mortgage market

Why Your Mortgage May Get More Expensive

Last Friday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced plans to increase guarantee fees (g-fees) on loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Banks and lenders pay Fannie and Freddie so-called “g-fees” in exchange for purchasing their loans and bundling them into mortgage-backed securities, which are then sold to investors on the secondary market. [&hellip

The post Why Your Mortgage May Get More Expensive first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Is There Any Correlation Between Elections and Mortgage Rates?

Seeing that it’s Election Day, I figured I’d take a look at historic mortgage rates to see if there is any correlation between their direction and elections. Specifically, I wanted to see if there was any significant movement after an election took place, as a new Republican or Democrat (or Roseanne) could potentially sway the [&hellip

The post Is There Any Correlation Between Elections and Mortgage Rates? first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Making the Argument for an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage

It’s no secret that fixed-rate mortgages have dominated the mortgage market in recent years, mainly because they’re just so darn cheap. They’ve been breaking records left and right thanks to the bleak economic outlook and the Fed’s continued buying of mortgage-backed securities. But they aren’t the only types of home loans benefiting – unfashionable adjustable-rate [&hellip

The post Making the Argument for an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Mortgage Rates Not as Low as They Could Be

A new Fed study and associated workshop revealed that mortgage lenders continue to offer inflated mortgage rates to consumers, despite ongoing efforts to reduce such borrowing costs. Over the past several years, the Fed has pledged to purchase billions in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in an effort to lower consumer mortgage rates. The plan seems to [&hellip

The post Mortgage Rates Not as Low as They Could Be first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Bank of America Panned for Unattractive Refinance Offer

Anytime someone is looking to save you money, you should probably be skeptical, really skeptical. After all, it’s one thing to seek savings on your own, but if someone is doing the work for you, there’s a good chance they’ve got their own best interests in mind. Yesterday, a few publications, including American Banker, grilled [&hellip

The post Bank of America Panned for Unattractive Refinance Offer first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Slowing Mortgage Market Could Lead to Looser Lending

The forecast for the 2013 residential mortgage market wasn’t all that optimistic. Back in December, the Mortgage Bankers Association said it expected refinance volume to slip to $785 billion from $1.2 trillion in 2012, while purchase money mortgage activity was slated to increase only slightly from $503 billion to $585 billion. After all, there are [&hellip

The post Slowing Mortgage Market Could Lead to Looser Lending first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

What Is a Lender Overlay?

Mortgage Q&A: “What is a lender overlay?” If you’ve been studying underwriting guidelines recently to determine if you’re eligible for a mortgage, it’s important to understand that they can vary widely from bank to bank. Even if you think you qualify based on the guidelines set forth by the FHA, USDA, VA, or Fannie Mae [&hellip

The post What Is a Lender Overlay? first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.

Purchase Applications Grab Majority Share of Mortgage Market in July as Refinances Fade Away

There’s been a lot of fuss about the refinance market drying up lately, and we now know it’s not just noise. Last month, purchase-money mortgages gobbled up the majority share of the overall mortgage market, according to the latest Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae. The company noted that purchases accounted for 53% of applications [&hellip

The post Purchase Applications Grab Majority Share of Mortgage Market in July as Refinances Fade Away first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.