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Rates on 30-year mortgages this week were unchanged from the previous week, staying slightly above the lowest level in decades.
The average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.37 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Earlier this month, the rate dipped to 4.32 percent, which was the lowest level on records dating back to 1971.
U.S. home loan demand fell for a third straight week though fixed mortgage rates slid near all-time lows, with potential buyers still unnerved by the jobs market, Mortgage Bankers Association data showed on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Discover Financial Services, fresh from a deal to buy Citigroup’s private student loan assets, is also considering ways to enter the mortgage and checking businesses, Chief Executive David Nelms told Reuters on Monday. Get the full story »
U.S. home-builder sentiment remained stuck at a 1-1/2-year low in September, the latest suggestion the sector is in for a painful and prolonged climb back to health.
The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said Monday that their Housing Market Index for single family homes held for the second straight month at 13 — the lowest level since March 2009. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 14.
A reading above 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. The index has not been above 50 since April 2006. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg News | A survey from the Pew Research Center found that more than one-third of Americans say it’s acceptable to stop paying a mortgage and walk away from one’s home under some circumstances.
Mortgage rates mostly edged up last week as investors’ fears about the economy eased.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.35 percent, up from 4.32 percent the week before. It was only the second rise in 12 weeks. Last week’s was the lowest number since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. Get the full story »
There will be no seventh annual Chicago Luxury Home Tour this fall.
Greenspring Media Group, the Midwest Home magazine offshoot that organized the annual event, is mothballing the tour for a year because it couldn’t secure enough high-end new homes to make it worth consumers’ while. Get the full story »
A woman fills out a form to receive more information after touring a new home for sale in St. Louis, Aug. 25, 2010. Mortgage rates continue to drop. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.
Rock-bottom rates offer a glimmer of hope for a housing market that has failed to find footing in the aftermath of the expiration of popular home buyer tax credits.
Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.32 percent for the week ended September 2, down from the previous week’s 4.36 percent and its year-ago level of 5.08 percent, according to the survey. Get the full story »
Home prices in the Chicago area rose for the third straight month in June, raising them up to a level equivalent with a year ago, new data released Tuesday shows.
While Chicago’s one-month price gains were greater than many of the cities in the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, national economic trends are likely to temper future home price appreciation, economists said.
“It’s a mixed bag,” said Yale economics professor Robert Shiller, “Corporate profits are still strong, inventories are low and that’s supposed to be a positive indicator. But confidence is a major driver of the economy. What really bothers me is the very high level of long-term unemployment.” Get the full story »
Almost one in 10 of Illinois’ 1.7 million home mortgage loans were at least 30 days past due in the second quarter, a troubling sign that might spell more foreclosures in the future, according to new data released Thursday. Get the full story »
A home for sale in Kildeer, Ill. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
U.S. mortgage rates fell in the latest week to the lowest on record and posted their ninth drop in the last ten weeks, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. Get the full story »
Federal regulators say former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo personally approved mortgages for favored borrowers that violated the company’s policies and lending standards.
The Securities and Exchange Commission had previously accused Mozilo of civil fraud and illegal insider trading. Now, the agency says Mozilo played a direct role in a program for preferential borrowers that has been the focus of congressional ethics inquiries. Get the full story »
According to data from research firm CoreLogic, prepared for the Wall Street Journal, losses from mortgage fraud rose 17 percent last year after declining 57 percent in 2008. And the scams are getting more sophisticated to counter tighter rules put in place after the market collapse.
The Treasury Department said Friday that the nation’s housing market “remains fragile” and reported that far fewer delinquent mortgage borrowers received loan modifications through a federal government program in July than they did in June. Get the full story »
Homes in Oak Park. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows amid concerns about the state of the U.S. economy, according to a survey released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.
Rock-bottom rates should continue to spur demand for home loan refinancing, putting extra cash into consumers’ hands that they can save, use to pay off existing debt or funnel into the economy through extra spending.
Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.42 percent for the week ended Aug. 19, down from the previous week’s 4.44 percent and its year-ago level of 5.12 percent, according to the survey. Get the full story »
