Mortgage rates hit record lows for a second week in a row as investors — including banks — continue to see mortgage-backed securities that fund most mortgage loans as a hedge against economic uncertainty.

The Federal Reserve reports that banks are more reluctant to originate mortgages to borrowers with flawed credit than they were in 2006, but are nevertheless stepping up their purchases of loans that have been packaged into mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.83 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 10, down from 3.84 percent last week and 4.63 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s a new low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 3.05 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from 3.07 percent last week and 3.82 percent a year ago. That’s a new low in records dating to 1991.

via Mortgage rates probing new lows | Inman News.

The real estate market is really picking up in Utah. Real estate inventory is down by about 40% from where it was a few years ago and home prices will likely start rising again. Now is a great time to buy if you’re looking for affordability.

If you’re looking for a really inexpensive home loan, get a thirty year fixed rate, your mortgage payment will be far less than rent for an equivalent sized home. If you’re looking for a great way to build real wealth, buy with a 15 year fixed mortgage, or simply refinance your current home loan.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage FRM averaged 3.88 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 26, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.90 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.78 percent.

15-year FRM this week averaged 3.12 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.13 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.97 percent.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage ARM averaged 2.85 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.78 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.51 percent.

According to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac:”Fixed mortgage rates held near record lows this week as the markets waited for the Federal Reserve’s Fed April 25th monetary policy announcement following two days of deliberations. The Fed stated that it expects economic growth to remain moderate and then pick up gradually. In addition, it noted that labor market conditions have improved in recent months and it anticipates the unemployment rate will decline gradually.”The housing market has also shown some improvement as well. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s purchase-only house price index rose at a monthly rate of 0.3 percent in February. Moreover, 12 out of 20 metropolitan areas experienced increases over the month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city indexes, led by a 2.1 percent gain in Phoenix. New home sales in March were stronger than the consensus market forecast and February’s sales were revised upwards to the strongest pace in almost two years. However, the Fed’s statement warned that despite some signs of improvement, the housing sector still remains depressed.”

via Cornerstone Real Estate ‘s Real Estate Update.

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage FRM averaged 3.99 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 29, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 4.08 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.86 percent.
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.23 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.30 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.09 percent.
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage ARM averaged 2.90 percent this week, with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.96 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.70 percent.

via Cornerstone Real Estate ‘s Real Estate Update.

Mortgage rates are still incredible. It’s cheaper to buy than it is to rent in 98 of the nation’s top 100 metro areas.

Just when we thought mortgage interest rates couldn’t get any lower, they did. It looks like the European debt crisis is having a positive effect on US mortgage rates. It’s interesting how that works.

Here are the results from last weeks Freddie Mac Survey:

• 30 Year Fixed: 3.87%
• 15 Year Fixed: 3.14%
• 5/1 ARM: 2.8%

Overall, it’s just a great time to buy Utah Real Estate. Experts are predicting that Salt Lake Real Estate will actually see some slight home appreciation this year. Low interest rates make housing very affordable, and offer a great opportunity for homeowners to really build wealth by paying their homes off. It’s a great time to lock in with a 15 year fixed mortgage.

Primary Mortgage Market Survey PMMS – Freddie Mac.

Here is the break down from the latest Freddie Mac survey:

• 30- Year Fixed Mortgages 3.89%
• 15 year Fixed Mortgages: 3.16%
• 5 Year ARM: 3.23

Here’s what the folks at Inman had to say about that:

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, which have been below 4 percent for six weeks in a row, hit a new low this week in records dating to 1971. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.89 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from 3.91 percent last week and 4.71 percent a year ago. For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 3.16 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from 3.23 percent last week and 4.08 percent a year ago. Rates on 15-year loans, popular for refinancing, have never been lower since Freddie Mac began tracking them in 1991.

via Mortgage rates sag to new lows | Inman News.

Click this link to find your next home at a great interest rate. Home4SaleInUtah.com

Right now you could have a $150,000 home loan with a Principal and Interest monthly payment of just $711. In many areas of Utah, that will provide you with a pretty nice home.

Here is the latest from the Freddie Mac residential mortgage survey:

30 Year interest rates averaged less than 4 percent at 3.94%. 15 year fixed rate mortgages were just 3.21%, and 5 year ARMS were just 2.93%. In simple terms this means…. Your monthly payment will be very, very low.

If you really want to build wealth, go for a 15 year mortgage. With 15 year mortgages you pay a lot less interest and pay your home off in half the time. At the current average 15 year fixed interest rates that same $150,000 mortgage loan would have a P&I interest rate of just $1,051. In more normal times, this would be the payment you would have with a 30 year loan! Same monthly payment, but for half the term.

Get yourself a great Christmas present. Save money for years to come by buying a new Home in Utah now.

According to the latest projections from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), interest rates should gradually rise out of historic lows as we move through 2012.

This isn’t the most welcome news for a housing market that has continued to falter and a credit market that already has tightened lending standards

The NAR reports that current surveys reflect the tight credit conditions. They report that recent buyers are staying well within their means, with higher incomes and higher down payments.

