowners who want to refinance existing mortgages may be more likely to take advantage of the lower rates but many people who bought during the real estate bubble won’t be able to qualify for a new loan because they have little equity or are “upside down” — owing more on their homes than they are worth. “I anticipate it will increase refinance activity but there will be nothing dramatic” said Terrin Griffiths an economist for the California Credit Union League which represents credit unions in California and Nevada. Jeff Lazerson a Laguna Niguel mortgage broker said all the customer calls he received Tuesday were from people seeking to refinance not buy homes. Many are trying to get out of adjustable-rate mortgages scheduled to reset to higher rates next year he said. But most who called were rebuffed because they were upside down on their current mortgages or had credit scores too low to qualify. “Out of all the people calling about 30% at most can get help” Lazerson said. Adjustable-rate mortgages were especially popular in 2005 and 2006 because home buyers expected prices to continue to rise enabling them to refinance before the loans reset.
Mortgage rates fall for 2nd day; won’t help all
The Associated Pressnbsp;
Mortgage brokers fielded a steady stream of calls Wednesday from borrowers looking to refinance. But some of those callers were confronted with an unwelcome truth: only those with good credit histories and equity in their properties need apply. And with the damage wrought by the real estate downturn now in its third year that number has declined dramatically. Lower rates won’t mean much for the more than 4 million homeowners who are already behind on their mortgage payments or the 12 million homeowners who owe more money to the bank than their homes are now worth. “This will help the non-troubled borrower the standard consumer who is making payments on time” said Mike Larson real estate analyst with Weiss Research.
US MBA’s Mortgage Applications Index Rose 1.5% Last Week
Bloombergnbsp;
rose last week as purchases climbed from an eight-year low whilerefinancing fell reflecting difficulties in the credit market. The Mortgage Bankers Association?s index of applications topurchase a home or refinance a loan gained 1. The group?s purchase index rose 5.
Mortgage-market revival: Try try again
CNNMoney.comnbsp;
Louis Fed started tracking conventional 30-year mortgage rates was the 5. 23% reached in June 2003 in the midst of the housing bubble that inflated earlier this decade. Larkin says the government will need to bring the rate down into that range to create demand for mortgage refinancing and to get current homeowners who’d like more room or a better location to think about making a change. Larkin notes that homeowners who took advantage of the last refinancing opportunity in January when rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped briefly to around 5. 5% won’t be tempted to refinance again – thereby incurring additional fees and in many cases having their houses assessed at lower values – till rates go substantially lower. If at first you don’t succeed.
US commits $800 billion more to bail out consumer credit and …
World Socialist Web Sitenbsp;MInbsp;
None of these measures address the root causes of the increasingly severe economic crisis. Even if the programs make credit more accessible and somewhat less expensive the ability of millions of ordinary working people to cover their debts amid rising unemployment and declining real wages will remain in doubt. The immediate impact of Paulson?s announcement was to trigger a wave of mortgage refinancing by indebted home owners. The Wall Street Journal reported that James Ramsey of Aurora Illinois locked in a 5. 5 percent interest rate on his $180000 mortgage. His previous rate of 5. 625 percent was due to rise by up to 1 percent in January.
Related from Softwaremonster: Guaranty Bank Automates Consumer Lending with Cypress Software’s …
Mortgage Lenders Report Boom After Fed Rate Cut
WCBS-TV New Yorknbsp;NYnbsp;
html’>Tony Aiello
NEW YORK (CBS) #8213;
Wall Street rallied again Wednesday thanks in part to a new plan to boost mortgage lending. With three new mouths to feed after the births of triplets Sophia Christopher and Peter the Rosatos can’t wait to refinance their mortgage to save money. “We were in a negative amortization loan so as the years went by we were upside-down” Christopher Rosato said. “We had to get out of that as soon as possible. ” The mortgage lender handling the Rosato’s refinancing says business is suddenly booming. On Tuesday a new Federal Reserve program drove down the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage from an average of 6.