| Subprime borrowers facing tougher qualifications for mortgages | | Posted Friday, February 02, 2007 1:04:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | Thanks to relaxed lending standards, in recent years borrowers with bad credit -- such as a bankruptcy or a delinquent loan on their records -- found it relatively easy to get home mortgages. Such "subprime" borrowers generally have to make higher interest payments to compensate the lender for the added risk of default they represent. So lots of subprime borrowers kept their house payments lower by taking out exotic mortgages such as adjustable-rate, interest-only, or negative-amortization mortgages. And would-be home buyers with blemished credit records are finding buying a house has become more difficult and more expensive. "It's tightening up a lot," said Eddie Carmona, branch manager at Homewood Mortgage in Carrollton, Texas, a mortgage broker that handles subprime borrowers.... | |
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| | | Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Continue to Climb | | Posted Friday, January 26, 2007 3:10:04 PM by Blog57 Team | | Mortgage rates increased again this week with the average 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.32 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the 30- year fixed rate mortgages had an average of 0.34 discount and origination points. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040122/FLTHLOGO ) The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage popular for refinancing inched to 6.07 percent. On larger loans, the average jumbo 30-year fixed rate increased to 6.56 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates moved higher as well, with the average 5/1 ARM moving up to 6.21 percent and the average one-year ARM increasing to 6.04 percent. Mortgage rates increased again this week, despite the absence of any blockbuster economic data. Instead, all signs continue to point to the Fed staying on hold with interest rates for an indefinite period.... | |
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| | | Mortgage rates rise on consumer report | | Posted Tuesday, January 02, 2007 3:04:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | Mortgage rates climbed for the third week in a row on the news of a jump in consumer spending in November, a survey showed Thursday. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.18 percent in the week ended Dec. 28, up from 6.13 percent in the prior week, according to Freddie Mac's (Charts) Primary Mortgage Market Survey. .... | |
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| | | Consumer spending pushed up mortgage rates | | Posted Monday, January 01, 2007 1:06:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | Freddie Mac acknowledged the slight relief the housing market saw in November and December, but its chief economist expects "continued volatility" in the market ahead, even if mortgage rates stabilize. Freddie Mac said Thursday the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage grew to 6.18 percent this week, up from 6.13 percent last week. The mortgage rate is still down from this week last year, when it averaged 6.22 percent. .... | |
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| | | Banks hike mortgage rates | | Posted Sunday, November 19, 2006 1:04:31 PM by Blog57 Team | | ALL of the four major banks have lifted their variable standard home loan interest rates following a central bank rate hike earlier in the week. Home buyers had been bracing themselves for the moves since the Reserve Bank of Australia raised official rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.25 per cent on Wednesday. ANZ Banking Group, Westpac Banking Corp and Commonwealth Bank of Australia today all cranked up their home loan rates by the same amount to 8.07 per cent. National Australia Bank was the first off the mark when it put up rates yesterday, lifting the standard variable rate to 8.07 per cent effective from today. Its base home loan rate rises by a similar amount to 7.57 per cent on Monday. Westpac's new rates are effective from today, the Commonwealth from Monday and ANZ from Tuesday.... | |
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| | | Hawaii mortgage rates still below 6% | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 7:02:15 PM by Blog57 Team | | Mortgage lenders kept their 30-year fixed-rate home loan rates below 6 percent this week, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported Friday. Some banks raised from 5.75 percent to 5.875 percent but no major local lenders were higher than that. At the lower rate of 5.75 percent: First Hawaiian Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Finance Factors. At 5.875 percent: Bank of Hawaii, American Savings Bank and Central Pacific HomeLoans, as well as two Mainland lenders that do a lot of business in Hawaii, Countrywide Home Loans and Wells Fargo. For 15-year notes, Territorial held at 5.25 percent. Countrywide held at 5.625 percent. Most other major lenders held at 5.375 percent. But Hawaii National Bank and Finance Factors went to 5.5 percent. Published November 10, 2006 by Pacific Business News .... | |
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| | | Banks Adjusting Mortgage Loan Rates | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 7:21:35 AM by Blog57 Team | | Banks are modifying their lending rates for mortgage loans by lowering or repealing their prime rates. In addition to these bank lending rate increases, if the government follow-up real estate measures include reinforcing mortgage loan controls, including Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) and Debt to Income Ratio (DTI) controls, residential mortgages are expected to become harder to get. According to the Financial Supervisory Commission and the bank industry yesterday, Kookmin Bank decided to lower its discretionary lending rate, which can be offered by branch managers, from 0.7 percentage points to 0.5 percentage points, down 0.2 percentage points starting November 17. This means that lending rates became 0.2 percentage points higher, in that only those who meet specific qualifications, including having established salary transfer accounts and savings accounts, can enjoy the benefits of branch manager discretionary lending rates.... | |
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| | | U.S. mortgage rates adopt holding pattern | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 7:18:35 PM by Blog57 Team | | NEW YORK, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. mortgage rates had an eventful week but ended up right back where they started, with the average 30-year fixed rate at 6.32 percent. Bankrate.com said Friday that mortgage rates surged following the Nov. 3 employment report that showed strong upward revisions to job growth in August and September. Investors sold bonds in a flurry, pushing bond prices lower and bond yields higher. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds. But both bond yields and mortgage rates have fallen back in recent days following a number of corporate bond issuances. Fixed mortgage rates are sharply lower than four months ago, when rates were flirting with 7 percent, Bankrate.com said. At that time, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 6.93 percent, meaning that the monthly payment on a loan of $165,000 was $1,090.... | |
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| | | Mortgage rates take a ride, end up at home | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 7:16:37 AM by Blog57 Team | | Call it a draw. A cheery employment report was balanced out by the return of Democrats to power in Washington, leaving mortgage rates pretty much unchanged this week. - advertisement - The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point to 6.32 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.26 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 6.42 percent; four weeks ago, it was also 6.42 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged at 6.02 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 3 basis points to 6.16 percent. The 1-year ARM fell a basis point, to 5.91 percent. Mortgage rates were about the only thing that didn't change much from week to week.... | |
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| | | Banks mulling mortgage rates | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 3:07:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | MAJOR banks are set to increase interest rates on loans and savings products following the central bank's official rate rise today. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted its official cash rate 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent today, its third increase this year. ANZ Banking Group said it was likely to make a decision about its interest rates this week. "It's inevitable there will be a flow on to mortgage rates and other lending products as well as deposit products," an ANZ spokesman said. "We won't make a decision finally until we understand the flow through to our businesses and that will be later in the week." The spokesman said the bank was also preparing packages for customers who would struggle to meet repayment commitments in the face of the rate rise, especially those in drought affected rural areas.... | |
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