Maggie Moore's – Short Sale Scene

The New York Times
Customized mortgages aren’t new, but industry experts say they are seeing more and more borrowers opt for fixed-rate loans with terms other than the standard 30 or 15 years, especially when it comes to refinancings.
Read the full story
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/realestate/mortgages-loan-terms-made-to-order.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

The New York Times

When borrowers choose a fixed-rate loan for a home purchase or refinancing, only one part of the monthly mortgage statement is ever likely to change: The escrow amount.
Read the full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/realestate/mortgages-shrinking-the-escrow.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

In the fourth quarter of 2011, 85 percent of homeowners who refinanced their first-lien home mortgage either maintained about the same loan amount or lowered their principal balance by paying-in additional money at the closing table, a 26-year high, according to Freddie Mac. Of these borrowers, 37 percent maintained about the same loan amount, and 49 percent of refinancing homeowners reduced their principal balance; this latter percentage reflecting “cash-in” borrowers was the highest in the 26-year history of the analysis.

“Cash-out” borrowers, those that increased their loan balance by at least five percent, represented 15 percent of all refinance loans, the lowest percentage in the 26 years of analysis; the average cash-out share during the 1985 to 2010 period was 46 percent.

The median interest rate reduction for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was about 1.4 percentage points, or a savings of about 26 percent in interest rate.

More info

The Mercury News

Mortgage interest rates, near all-time lows, are likely to remain attractive throughout 2012.  That means opportunities for new home buyers and for homeowners who want to refinance.
Read the full story:
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19683720

Homeowners who had a mortgage loan on a primary residence and who believe were financially harmed during the mortgage foreclosure process by GMAC Mortgage, HSBC Finance Corporation, SunTrust Mortgage, or EMC Mortgage in 2009 or 2010 can request an independent review and potentially receive compensation.

The review is intended to determine if borrowers suffered financial harm directly resulting from errors, misrepresentations, or other deficiencies that may have occurred during the foreclosure process. The servicers are required to compensate borrowers for financial injury resulting from deficiencies in their foreclosure processes.

A number of servicers supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are also required to conduct independent reviews.

Borrowers are eligible for an independent foreclosure review if

• the property securing the loan was the borrower’s primary residence;
• the mortgage was in the foreclosure process (initiated, pending, or completed) at any time between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010; and
• the mortgage was serviced by one of the mortgage servicers listed here.

There are no costs associated with being included in the review; the review is a free program. Borrowers should beware of anyone who wants payment to assist with the independent foreclosure review or any other foreclosure assistance program.

Requests for review by the servicers’ independent consultants must be received by April 30, 2012.  Borrowers are encouraged to carefully consider the information about the review program to determine if they are eligible to participate.

More info

The Wall Street Journal

Mortgage rates are expected to remain very low at least through mid-2012, while housing activity improves slightly, according to Freddie Mac’s economic and housing outlook.

Read the full story
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/12/14/freddie-low-mortgage-rates-to-hang-around-next-year/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Real Estate_BLOGSDEVELOPMENTSFEED

The Wall Street Journal

With the monthly cost of owning a home more affordable now than at any point in the past 15 years, homeownership is becoming less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities.

Making sense of the story

• The Wall Street Journal’s third-quarter survey of housing-market conditions in 28 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas found that home values declined in all but five markets compared with the second quarter, according to data from Zillow Inc.
• Meanwhile, rent levels have risen briskly across the country and mortgage rates, hovering around 4 percent, are the lowest in six decades.
• As a result, monthly mortgage payments on the median priced home – including taxes and insurance – are lower than the average rent levels in 12 metro areas, according to data compiled by Marcus & Millichap.
• Homeownership also is looking more affordable because after several years of declines, apartment rents will rise approximately 4 percent this year, and rents are poised to pick up even more momentum across the country next year, according to Marcus & Millichap.
• Affordability could continue to improve as prices slide even lower in coming months.  Price declines are likely because the share of “distressed” sales, including bank-owned foreclosures, tend to rise in the winter, when traditional sales activity cools.

Read the full story
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203764804577060502694077494.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties fell to 7.99 percent in the third quarter, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. This is the lowest level recorded since the fourth quarter of 2008.
The third quarter seasonally adjusted rate of 7.99 percent is a decrease of 45 basis points from the second quarter of 2011, and a decrease of 114 basis points from one year ago. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate increased nine basis points to 8.20 percent this quarter from 8.11 percent last quarter.
The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started during the third quarter rose 12 basis points from last quarter, but were down 26 basis points from one year ago. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the third quarter was 4.43 percent, unchanged from the second quarter and four basis points higher than one year ago.
More info

Congress will decide this week whether to reinstate the limit on government-backed home loans in high-cost areas to $729,750.

Read the full story
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/15/BUIQ1LV1P3.DTL

Consumers currently home shopping or planning to refinance, need to decide on a specific mortgage program and do research to decide which will be the best fit for their situation.
Read the full story
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19249844