Man Using Child’s Social Security Number Hit For Fraud A man in Houston, TX just pled guilty in a mortgage fraud scheme. So these days, just what does using a child’s Social Security number to secure funds for mortgages and committing wire fraud get you? The sentencing of 39-year-old Adrian Levale Cole isn’t until September, [...]

The S&P Case Shiller April 2010 report of existing home sales showed year-over-year 3.8% price gains averaged across 20 major metropolitan areas, which brings prices back to the same level they were in late-summer 2003. S&P cited the homebuyer tax credit (which homebuyers had to be in contract by April 30 to be eligible for) [...]

Securities and Mortgage Associations Weigh In On Reform The Security Industry and Financial Markets Association published a comprehensive guide to the Financial Reform Bill. It appears that, in the mortgage section, most of the details are left to either regulators or investors. The Mortgage Bankers Association also weighed in.

Rates continue their run down this morning on doubts about the economy and the latest inflation report confirming tame prices. Overall Personal Consumption Expenditures, the Fed’s favorite measure of consumer inflation, were 0.2% in May and 1.9% year-over-year through May. Excluding volatile oil and food costs from the readings, “Core” PCE price index was unchanged [...]

How Many Can Refi vs. How Many Qualify There was a story in the Wall Street Journal wondering “But if rates are so low, why isn’t demand for new loans picking up? For one, most borrowers who could refinance probably did so last year, when rates fell below 5% in March, August, and December. Many [...]

The third of three 1Q2010 GDP readings came in today at 2.7% which makes the final reading .5% lower than the initial reading, and it’s now even more significantly lower than 4Q’s +5.6% reading. Stocks lost ground and mortgage bonds rallied on the news, which helped mortgage rates hold onto record lows. The consumer spending [...]

There sure seems to be a lot of confusion and unanswered questions out there, and unfortunately almost every answer lies in the halls of Congress—and it appears this morning they’ve reached some agreement. Here are summaries from Bloomberg and CNNMoney, which still leave this open list of questions for mortgage borrowers and lenders:

Every Thursday, Freddie Mac releases its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). This is the official record on mortgage rates and source material for the overwhelming majority of rate reports in the media—reports that very often exclude critical details rate shoppers need to know. Since the one-day market crash May 6, mortgage bonds have rallied to [...]

Short Sales Take 6-13 Months A study put out by Deutsche Bank ranked GMAC ranked as the top servicer among all prime mortgage servicers based on short sale timelines – six months! The investment bank’s survey showed that a short sale generated a higher recovery than an REO sale. For “prime” short sales, GMAC was [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee voted today to keep the overnight bank-to-bank Fed Funds Rate steady at 0-0.25% and the overnight Fed-to-bank discount rate at .75%, citing subdued inflation that’s likely to continue for “some time.” For the fourth straight meeting in 2010, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig dissented on the belief that modest [...]