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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: mortgage rates

mortgage rates stories: 25 news summaries

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(Newser) - New home sales jumped 11% in June, the biggest gain in eight years, the Commerce Department announced today, as the supply fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. With mortgage rates and prices staggeringly low—the median home price fell 12%—buyers came out of the woodwork.... More »

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real estate • housing market • economic indicators • home sales • mortgage rates • interest rate • home prices • new home sales

Burgeoning Interest Rates Threaten to Stifle Recovery

Demand for refinancing shrivels as 30-year rates hit 5.75%

Jun 11, 09 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The steady rise in interest rates over recent weeks is threatening to trample the green shoots of recovery in the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates on 30-year mortgages hit 5.79% yesterday, more than a point above the 4.75% "trigger" level analysts say spurred the... More »

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inflation • mortgage • US economy • mortgage rates • interest rate • refinanced mortgages

(Newser) - Pending sales of existing US homes soared in April, posting their largest jump since October 2001. Combined with a 3.2% jump in March, the 6.7% increase in April—far more than the forecast 0.5%—suggests a longer-term upward trend, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dipping prices, low... More »

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housing market • mortgage • home sales • mortgage rates • home prices • existing home sales • tax credit • existing-home sales

'F@$%! I Wish I'd Refinanced My House'

With mortgage rates rising, homeowners regret not acting sooner

May 31, 09 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Many homeowners are kicking themselves for not refinancing sooner now that mortgage rates are climbing, ABC News reports. “I was going to save $325 a month, and that covers all kind of things, from gas to groceries,” lamented one. “$325 is a lot of money.” And... More »

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housing market • Federal Reserve • economist • mortgage rates • homeowners • refinanced mortgages

 Mortgage Rates 
 Hit 3-Month High 

Housing and consumer-spending rebound hopes endangered

May 29, 09 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mortgage rates jumped to a three-month high yesterday, putting hopes for a rebound in the housing market and consumer spending at risk, the Wall Street Journal reports. The average 30-year fixed rate hit 5.44% from 5.29% the day before and 5.03% Tuesday. The rates make it tougher... More »

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housing market • consumer spending • mortgage rates • mortgage defaults • mortgage delinquency

(Newser) - The country’s top lenders are slowly implementing the Obama administration’s plan to help otherwise ineligible borrowers to refinance their mortgages at the current bargain-basement rates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The program is open to those with mortgages owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae who are... More »

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housing market • mortgage • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • refinanced mortgages • Obama administration

Analysis

 Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower 


Mar 20, 09 8:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - The extraordinary measures the Fed has taken to reduce long-term mortgage rates may have hit their limits. Lenders are now quoting an average rate of 4.75% on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, and that’s probably as cheap as it’s going to get, says James Hagerty of the Wall ... More »

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Federal Reserve • mortgage • mortgage rates

 Scammers Set Sights on 
 Desperate Homeowners 

Calif. AG: Be 'deeply skeptical' of offers to help refinance

Mar 16, 09 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - A record 5.4 million homeowners across the country are behind on their mortgages, and scam artists are looking to cash in, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Ads offering help lowering mortgage payments are everywhere. But these "loan negotiators" usually provide services that homeowners can handle on their own,... More »

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housing market • foreclosure • scam • mortgage rates • refinanced mortgages • economic stimulus package • mortgage delinquency

 Mortgage Rates Plunge 
 to Lowest Ever 

But plunging house values make refinancing impossible for many homeowners

Jan 16, 09 2:12 AM CST
(Newser) - The benchmark 30-year mortgage interest rate has fallen below 5% for the first time ever as the collapsing economy continues to force interest rates down. Adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.25%, reports MarketWatch. But many homeowners can't take advantage of the new low rates to refinance because the value of... More »

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Federal Reserve • Freddie Mac • Treasury Department • mortgage rates • interest rate • adjustable-rate mortgages • 30-year mortgage • Palm Beach Financial Network

Mortgage Refinancing Rush Continues Into New Year

30-year fixed mortgage rate is lowest on record

Jan 14, 09 3:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Homeowners continue to scramble for refinancing in order to lock in currently low interest rates, MarketWatch reports, with applications jumping 25.6% last week, to the highest level since June 2003. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 0.10% for the week ending Jan. 9, to... More »

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mortgage • mortgage rates • interest rate • refinanced mortgages • refinancing

