Housing affordability is tightening as home prices continue to climb faster than incomes. The median family income rose by 4.5% year over year in December 2021, while the monthly mortgage payment rose 22.5%, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. The threat of rising mortgage rates could pose another challenge to housing affordability in the coming …
Category: News
Jun 05
Freddie Mac Tool Aims to Ease Mortgage Paperwork
Freddie Mac is launching an automated method for lenders to assess prospective borrowers’ income that is paid through direct deposits. The tool is intended to help reduce the paper documentation burden on borrowers so loans can close faster, Freddie Mac says. The income assessment tool will be available to mortgage lenders nationwide and can be …
Jun 04
Mortgage Amounts Break Record Again
Rising home prices are prompting more borrowers to take out supersized home loans. Borrowers are taking out the largest mortgages ever on record. The average purchase loan size reached an all-time high of $453,000, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. Loan sizes have continuously been hitting new record highs over recent weeks. Home prices are up …
Jun 03
Mortgage Rates past and present.
Borrowing costs are climbing: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 3.92% average this week, Freddie Mac reports. “Mortgage rates jumped again due to high inflation and stronger than expected consumer spending,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is nearing four percent, reaching highs we have not seen since May …
May 31
Lenders Considers Student Debt Relief for First-Time Buyers
Maine lawmakers are weighing a proposal that could forgive up to $40,000 in student loan debt for first-time buyers in the state. The Maine Smart Buy bill would pay off student debt of at least $5,000 over five years as long as the buyer lived in the home for that long. Buyers must meet credit …
May 30
Mortgage Rates Dip
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reversed course this week and decreased to an average of 3.89%, Freddie Mac reports. However, with expectations of even higher inflation on the horizon, mortgage rates likely will resume their upward trek over the coming weeks, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of REALTORS®, notes …
May 29
Homeowners Tempted To Use Equity
Homeowners are seeing record levels of equity in their properties, and many plan to tap into some of that newfound wealth. Mortgage holders have an average of about $185,000 in home equity, according to research from Black Knight. That amount assumes retaining a 20% stake in the property. The options to draw money from a …
May 29
Mortgage Rates Rise After Preapproval
Buyers are getting preapproved for mortgages to better compete in a fast-paced housing market and to be mortgage-ready as soon as they are ready to make an offer. However, preapproval doesn’t lock in their mortgage rate, which can continue to rise . Some buyers are finding that after their offer is accepted, they must stretch their …
May 28
Fannie, Freddie Offer $1B To Boost Affordable Housing
Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are pledging to help increase affordable housing as they look to curb a nationwide housing shortage. The government-sponsored enterprises are offering their largest amount ever toward affordable housing, contributing $1.14 billion to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund. The “announcement of record funding for …
May 28
What May Impact Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates in the U.S. have risen this year and are expected to continue doing so, but the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could throw a wild card into those projections. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed by 37 basis points over the first two full weeks of February, according to Freddie Mac. But last week, as …
May 24
Rates Drop
Mortgage rates fell again this week amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sparking uncertainty across the globe including in U.S. markets. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to a 3.76% average this week, Freddie Mac reports. “Geopolitical tensions caused U.S. Treasury yields to recede this week as investors moved to the safety of bonds, leading to a …
May 23
Jumbo Loans Reach 16-Year High
Hoping to take advantage of mortgage rates that are still historically low, more Americans are pushing into higher mortgage levels to afford more expensive homes. Lenders reported that 2021 marked the highest dollar volume in jumbo loan origination’s since 2005. Jumbo loans are mortgages that exceed the loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rates …
