Ginnie Mae recently announced that during the month of September, the agency guaranteed $31.22 billion in mortgage-backed securities. More than $27.54 billion in single-family pools were issued in Ginnie Mae II along with $3.68 billion for single-family pools with Ginnie Mae I. Ginnie Mae initiated $2.48 billion in multifamily mortgage-backed securities last month as well. […]
Mortgage News Daily recently reported that four members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee have introduced legislation that would control how the increase in guarantee fees levied by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are used and when the stock in the two companies can be approved for sale. The Jumpstart GSE Reform […]
The housing market may be impacted by the possibility of a government shutdown. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 7 that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan told Senate lawmakers that he is “very concerned” that if the government shuts down as a result of lawmakers failing to reach an agreement on a […]
Freddie Mac reported this week that the average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 4.80% last week to 4.81% this week. Meanwhile, the average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 4.09% last week to 4.08% this week. The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.69%, compared to 3.70% last […]
Bloomberg reported today that U.S. banks may face more than $100 billion in costs as more investors demand that issuers of mortgage-backed securities repurchase bad loans. According to Paul Miller of FBR Capital Markets, U.S. banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. could face a price tag between $54 billion […]
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the Obama administration is launching a mortgage aid program which is aimed at reducing mortgage balances for homeowners who are currently underwater but are not in default. The federal government has set aside $14 billion as a way to modify between 500,000 and 1.5 million underwater loans that […]
Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported today that it could cost U.S. taxpayers between $160 billion and $1 trillion to fix government-owned mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — even after receiving $145 billion in bailout money from the government. That amount, according to the article, is greater than the bailouts granted to American International Group Inc., […]
Reuters is reporting that foreign investors — discouraged and anxious about the debt incurred by Greece and the ensuing problems of other Euro zone economies as the result — are turning to U.S. mortgage-backed securities as a viable investment option. From January 2009 to March 2010 — as a way to spur the housing market […]
After weeks of seeing mortgage rates take off since the government stopped buying mortgage-backed securities last month, mortgage rates have fallen for the first time this week. Reuters reported today that interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.07% for the week ending April 15, down from 5.21% the week before. Last week’s rate was […]
The Associated Press reported today that the average rate for a 30-year mortgage has climbed to 5.3%. While this may be good news for those who put their homes on the market, those seeking to obtain a low-interest mortgage to buy a home may have a difficult time achieving “the American dream.” The jump in […]