Senate Homeowner Aid
Moves Big Step Closer

Citi drops opposition to Senate proposal

Jan 9, 09 9:02 AM CST
(Newser) - A Senate plan to help struggling homeowners keep their houses moved closer to fruition yesterday as Citigroup ended its opposition to the bill, the Wall Street Journal reports. The measure would allow so-called “cramdowns,” in which judges in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases could set lower principal and interest... More »

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Senate • foreclosure • mortgage • mortgage rates • mortgage debt • Dick Durbin • refinanced mortgages

30-Year Mortgage Rates
Fall to Record Low 5.01%

Fed buys $10.2B in agency mortgage bonds

Jan 8, 09 5:08 PM CST
(Newser) - Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to a record low 5.01% this week, Bloomberg reports. The drop—the 10th weekly fall in a row—comes as the Federal Reserve purchased $10.2 billion of mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae as part of a... More »

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Federal Reserve • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • interest rate • bond market • securities • mortgage backed securities

 Mortgage 
 Applications 
 Leap 48% 

Low rates bring out the borrowers

Dec 24, 08 9:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Mortgage applications skyrocketed last week, shooting up 48% from the previous week, and 124.6% over the same week last year, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey. The borrowing blowout was prompted by falling mortgage rates, which left the 30-year fixed-rate at its lowest level since June 2003,... More »

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housing market • mortgage • Mortgage Bankers Association • mortgage rates

ANALYSIS

Fed Cut Won't Translate Into Much for Consumers ... Yet

Its plans to buy more debt may unfreeze market in '09, but consumer rates stuck for now

Dec 17, 08 9:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Consumers hoping for lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages after the Federal Reserve dropped a key interest rate to near 0% yesterday aren’t likely to get a break soon, reports MarketWatch. But loans could be easier to get once the Fed’s other actions—buying... More »

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student loans • credit card • mortgage rates • interest rate • interest rate cut • consumer credit • financial crisis

Bernanke Plugs More Help
for US Homeowners

Fed chief outlines ideas for public, private sector to slow foreclosures

Dec 4, 08 4:54 PM CST
(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says more must be done to halt record US home-foreclosure rates, the New York Times reports. The Federal Reserve chief suggested several options today, including the government buying bad mortgages en masse and refinancing them through a government-insured program, and strengthening a scheme aimed at lowering homeowners’ monthly... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • foreclosure • mortgage • mortgage rates • mortgage debt • housing bubble • mortgage defaults • mortgage delinquency • financial crisis

 Mortgage-Rate Drop 
 Sets off Refinancing Rush 

The biggest rate drop in seven years sends homeowners to banks looking for deals

Nov 26, 08 8:30 AM CST
(Newser) - The biggest one-day decline in mortgage rates in 7 years set off a frenzy of refinancing yesterday, as homeowners who'd been waiting for a bargain jumped into the market. The nearly one-point decline was prompted by the Fed's $600 billion commitment to buy mortgage-backed securities, reports Bloomberg. "It's the... More »

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Federal Reserve • home sales • mortgage rates • financial crisis • refinancing

Mortgage Rates Fall After Fannie, Freddie Bailout

Average 30-year
loan rates drop
nearly half a point

Sep 10, 08 2:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sent mortgage rates plummeting today, MSNBC reports. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped nearly half a percentage point to 5.88%, dipping below 6% for the first time since January. The average rate for a 15-year loan is down to... More »

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Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • bailout • financial crisis

Fannie, Freddie Deal May
Ease Rates, Cut Foreclosures

Federal takeover may help refresh housing market as dust settles

Sep 8, 08 7:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - How will the government’s seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac affect homeowners and buyers? In the short term, the New York Times says, interest rates may fall some, but probably not enough to stop the slide in home prices. Some facing foreclosure could have a better chance at... More »

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takeover • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • subprime crisis • financial crisis

Pressure Mounts for a Freddie, Fannie Bailout

Investors want Treasury to take the lead on mortgage giants sooner rather than later

Aug 20, 08 9:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - A federal bailout for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac looks more likely every day, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times report, as the mortgage giants find it increasingly difficult to borrow and their stock continues to take a pounding. Freddie was able to auction $3 billion... More »

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Henry Paulson • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • housing crisis • bailout • financial crisis

 Mortgage Rates
 Surge to
 5-Year High 

Problems with Freddie, Fannie threaten further woes for housing market

Jul 23, 08 7:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mortgage rates rose yesterday to a 5-year high of 6.71% as investors worried that—even with government intervention—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wouldn’t play as big a role in the $12 trillion US mortgage market as in the past, reports the New York Times. The rising rates... More »

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mortgage • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • mortgage backed securities

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