7/9/10 Mortgage Market Week-in-Review
July 12, 2010
What Did Interest Rates Do Last Week?
** based on Freddie Mac weekly average survey **
30-yr Fixed - Slightly Lower
Last Week: 4.57%
Previous Week: 4.58%
1yr Ago: 5.20%
15-yr Fixed - Slightly Higher
Last Week: 4.07%
Previous Week: 4.04%
1yr Ago: 4.69%
Jumbo Fixed (Average 30-yr Fixed) - 5.50%
Highlight of Last Week's Major Economic Reports
It was a fairly uneventful week in the mortgage world, so rates barely budged this past week, despite the stock market rallies that brought the Dow Jones Index up 511 points.
What to Look for This Week
A sneak peek at prices and inflation will be the key news, as investors (as well as the Fed) are keeping a close eye on prices to ensure inflation remains at bay. If this expectation continues to holds true, the Fed will remain free of pressure from raising short-term rates in the near future.
Uncle Sam will also be out to borrow money in the form of Treasury auctions. Weak demand could nudge rates higher, while strong demand should help to keep rates at low levels.
Short-Term Rate Outlook
Stable
Stay Informed: What’s in the News
"Round Rock Ranks among Best Family Towns" from Austin Business Journal
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/05/daily19.html?surround=lfn
"FHA Toughens Guidelines for Multifamily Mortgages" from American Banker
After months of raising standards for single-family lenders, the Federal Housing Administration tightened guidelines for multifamily mortgages for the first time in the 40 years it has insured such loans. The measures, announced Wednesday, did not catch apartment lenders off guard, but they nonetheless did not welcome the news. "We're not surprised by anything nowadays," said Menzo Case, the president and chief executive of Seneca Falls Savings Bank in upstate New York. "It's just another nail in the coffin." Among the new requirements, the FHA is raising debt service coverage ratios and lowering loan-to-value and loan-to-cost ratios. (The maximum loan to value on "affordable" rental properties, for example, is being cut to 87% from 90%.)
"More Assistance for Jobless Borrowers" from American Banker
The government is extending more relief to unemployed homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages. Beginning this month, mortgage servicers are required to put unemployed borrowers whose loans are not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on forbearance plans that defer mortgage payments. (The government-sponsored enterprises each have their own plans that defer payments for unemployed borrowers for up to six months.) To qualify for the new Home Affordable Unemployment Program, borrowers must be receiving unemployment benefits for at least three months and must request a forbearance before missing three mortgage payments.
** based on Freddie Mac weekly average survey **
30-yr Fixed - Slightly Lower
Last Week: 4.57%
Previous Week: 4.58%
1yr Ago: 5.20%
15-yr Fixed - Slightly Higher
Last Week: 4.07%
Previous Week: 4.04%
1yr Ago: 4.69%
Jumbo Fixed (Average 30-yr Fixed) - 5.50%
Highlight of Last Week's Major Economic Reports
It was a fairly uneventful week in the mortgage world, so rates barely budged this past week, despite the stock market rallies that brought the Dow Jones Index up 511 points.
What to Look for This Week
A sneak peek at prices and inflation will be the key news, as investors (as well as the Fed) are keeping a close eye on prices to ensure inflation remains at bay. If this expectation continues to holds true, the Fed will remain free of pressure from raising short-term rates in the near future.
Uncle Sam will also be out to borrow money in the form of Treasury auctions. Weak demand could nudge rates higher, while strong demand should help to keep rates at low levels.
Short-Term Rate Outlook
Stable
Stay Informed: What’s in the News
"Round Rock Ranks among Best Family Towns" from Austin Business Journal
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/05/daily19.html?surround=lfn
"FHA Toughens Guidelines for Multifamily Mortgages" from American Banker
After months of raising standards for single-family lenders, the Federal Housing Administration tightened guidelines for multifamily mortgages for the first time in the 40 years it has insured such loans. The measures, announced Wednesday, did not catch apartment lenders off guard, but they nonetheless did not welcome the news. "We're not surprised by anything nowadays," said Menzo Case, the president and chief executive of Seneca Falls Savings Bank in upstate New York. "It's just another nail in the coffin." Among the new requirements, the FHA is raising debt service coverage ratios and lowering loan-to-value and loan-to-cost ratios. (The maximum loan to value on "affordable" rental properties, for example, is being cut to 87% from 90%.)
"More Assistance for Jobless Borrowers" from American Banker
The government is extending more relief to unemployed homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages. Beginning this month, mortgage servicers are required to put unemployed borrowers whose loans are not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on forbearance plans that defer mortgage payments. (The government-sponsored enterprises each have their own plans that defer payments for unemployed borrowers for up to six months.) To qualify for the new Home Affordable Unemployment Program, borrowers must be receiving unemployment benefits for at least three months and must request a forbearance before missing three mortgage payments.