Debt Crisis
By Ryan Schuette | 05/17/2012
Interest rates for mortgage loans saw new, all-time lows this week as investors fled debt crises in Europe. Freddie Mac found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sliding to 3.79 percent, down from 3.83 percent last week and a far cry from 4.61 percent last year. The 15-year loan fell from 3.05 percent to 3.04 percent. Adjustable-rate mortgages went up. The finance Web site Bankrate.com likewise saw new record lows for mortgage rates, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropping below 4 percent for the first time by arriving at 3.97 percent.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/16/2012
A rash of new concerns in debt-saddled Europe drove investors to U.S. Treasury debt, keeping mortgage rates at all-time lows and leading mortgage application volume to tick up 9.2 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association recorded an 8.7 percent increase in applications for the Market Composite Index on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Analysts credit an upset in Greek elections last week with the rush by investors to U.S. Treasury debt, with policymakers in the Mediterranean country likely seeing elections next week.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/15/2012
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached a new all-time low Tuesday as concerns grew that Greece would leave the euro zone in a disorderly way. Real estate Web site Zillow found the loan at 3.59 percent, down from 3.65 percent last week, the lowest rate recorded by the company since it began tracking interest rates for mortgages in April 2008. This is down from a previous all-time low of 3.65 percent recorded in May. Mortgage rates zigzagged lower across many states, falling 14 basis points in Massachusetts and 11 basis points in Texas.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/15/2012
After suffering from bad loans during the financial crisis, Ally Financial looks to close the books on its share of ownership in the mortgage business. Executives with Ally took to the phone with investors Tuesday to explain a filing for bankruptcy protection Monday by subsidiary Residential Capital LLC. The consensus: Residential mortgage loans are out for Ally and auto finance is back in the center. Ally will still subservice loans via ResCap while it serves as counterparty to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/14/2012
A fresh round of concerns that Greece may leave the euro zone sent U.S. stock markets into a dizzying tumble Monday. After some lift in recent weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125.25 points to close by end of day at 12,695, along with shares for the nation’s four largest lenders. The deal reportedly involves a Syriza, a leftwing bloc opposed to further austerity measures that may parlay slashes to Greek social services for $170 billion in bailout funds under a package jointly agreed-to by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/10/2012
Jittery investors retreated to U.S. Treasury debt this week after upsets in French and Greek elections, a movement that yet again drove mortgage rates to all-time lows. Freddie Mac found Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage broke records by falling to 3.83 percent, down from 3.84 percent last week. Finance Web site Bankrate.com, which releases a survey at the same as Freddie each week, found similar results, with the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage hitting 3.2 percent and the jumbo 30-year loan falling to 4.54 percent, both new lows.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/08/2012
Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slid this week to 3.65 percent, a four-year low made feasible by turmoil in French and Greek elections, real estate Web site Zillow said Tuesday. The 30-year loan fell from 3.69 percent last week and represents the lowest recorded by Zillow since the Web site began tracking mortgage rates in April 2008. Interest rates for the 30-year also zigzagged across the country, falling most steeply in places like Colorado and Illinois. Rates for the 15-year fixed-rate loan averaged 2.91 percent, alongside 2.52 percent for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages.
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By Ryan Schuette | 05/03/2012
Concerns about the economy, European debt, and Chinese growth led mortgage rates to fall for the fourth straight week, according to Bankrate.com. The finance Web site found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.05 percent, down from 4.09 percent last week, according to Bankrate.com's weekly survey. Bankrate.com also said that the 15-year loan set a new record low by falling to 3.25 percent, down from 3.28 percent, while 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages each fell from 3.03 percent to 3.02 percent.
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By Ryan Schuette | 04/26/2012
Debt crises in Europe once more left interest rates for mortgage loans near record lows. Finance Web site Bankrate.com found 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 4.09 percent, down from 4.10 percent last week, alongside a 15-year loan that hit 3.28 percent this week, down from 3.32 percent. Bankrate.com found said that 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages meanwhile fell from 3.05 percent last week to 3.03 percent this week. News out of Britain this week found that the bulwark economy slipped into a double-dip recession during the first quarter.
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By Ryan Schuette | 04/25/2012
Mortgage applications fell 3.8 percent from the week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group found that application volume waned by 3.3 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis from the week before. Purchases went up 2.7 percent from one week earlier, climbing by a seasonally unadjusted 3.6 percent in the same vein. Refinance applications declined on the whole. The Refinance Index dipped by 5.6 percent from the week before, as conventional refis slipped by 6.1 percent and government refis climbed down by 2.1 percent.
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