Econintersect: Residential real estate mortgages are in record low territory – which continues to send economic warning signals over two years after the end of the Great Recession. According to the Mortage Bankers Association:
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (> $417,500) decreased to 4.55 percent from 4.57 percent, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 4.07 percent from 4.08 percent, with points increasing to 0.51 from 0.48 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
Econintersect continues to cover the housing markets with several interesting articles this past week:
Mortgage Mess Liabilities Sap Banks
Housing Market has Changed – Risks are not Recognized
Housing: More Foreclosure and Mortgage Issuance Problems
Mortgage Industry Whistleblower Wins Case against Bank of America
Mortgage applications increased 0.6% week-over-week (Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 16, 2011). Other data:
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 78.3 percent of total applications from 76.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.7 percent from 7.3 percent of total applications from the previous week.
During the month of August, the investor share of applications for home purchase was at 5.7 percent, a slight increase from 5.5 percent in July. This change was led by an increase in the Pacific region. In addition, the share of purchase mortgages for second homes increased to 6.0 percent in August from 5.9 percent in July.
Hat tip to Calculated Risk for the following graph.
source: MBA, Calculated Risk
