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 [...]

Rates on 30-year mortgages have risen for a second straight week, climbing to the highest level in a month.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.10 percent this week, up slightly from 6.09 percent last week. It was the highest level since 30-year mortgages averaged 6.35 percent for the week [...]

Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply again this week, falling to the lowest level in seven months.
On Thursday, Freddie Mac’s nationwide survey found that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages had declined to 5.78 percent from 5.93 percent the previous week.
It was the fifth consecutive weekly decline and dropped the 30-year mortgage rate to the lowest level since [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]