Tag Archives: Federal Reserve

An increase in prices itself does not signal a bubble. An unsustainable increase, not supported by other data, however, would.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.93 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending June 20, according to Freddie Mac.

In a newly published paper, Robert Hockett proposes using government's eminent domain authority as a solution to underwater mortgage debt.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.98 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending June 13, up from 3.91 percent last week.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.91 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending June 6, up 10 basis points over last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.67 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate's weekly national survey had the 30-year fixed rising to 4.1 percent, its highest level since April 2012. The 15-year fixed increased to 3.28 percent, while the 5/1 ARM rose 12 basis points to 2.93 percent.

The nation's economy grew at a "modest to moderate pace" from early April through the end of May, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. The report cited growing strength in the housing and residential construction sector and the impact on the broader economy, with residential real estate and construction activity increasing "at a moderate to strong pace in all Districts." In addition, "overall bank lending improved modestly since the previous report."

Encouraging economic data helped lift fixed mortgage rates to their highest level in the past year this week, according to surveys from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

The last time both prices and sales of new homes increased in the same month was last September. What of course is missing from the two data sets is any indication of demand.

In a testimony last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held his ground on the Fed's open-ended purchases program.

In a recent "US Housing Market Update," Capital Economics points to Federal Reserve's latest Senior Loan Officer Survey (SLOS), which showed a net balance of 8 percent of banks loosening mortgage credit conditions in the three months to April. While that may seem a small share, Capital Economics notes conditions have now either loosened or held constant in eight of the past nine quarters. In addition, a net balance of 27 percent of banks intend to increase their residential mortgage assets over the next year.