All About Home

Refis Strengthen Again as Rates Plummet

admin — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:05:09 +0000

It was the third week in a row that inquiries for refinances were higher as mortgage rates continued to descend to depths not seen before. All signs point to even lower mortgage rates in next week’s report. But at least one category that did not participate in the rally was purchase financing.

A 4 percent increase was recorded from the prior week for the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortech Inc. and Mortgage Daily, leaving the index for the week ended May 18 at 233. The index was unchanged from the week ended May 20, 3011.

The best-performing category in today’s report was refinance, which climbed 10 percent from last week and was 42 percent higher than the same week last year. Refinance business has risen each of the past three weeks.

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Freddie Sued by Its Biggest Mortgage Insurer

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:05:17 +0000

A lawsuit has been filed against the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and its conservator-regulator by the secondary lender’s biggest mortgage insurance counterparty. At issue is the interpretation of the maximum coverage for a pool of loans.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

In addition to Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is named as a defendant.

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MGIC Loosens Restricted Markets Requirements

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:05:13 +0000

Credit and debt-to-income ratio requirements have been eased in the country’s most struggling real estate markets by Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. The move is a result of market improvement.

Current guidelines require a minimum credit score of 720 in markets where restricted underwriting guidelines are in place.

The limitation applies to loans up to $625,500 that are secured by properties in Arizona, Florida and Nevada.

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