29 January 2010, 12:14 pm
- Robert Larsen 1/25/2010
Mortgage Rates Edged Down
Mortgage rates fell slightly this week, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages inching further below 5%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.
Paperwork Eased in Loan-Modification Program
The Obama administration is trying to simplify the paperwork for people seeking lower home-mortgage payments in an effort to avert more foreclosures.
The Treasury outlined new guidelines Thursday aimed at streamlining requirements for mortgage relief under the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program launched a year ago.
The guidelines specify that borrowers must provide three items to loan servicers, the companies that collect mortgage payments: a form requesting a loan modification, authorization for the servicer to seek tax information from the Internal Revenue Service and evidence of income, such as two recent pay stubs. Previously, some servicers have asked borrowers to fax in copies of their tax returns. Borrowers sometimes couldn’t find the needed tax forms or complained that servicers repeatedly lost material faxed to them.
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21 January 2010, 8:41 pm
- Robert Larsen 1/21/2010
Mortgage rates fell this week, with the third consecutive decline pushing the average for 30-year fixed-rate loans back below 5%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.
Treasury yields have declined recently, and mortgage rates tend to follow the yields.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.99% for the week ended Thursday, down from last week’s 5.06% average and 5.12% a year ago. Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.4%, down from 4.45% and 4.8%, respectively.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.27%, down from last week’s 4.32% and 5.24% a year earlier. One-year mortgages stood at 4.32%, down from 4.39% last week and 4.92% a year ago.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a news release: “ARM rates eased along with shorter-term rates, as the federal funds futures market indicates no increase in the Federal Reserve’s target rate following its upcoming committee meeting on January 26 and 27.”
According to a separate survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday, the volume of mortgage applications rose a seasonally adjusted 9.1% last week, compared with the week before.
