WASHINGTON Dec. 8, 2008 After the government announced last month that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would take new steps to modify tens of thousands of mortgages to make them more affordable, some executives expressed concerns that the moves could weaken their already struggling companies.
Fannie Maes chief executive, Herbert M. Allison Jr., acknowledged [...]
By Gregory Arzumanov
WASHINGTON – Dec. 1, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages sank for a fourth straight week, falling below 6 percent for the first time since early October, and are heading lower due to the government’s massive new effort to aid the U.S. housing market.
Further drops are likely, analysts said, reflecting the market’s positive [...]
By Gregory Arzumanov -
Nov. 14, 2008 – Mortgage rates dropped for a second straight week, reflecting the impact the weakening economy is having on financial markets.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.14 percent this week, down from 6.20 percent last week. It marked a sharp decline [...]
“If You Can’t Sell, Remodel” has become the unofficial slogan for legions of American homeowners convinced that basement remodeling provides a practical alternative to labored attempts to sell homes for profit amid an economic and housing downturn. In the all-new report, Trends and Opportunities in the U.S. Basement Remodeling Market, market research publisher SBI forecasts [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) Nov. 7, 2008 Mortgage rates dropped this week, providing a dose of welcome news to prospective homebuyers.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.20 percent for the week ending Nov. 6. That was down sharply from 6.46 percent last week.
The retreat in mortgages rates [...]
The central bank on Wednesday reduced its target for the federal funds rate, the interest banks charge on overnight loans, to 1 percent, a low last seen in 2003-2004. The funds rate has not been lower since 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower was president.
In a brief statement explaining Wednesdays action, the Fed said the “intensification of [...]
There is bipartisan agreement today that stemming home foreclosures and restructuring troubled mortgages would slow the downward spiral harming financial institutions and the real American economy. The federal government possesses a range of tools to take action, but what’s missing is a way to persuade the mortgage servicers who control most of these loans on [...]
WASHINGTON – Oct. 24, 2008 – Rates on 30-year U.S. mortgages dropped sharply this week, falling to the lowest level in five weeks.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.04 percent this week, down from 6.46 percent last week. The sharp decline pushed 30-year rates down to the lowest level since [...]
Mortgage lenders have helped nearly 2.5 million troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure since the mortgage meltdown began in the summer of 2007.
That’s according to the latest report from Hope Now, the coalition of banks, mortgage-securities investors and housing counselors formed by the Bush administration to stem the foreclosure crisis.
Hope Now members helped 212,000 borrowers stay in [...]
WASHINGTON – Oct. 24, 2008 – Rates on 30-year U.S. mortgages dropped sharply this week, falling to the lowest level in five weeks.
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.04 percent this week, down from 6.46 percent last week. The sharp decline pushed 30-year rates down to the lowest level since [...]