Election Summary Stocks and bonds both rallied yesterday. MBS prices were better by .5 in price on the lower coupons, and .375 in the slightly higher ones on $1.7 billion in origination. The yield on the 10-yr closed at 2.59%. The election results came in after the US markets closed, but were pretty much as
Mortgage Insurance
Bank Earnings Banks have virtually doubled 3Q earnings by injecting $8.1 billion into net income from funds they had set aside to cover loan losses. The 18 commercial banks with at least $50 billion in assets earned an adjusted $17 billion in the third quarter – almost half of which came from reducing their loan-loss
A mortgage borrower with less than 20% down must pay for either FHA government mortgage insurance or private mortgage insurance (PMI). FHA mortgage insurance is increasing Monday October 4 which could mean a shift to PMI, but read this primer before doing anything. The mortgage insurance hike means higher monthly cost if you don’t have
Rate/Market Recap Week of September 27 Rates were unchanged last week: 30yr fixed rates were 4.32% with .8 points, which tied a record low set September 2. This figure is the national average for owner-occupied single family home loans up to $417,000. Rates held lows for three reasons: (1) Q2 economic growth was finalized at
Everyone in the FHA business knows that Monday is a big day. FHA will lower its upfront mortgage insurance premium (except for HECM’s) while simultaneously increasing the annual premium, which is collected on a monthly basis. This change will affect purchase money and refinance transactions, including FHA-to-FHA credit-qualifying and non-credit-qualifying streamlined refinance loans. Here’s the
Private Mortgage Insurance Improving On the mortgage insurance front, PMI will be increasing its maximum LTV to 97% effective October 8. It is a good sign for many in the industry, and loans must have a minimum 720 credit score, be in non-distressed markets, owner-occupied, conforming, originated only through a retail channel, etc. And it
Bank Failure Update: 125 Failures & Counting A total of six banks were shut down Friday, three in Georgia and one each in New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin, thus hitting the 125 mark for U.S. bank failures this year – and we’re not even done with the 3rd quarter. Gone are Bank of Ellijay, First
Rates ended last week even vs. previous week. Record low rates are holding as we head into the September 20 week. Rates and fine-print below. Also below are three topics: (1) Fed meeting and home sales preview, (2) critical alert on FHA loan cost increases, and (3) advice for refinancers. Rate Factors Week of September
FHA Loan Fee Increases: Hundreds Per Month For Borrowers Effective for FHA loans October 4, 2010 or later, FHA mortgage insurance (MI) will be increasing on new loans—existing FHA borrowers are unaffected. Using money from MI premiums, the FHA helps troubled borrowers and backs lenders if loans go into foreclosure. Mounting foreclosures in recent years
FHA Mortgage Insurance Hike Oct. 4, Fannie’s Negative Net Worth, Treasury Stance On Underwater Refis
FHA Mortgage Insurance Increasing October 4 FHA mortgage insurance will be increasing as of October 4, 2010 because the FHA insurance pool only has $3.5 billion in cash and Treasury securities left in its “capital reserve account” The money sitting in the CRA represents a 71% decline in just the last three months. The Mutual
Finreg Summary For Lenders The Financial Reform Bill passed the Senate, and will no doubt be signed by President Obama. It is 2,300 pages. From my limited view, there are hundreds of thousands of questions for regulators and investors to answer in the next several months (at least), and most large mortgage companies are doing
State of Home Equity Credit Lines Crying out for home equity lines? Although many investors offer them through retail, wholesale, and correspondent channels, others do not. Don’t look for that to change any time in the near future as investors are dealing with many buy-back issues. That being said, reports from rating agencies such as
Reshuffling Of Fed Members Is the economy really in good enough shape for the Fed to start selling their $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities? I don’t think so, but maybe the press doesn’t have enough else to talk about, so the Fed possibly lightning up on their balance sheet has been receiving some publicity. Federal
Bank & Credit Union Closures The FDIC shut down Beach First National Bank, and the branches have re-opened this morning as Bank of North Carolina. Per the press release, Beach First was heavily invested in coastal real estate development. But banks are not the only savings institutions that are shut down. Connecticut’s South End Mutual
Bank & Credit Union Closures The FDIC shut down Beach First National Bank, and the branches have re-opened this morning as Bank of North Carolina. Per the press release, Beach First was heavily invested in coastal real estate development. But banks are not the only savings institutions that are shut down. Connecticut’s South End Mutual
Have A Roommate This Recession? You’re Not Alone The MBAA continues to churn out reports. The latest shows that in the four years (2005 through 2008) the US population increased by 3.4 million but that the number of households declined by 1.2 million. And if the number of households (demand) goes down, prices must drop
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