Google has built built out its mortgage rate searches by launching a comparison tool for consumers. Lenders who want to be in searches must pay for the privilege.

Rates remain near 2011 lows for the same reasons discussed last Thursday’s market recap: questionable economic recovery.

It’s almost a certainty that the super-conforming loan level in the higher-priced areas will indeed drop to $625,500 from $729,750 on October 1. Here are new loan limit memos from Fannie Mae and FHFA, and here’s an an MSNBC story on jumbo loan implications.

When it comes to powerful women, how does the FDIC’s Sheila Bair—our nation’s top bank regulator—stack up against Lady Gaga or Katie Couric?

Jumbo mortgage volume is very dependent on location. So what are borrowers in high cost areas thinking when it comes to obtaining a jumbo loan? Linda Stern of Reuters reminds us that conforming loan limit caps for high cost areas will be reduced from $729,750 to $625,500 effective October 1, and says that some borrowers [...]

Merrill Lynch/Banc of America sent out a list of recent REIT filings, which continue at a record pace. Last week I was on a panel at a conference in California focused on the future of jumbo lending, and residential mortgage REIT’s may figure prominently in that. REIT’s clearly have become, with their leverage of 5×1, [...]

In stark contrast to the last installment in our series, a grim post Fannie/Freddie world is predicted by Mad Hedge Fund Trader. Click image for info on who wrote the full post, and his key excerpts with future home price and mortgage rate estimates are below.

FHA Commissioner David Stevens resigned Thursday and will vacate his post end-of-April. Former mortgage banker Stevens stepped in July 2009 and helmed the FHA during a tricky time: FHA-insured home loans were jolted back into relevance when Congress drastically increased FHA loan limits to (regional caps of) $729,750. But this increase happened in a crisis [...]

In the latest update on our series about a post-Fannie/Freddie lending world, we strongly recommend this post from NakedCapitalism: GSE 2.0 Scare Tactics: False Claim That No Government Guarantee = No 30yr Mortgage. Below is an excerpt about rates for non-Fannie/Freddie (aka jumbo) mortgages, and this follows our Part 1 and Part 2 discussions of [...]

What Loans Are In A Jumbo Mortgage Bond? Details of the latest Redwood Trust March 1st deal are emerging. The $290 million residential MBS are backed by 303 loans, roughly 2/3 from First Republic Bank and the rest by PHH Mortgage. The average loan size is $977,000 with a mix of 30-yr fixed rate and [...]