Federal lawmakers recently voted to keep the maximum size of loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA for high-cost areas at their current levels ($729,750 and $625,000). President Obama finally signed the legislation, thereby extending the loan limit through 2011.

The provision means homebuyers and homeowners in expensive housing markets like California, New York, Alaska and Hawaii will continue to get a break on interest rates when they purchase or refinance. Conforming loans come with cheaper interest rates versus non-conforming or so called “jumbo” mortgages, because they are backed by the government lending entities.

While most areas will remain at the $417,000 maximum loan amount, it will continue to make a huge difference in the various high cost areas that exist around the country.

Continue Reading High Cost Area Loan Limits Extended Through 2011

Tags: FHA, Interest Rates, legislature, mortgages

Bankrate has released its annual survey on home closing costs again this week. In Florida, the news was actually better than expected. For 2010, the closing costs on a $200,000 home purchase averaged $3,987, a rise of $381 over last year’s cost of $3,368. And, while still expensive, Florida’s number dropped it from No. 3 on last year’s list to No. 12 this year.

The survey found that the national average for origination and third-party fees this year totaled $3,741, up 36.6% ($1,002) from $2,739 in 2009. The results indicated the fees charged directly by lenders went up 22.8%, while fees charged by third parties for things such as appraisals and title insurance and title closing fees rose 47.2%.

Continue Reading Florida Home Closing Costs: 2010 Survey Results

Tags: buyers, Florida, Interest Rates, mortgages

Well it looks like the Feds have finally made a move that is actually going to have an immediate impact on the economy, especially the housing market.

The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it would purchase Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginny Mae for up to $500 billion. The purchases will begin next week when the Fed will buy $100 Billion worth of the securities from primary dealers through a series of competitive auctions. Shortly thereafter, they plan to have selected asset managers begin conducting additional MBS purchases up to the $500 Billion total over the next few quarters.

Continue Reading Mortgage Interest Rates Fall Substantially

Tags: FHA, Florida, Interest Rates, mortgages

Since the government announced it would be taking custody of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there has been a substantial drop in mortgage interest rates which has raised the hopes that more buyers will pull the home buying trigger and help hasten the housing market recovery.

We could not agree more with that possibility. The rate on a Conventional 30 year fixed rate loan fell to 5.75% with zero points on Tuesday, and most other mortgage loan programs followed suit. Of significant note in this change is the fact that the announcement also had a major impact on jumbo loan rates. For months, they have remained stubbornly high, as the secondary markets turned their back on the programs. That, too, appears to be changing with this announcement. For example, a true 30 year Jumbo loan is currently down to 6.875% and zero points and a 30 year Conforming Jumbo loan is at 6% and zero points. Granted, they are still higher than normal, but they are much better than the rate levels they were at just a week ago.

Continue Reading Mortgage Interest Rates Drop Substantially

Tags: Interest Rates, mortgages

Rates on 30-year mortgages have jumped to their highest level in nearly eight months, reflecting the markets increased concerns about what the Federal Reserve might have to do to battle rising inflation. The MBAA reported that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.24 percent last week. That was up sharply from 6.17 percent the week before. It was the highest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.33 percent for the week ending October 26, 2007.

Continue Reading Mortgage Interest Rates Rise Dramatically Last Week

Tags: Interest Rates, mortgages