WASHINGTON – Aug. 1, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages, which shot up last week to the highest level in nearly a year, dropped slightly this week following passage of a housing rescue bill.
Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the nationwide average for 30-year mortgages dipped to 6.52 percent this week, down from 6.63 percent last [...]

In light of the recent media buzz surrounding Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) and the Miami Herald’s investigation of more than 10,000 individuals with criminal backgrounds who were issued licenses to work in the mortgage industry, the FAMB applauds the efforts of all who have brought this long-standing problem in our industry to the [...]

The President signed the bill on July 30, 2008. The bill includes the following provisions:

GSE Reform – including a strong independent regulator, and permanent conforming loan limits up to the greater of $417,000 or 115% local area median home price, capped at $625,500. The effective date for reforms is immediate upon enactment, but the loan [...]

WASHINGTON – July 18, 2008 – Mortgage rates fell this week with 30-year mortgage rates dropping to the lowest level in six weeks as investors became less worried that the Federal Reserve would soon tighten credit policy to stall inflation.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.26 percent this week.
That [...]

Applications filed for mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 14.1% last week, as applicants shrugged off lower interest rates on fixed-rate loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.
Compared against the same week in 2007, applications dropped an unadjusted 30.3%, according to the Washington-based MBA’s latest survey. It covers about half of all U.S. retail residential [...]

President Bush is expected to sign a bill aimed at helping hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners. The US Congress passed the measure during a rare Saturday session.
The bill authorizes government backed mortgages for borrowers facing foreclosure and provides new tax credits for first time home buyers. It also imposes new standards for brokers and [...]

Two cornerstones of the economy – jobs and housing – sank to new depths Thursday, with unemployment claims bolting higher and home prices recording one of their steepest drops on record.
The bleak reports underscored the self-reinforcing cycle hampering the economy: As home prices sink, foreclosures rise, banks feel pressure to shy away from lending and [...]

Matching a statewide trend, more Santa Clara County homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments in the second quarter of this year than during any quarter on record, a real estate information company reported today.
Mortgage lenders sent 3,751 “notices of default” to homeowners in the county in the April-to-June period, according to DataQuick Information Systems. [...]

The highest 30-year mortgage rates in a year eroded demand for U.S. home loan applications last week, according to an industry trade group on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted application index dropped 6.2% in the week ending July 18 to 489.6, with a 6.59% 30-year mortgage rate depressing applications for purchases and refinancing.
Average [...]

A Bush administration plan to support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost U.S. taxpayers $25 billion, congressional analysts said on Tuesday in a report that fueled debate as Congress took steps to approve a housing market rescue package.
The report sparked fresh declines in the value of the Fannie and Freddie shares that have already [...]