Key Points • Mortgage interest rates rose last week, but that didn't throw any cold water on the mini-refinance boom that's been going on for the last month. • Applications to refinance a home loan rose 4% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. • But mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 4% for the week. Mortgage interest rates rose last week, but that Continue Reading

• The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage was at 3.75% last Friday. By Thursday, it had dropped to 3.62%, according to Mortgage News Daily. • Rates are now about 1.25 percentage point lower than they were at this time last year. • For the average borrower taking out a $300,000 mortgage, that is a savings of about $225 on the monthly payment, or $2,700 per year. Fall homebuyers Continue Reading

•Today's mortgage holders saw their home equity increase by 4.8% annually at the end of the second quarter. This is a collective gain of nearly $428 billion, according to CoreLogic. •Break it down by borrower, and the average homeowner with a mortgage gained $4,900 in home equity in just one year. •From the first to the second quarters of this year, the number of mortgaged residential properties Continue Reading

KEY POINTS • The average rate on the 30-year fixed is now 20 basis points higher than it was on Monday and 36 basis points higher than its last low on Sept. 4, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the biggest short-term jump since the week following the election of President Trump. • When rates dipped to their recent low, the number of borrowers with good credit scores and at least 20% Continue Reading

The risky mortgage is making a comeback. More than a decade after home loans triggered the worst financial crisis in a generation, the strict lending requirements put in place during its aftermath are starting to erode. Home buyers with low credit scores or high debt levels as well as those lacking traditional employment are finding it easier to get credit. The loans have been rebranded. Largely Continue Reading

Announces long-awaited changes to eligibility requirements that include individual unit approval The Federal Housing Administration has finally issued a long-awaited update to its condominium rules, announcing Wednesday that it will now allow individual unit approval and is taking other steps to loosen requirements that make these properties eligible for FHA financing. Under Continue Reading

You may benefit even if you can’t reduce your mortgage rate by a full percentage point. Mortgage rates have dropped to levels not seen since 2016, and homeowners are rushing to refinance. You can benefit even if you don’t cut your rate by a full percentage point—a rule of thumb you can safely ignore. The question is whether you will stay in your home long enough to recoup the closing costs with Continue Reading

Mortgage rates dipped slightly to a nearly three-year low because of concern about a potential global economic slowdown and some weak home sale news. According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 3.75 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount and are in addition to the interest Continue Reading