For Evansville homeowners and soon-to-be homeowners, it looks like the end for deeply depressed mortgage rates. Nationally, rising rates have temporarily created a downdraft in home loan applications.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications fell 4% in the first week of July after plummeting 11.7% the week before. ‘The Market Composite Index’ is the measure of mortgage loan application volume — and it decreased 4.0% from a week earlier (on a seasonally adjusted basis).  Altogether, national mortgage applications so far this July are about a third below their level of a year ago.

The drop in applications comes as no surprise to those of us who keep a steady watch on mortgage rate trends. But there is one accompanying fact that wouldn’t have been as predictable. As USA Today notes, “Despite the rise in rates…the four-year average for home purchases continues to climb since it turned upward in November 2011.”

So what do these apparently contradictory stats mean for local residents preparing to sell or buy a house? 

Whichever part of the equation you fall into, it’s certainly time to get moving!  If you’re considering selling, you will want to put your home on the market to take advantage of the still historically low mortgage rates.  It’s often the case that rising mortgage rates spur a last-minute home-buying rush. If you’re planning on buying in, rising mortgage rates are a pretty good indication that it’s time to put the pedal to the metal. 

Either way, if you’re thinking of buying or selling in Evansville this summer, I’m standing by to lend a hand. Give me a call to discuss the full picture — including the latest price movement in area neighborhoods.  You can reach me on my cell phone 812-499-9234 or email Rolando@RolandoTrentini.com

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, often the top choice of home refinancers, reached a new all-time record low of 3.11 percent this week, Freddie Mac reports in this week’s mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage also sank lower this week, hovering near it’s all-time low.

"Fixed mortgage rates eased for the third consecutive week following long-term Treasury bond yields lower after a weaker than expected employment report for March,” Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft says.

Here’s how rates fared for the week ending April 12:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.88 percent, with an average 0.7 point, down slightly from last week’s 3.98 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.91 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged a new record low of 3.11 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.21 percent average. The 15-year mortgage rate’s previous record low was 3.13 percent, which was set on March 8 of this year. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 4.13 percent.
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.85 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, also falling from last week, in which it averaged 2.86 percent. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.78 percent.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.80 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, rising from last week’s 2.78 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 3.25 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

Just in time for the holidays: Mortgage rates reached new all-time lows this week, pushing home buyer affordability even higher, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.

"Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages have been at or below 4 percent for the last eight weeks and now are almost 0.9 percentage points below where they were at the beginning of the year, which means that today's home buyers are paying over $1,200 less per year on a $200,000 loan,” Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. “This greater affordability helped push existing home sales higher for the second consecutive month in November to an annualized pace of 4.42 million, the most since January.”

Here’s a closer look at mortgage rates for the week ending Dec. 22:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.91 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, beating last week’s 3.94 percent record. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.81 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.21 percent, with an average 0.8 point, matching last week’s all-time low. Last year at this time, the 15-year mortgage averaged 4.15 percent.
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.85 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, a new record after dropping from last week’s 2.86 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.75 percent.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.77 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, also a new record after falling from last week’s 2.81 percent average. A year ago at this time, the 1-year ARMs averaged 3.40 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

Source: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/12/23/mortgage-rates-reach-new-record-lows

Interest rates on home loans may drop further thanks to recent speculation that the Federal Reserve Board will inject about $600 billion into the consumer credit industry, according to a report in the Washington Post. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently said this move could create mortgage rates that "will make housing more affordable and allow more homeowners to refinance."

However, other financial experts are careful to point out that this decline may not be as steep as some might expect, the report said. Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac, said rates shouldn't be affected by the cash injection too greatly, noting, "Four and an eighth is far more likely than 4 percent."

The reason for this, Cutts told the newspaper, is that the Fed would be purchasing Treasury bonds rather than mortgage-backed securities. However, another dip in home loan rates would likely spur even greater levels of refinance, which already make up about 80 percent of the mortgage market.

Meanwhile, the low mortgage rates haven't helped to boost sales of existing homes. In fact, the most recent statistics from the National Association of Realtors showed that this type of purchase declined more than 25 percent in the third quarter.

Freddie Mac reports that long-term mortgage rates moved south again this week.

Interest on 30-year fixed loans hit a new low of 4.49 percent, compared to 4.54 percent last week and 5.22 percent a year ago; and the 15-year mortgage landed at 3.95 percent, down from 4 percent last week and 4.63 percent a year ago.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages reached a new low of 3.63 percent, down from 3.76 percent last week and 4.73 percent a year ago; while one-year ARMs fell to 3.55 percent from 3.64 percent last week and 4.78 percent a year ago.

Source: http://www.trulia.com/blog/the_cascade_team/2010/08/mortgage_rate_falls_under_4_5

For the first time in more than a month, the number of mortgage applications to purchase homes rose last week.

On an adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association purchase index increased 7.3 percent compared to the previous week. On an unadjusted basis it was up 17.4 percent. Compared to the same week last year, applications declined 31.3 percent.

Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, was reluctant to declare this a trend. “While it is clear that purchase applications in May dropped sharply as a result of the tax credit induced increase in applications in April, it is unclear whether we are seeing the beginnings of a rebound now,” he said.

Mortgage rates were up slightly last week:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.82 percent from 4.81 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.23 percent from 4.26 percent.
• 1-year ARMs increased to 7.07 percent from 6.94 percent.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association 06/16/2010) http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2010061602?OpenDocument

The near-record low mortgage rates seen during the past few weeks may not be around much longer.

Signs of improving economic conditions could lead Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to raise key interest rates, driving up mortgage rates, says Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC.

The evidence includes more consumers are paying their bills on time. Past-due accounts at American Express declined 34 percent compared to a year ago, and Target Corp. reported its lowest delinquency rate in two years during the second quarter.

In another sign of economic improvement, fewer banks reported tightening lending standards this month, one reason consumer borrowing rose for the second time in three months.

“If lending standards start to stabilize, that’ll be another reason to remove the emergency measures, including the zero rate,” says Jay Bryson, a senior global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, N.C., who formerly worked at the Fed in Washington.

Source: Bloomberg, Bob Willis and Anthony Feld (05/28/2010) http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010052801?OpenDocument