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.

Tags: Interest Rates, mortgages

The number of FHA loans issued shot up 126 percent in the first quarter of 2008 even though they still make up a just small part of the overall mortgage market. Demand for these often-neglected mortgages is surging because they do not require the higher down payments or stellar credit scores that lenders expect from borrowers for conventional loans. In addition, the amount of money people can borrow on these loans is up dramatically this year and many homeowners now find them attractive once again for both purchases and refinancing alike.

Tags: FHA, mortgages

HUD has announced a 30-day extension, to June 12, 2008, for the public to comment on the proposed new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) rule. The announcement came just days before the initial comment period was set to end and on the heels of a letter HUD received signed by 149 members of Congress.

The Congressional letter referenced the extensive nature of the RESPA reform proposal and the fact that some aspects of the proposed changes had not previously been the subject of public comment. In addition, the letter stated that further analysis was needed on the proposed rule’s interaction with state and federal laws and regulations including the Federal Reserve Board’s recent proposal to amend its Truth in Lending Act regulations.

Tags: , HUD, legislature, mortgages, RESPA

By an 8-2 vote, the Federal Reserve Board’s Open Market Committee cut both the Fed Funds and Discounts rates by 25 basis points this afternoon. The move lowers the Fed Funds rate to 2.00 and the Discount rate to 2.25. In lock step after the announcement, most the major banks immediately lowered the Prime rate to 5.00.

In their post meeting remarks, the FOMC said that economic activity in the U.S. remains weak and the move in rates should help promote moderate growth over time. In addition, they made a point to stress that the Fed will monitor inflation and price stability closely (as some indicators of inflation continue to rise) and will adjust their stance on interest rates accordingly.

Tags: Interest Rates, mortgages

Welcome to Gulf Coast Associates, Realtors® and Metro Mortgage Company’s new Southwest Florida Blog. We hope to provide you with some valuable insights into both the real estate and mortgage markets throughout Florida and beyond.

Up until now, we did all of our blogging over at Real Estate Webmasters. Our Southwest Florida Real Estate blog at REW has been a great success - we’ve had over 100,000 page views over the past few months. At this time in our company’s growth cycle we’d like to expand our web presence by participating in another arena. This is a place where we can share the latest information for our industries with you and open dialogues for education and advice. Having this new blog as part of our own website will give us both that opportunity.

Tags: mortgages, real estate