Tag Archives: Fixed-Rate Mortgage

More than 95 percent of borrowers who refinanced in this year's third quarter selected a fixed-rate loan, according to data from Freddie Mac.

According to the FHFA, the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program is on target to reach a million borrowers this year.

For the second week in a row, mortgage rates hit new record lows, and for the first time since mid-October 2009, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate is lower than the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) rate. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac, attributes the falling rates to "mortgage securities purchases by the Federal Reserve and indicators of a weakening economy," such as slow personal income growth in August and last quarter's downwardly revised Gross Domestic Product.

More consumers are applying for a mortgage - on both the refinance and homebuying fronts - and taking advantage of exceptionally low borrowing costs. The Mortgage Bankers Association says its composite measurement of total mortgage application volume rose 2.8 percent last week as all fixed-rate loan products posted their lowest average rates in the history of the trade group's survey. With mortgage rates resuming their fall, housing affordability remains extremely high even as home values head higher across much of the country.

Mortgage rates slid to new lows this week as investors dumped their cash into safe-haven Treasury debt, prompted by the Fed's decision to keep interest rates low for an unfixed time. Zillow found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipping past 3.2 percent for the first time to arrive at 3.18 percent, down from 3.35 percent on Wednesday last week. The real estate website said this marks the lowest rate for the 30-year home loan since 2008, when it launched its weekly survey. Interest rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 2.59 percent, while those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 2.43 percent.

Talking heads call the mortgage interest-rate deduction a sacrosanct giveaway for the tax code, a loophole as sacred for Americans as, say, Social Security or Medicare - and just as electric to politicians. But a new survey out from Zillow suggests that may not be the case anymore. According to Zillow - which notably conducted the survey with economists and real-estate experts instead of your average homeowners - 10 percent believe the mortgage interest-rate deduction should be thrown out as soon as possible, while 50 percent believe it ought to be phased out over time.

A decline in interest by homebuyers shaved just 0.2 percent off mortgage applications last week, with refinance activity climbing. The Mortgage Bankers Association, which unveils the figures in a weekly survey, found application volume upward-bound by 24 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Refinance applications started to swell last week. The Refinance Index went up 1 percent, with the refinance share of mortgage activity cresting at 81 percent of total applications, up from 80 percent last week.

Interest rates for home loans climbed higher this week, just as the European Central Bank intervened to shore up the struggling economy overseas with more euro bonds and a weak jobs report quieted investors abroad. Real estate website Zillow reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up to 3.38 percent, up two basis points from 3.36 last week. The benchmark home loan had fallen and hovered somewhere between 3.36 percent and 3.41 percent over the weekend. Interest rates for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage went up to 2.75 percent.

Mortgage applications fell 2.5 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group found application volume declining by 3 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Purchases fell 0.8 percent from the week before and 3 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. The refinance share of mortgage activity stayed the same from last week, hovering at 79 percent, with the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity ticking up to 5 percent of total volume. Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages by and large fell with volume.

Mortgage rates held steady above record lows this week, as the debt crisis in Europe threatened to upend an increasingly more favorable economic climate. Zillow reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovered old lows at 3.36 percent, only after dipping from 3.39 percent last week. Interest rates for 15-year home loans currently average 2.73 percent, while those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages stay near 2.35 percent. The debt crisis in Europe continues to feed uncertainty for investors interested in stability.