After a year of back-and-forth negotiations, five of the nation’s largest banks have settled on a $26 billion deal with 49 states over alleged foreclosure abuses by the banks. According to Les Christie of CNNMoney, “In addition, nine other unnamed loan servicers may join the settlement later, and that would bring its value to $30 billion.”
The five participating banks include: Read the rest of this entry »
As of last Friday, HSH.com reported that mortgage rates had once again dipped back to new record lows. The streak has continued into this week.
According to HSH.com’s latest Weekly Mortgage Rate Radar, rates on two of the most popular types of mortgages eased back even more, breaking new record low territory.
The White House is out with a new housing plan, but not everyone is thrilled. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) thinks the program is history, bad history.
“We’ve done this at least four times where there’s a new government program to help homeowners who have trouble with their mortgages,” said Boehner.
The economic seesaw brought mortgage rates down to new record lows last week.
Two weeks ago, mortgage rates flared higher thanks to a warmer set of economic data. Last week, that increase “was cut off at the knees” by a softer-than-expected fourth quarter GDP report and a Federal Reserve outlook that left a lot to be desired, explained Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com, in the latest Market Trends newsletter. Read the rest of this entry »
In what was a surprise to market observers, the economy added 243,000 jobs in January, the most in nine months. The unemployment rate had an impressive showing of its own, falling to 8.3 percent.
Estimates for the January report varied. While a group of economists surveyed by MarketWatch predicted 121,000 new hires last month, HSH.com expected 180,000.
The president addressed the nation today from Falls Church, Va., to announce a widespread housing effort that tackles everything from refinancing non-Fannie and Freddie borrowers to a homeowners “bill of rights.”
Is this proposed refinance plan–that can potentially save you $3,000 a year–a game changer or a pipe dream? At the moment, I—along with many others—am leaning towards the latter. Why? Plain and simple: it requires Congressional approval.
That’s the idea economist James A. Wilcox, a professor of business at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote about recently in the New York Times.
“Homebuyers could purchase protection from the government for a one-time fee, say 1 percent of the house purchase price, or $2,000 on a house selling for $200,000,” wrote Wilcox. “The fee could vary with the risk of house price declines in each area. The plan would be open to all buyers.”
The Federal Reserve kicked off its new strategy of clearer communications at the close of January’s Open Market Committee meeting last Wednesday afternoon. With just a few words, plus some charts (page 3), the Fed now expects to keep interest rates “extraordinarily low” for a period up to 18 months longer than the mid-2013 estimate previously in place. Also for the first time, the Fed officially revealed more explicitly that it will use an inflation target to help control monetary policy.
If you live in an area prone to natural disasters, you’ll probably have to evacuate your home someday. Last year, 2.5 million folks were ordered out when Hurricane Irene neared the East Coast. Thousands were told to leave Texas in 2011 as 180 wildfires broke out across the state. And even the White House evacuated last year after an earthquake. Chances are good that someday you’ll evacuate as well.
I was working from home, just south of Reno, Nev., last Thursday when I got a reverse 911 call from the sheriff’s office, telling me that a large wildfire was moving quickly in my direction and that I should get to an evacuation center right away. My mind went blank, my knees turned to water and my hands started to shake. I grabbed my dogs, cat and laptop and fled for safety. Read the rest of this entry »
On Tuesday, blog.HSH.com reader Diana wrote in with the following comment:
I have perfect credit, have never been late on a payment, have a low debt-to-income ratio, but I can’t qualify for HARP because I currently have mortgage insurance. WTF? Is this a way to get people to buy mortgage insurance? I am so confused by this. I also heard there is going to be a HARP 3.
HSH.com's daily blog focuses on the latest developments in the mortgage and housing markets. Our mission is to relate how changes in mortgage rates and housing policy, as well as the latest financial news, impacts consumers, homebuyers and industry insiders alike. Our 30-plus years of experience in the mortgage industry gives us an edge as we break down the latest changes in an ever-changing market.