Richard Peach, Senior Vice President at the Federal Reserve Board of New York, who said the economy is under-performing, reports, “Nearly two-and-a-half years since the end of ‘the great recession,’ the economy continues to operate well below its potential. Among the significant structural impediments are the legacy of the housing boom and bust, and fiscal contrition at the state and local level.”

Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors®, said home sales should be stronger. “Tight mortgage credit conditions have been holding back home buyers all year, and consumer confidence has been shaky recently,” he said. “Nonetheless, there is a sizable pent-up demand based on population growth, employment levels and a doubling-up phenomenon that can’t continue indefinitely. This demand could quickly stimulate the market when conditions improve.”

It is this improving jobs markets that many analysts are waiting for. Yun projects the GDP will grow 1.8 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2012. The unemployment rate should decline, albeit modestly, to around 8.7 percent by the end of 2012.

Around this same time, experts expect that “mortgage interest rates should gradually rise from recent record lows and reach 4.5 percent by the middle of 2012.”

via Cornerstone Real Estate ‘s Real Estate Update.

Adjustable-rate mortgage loans hit new lows this week and fixed-rate mortgages remained near historic lows for a fifth consecutive week, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.Looking back a week, a separate survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed demand for purchase loans falling by a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent from the week before.

The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Nov. 25 — which also included an adjustment to account for the Thanksgiving holiday — showed demand for purchase loans was down 18.2 percent from the same week a year ago.Freddie Mac’s survey showed rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage FRM averaging 4 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 1, up from 3.98 percent last week but down from 4.46 percent a year ago.Article continues belowAdvertise with InmanRates on 30-year fixed-rate loans hit a 2011 high of 5.05 percent in February, before falling to an all-time low in records dating to 1971 of 3.94 percent during the week ending Oct. 6.For 15-year fixed-rate loans, rates averaged 3.3 percent with an average 0.8 point, unchanged from last week and well below the 3.81 percent average at the same time a year ago. Rates on 15-year reached a 2011 high of 4.29 percent in February, before falling to an all-time low in records dating to 1991 of 3.26 percent in October.

Rates on five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage ARM loans averaged 2.9 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, a new all-time low in records dating to 2005. At this time a year ago, five-year ARM loans averaged 3.49 percent, before climbing to a 2011 high of 3.92 percent in February.

via Rates on ARM loans set new lows | Inman News.

But increasingly, the recent vagaries of the job market are also causing this issue, as people who have changed their line of work or have changed from salaried employee to freelancer over the last couple of years can also have their home loan applications rejected based on income.

2. Muddled money matters. If the mortgage for which you’re applying plus your monthly payments on credit card, car and student loan debts will comprise more than 45 percent of your total income, you could have problems qualifying for a home loan. You might also run into problems if you rely too heavily on bonuses, overtime, cash wages or rental income — all of these can be difficult or impossible to get a mortgage bank to consider, and if they do, they might not take all of it into account.

3. Credit issues. Today, the mortgage-qualifying FICO score cutoff falls somewhere between 620 and 660, depending on which lender and which loan type you seek. More than one-third of Americans, by some numbers, have credit scores too low to qualify for a home loan. Even if your credit score is high enough to qualify, if you have any late mortgage payments, a short sale, a foreclosure or a bankruptcy in the last two years, loan qualifying could be difficult to impossible.

4. Property didn’t appraise. Since the whole industry had its hand (among other things) smacked for allowing home values to skyrocket in a very short time, appraisal guidelines have tightened up — some would say, even more than overall mortgage guidelines. So, it is increasingly common to have the property appraise for a price lower than the sale price negotiated between the buyer and seller.

This is especially common in the refinance realm, as well over a quarter of U.S. homes are now upside-down, meaning the mortgage balance owed is greater than the value of the home. (If you’re trying to refinance an upside-down mortgage, consider the FHA Short Refi program — contact your lender or get referrals to any mortgage broker who makes FHA details to apply.)

5. Condition problems. With all the distressed properties on the market, and with most nondistressed sellers barely breaking even, more home-sale transactions than ever are falling apart due to condition problems with the property. Many lenders will not extend financing on homes where the appraiser points out problems like cracked or broken windows, missing kitchen appliances, electrical problems, or wood rot.

And in the world of condos and other units that belong to a homeowners association, if more than 25 percent of units are rented (rather than owner-occupied) or more than 15 percent are delinquent on their HOA dues, new applications for refinance or purchase mortgages on units in the development are likely to be rejected.

6. Technical difficulties with application. The days when lenders just took your word for it are long, long gone. Applications with incomplete or unverifiable information are doomed.

If any of these mortgage loan application glitches arise in your homebuying or refinancing process, it’s critical that you connect with your mortgage professional, be it your banker or mortgage broker, to determine what course of action to take.

via Lowe’s Inside Out Home Improvement Tips | Produced by Inman News.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage ARM averaged 3.02 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from last week when it averaged 3.02 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.52 percent.

1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.83 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.82 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.48 percent.

Fixed mortgage rates fell to all-time record lows this week following the Federal Reserve’s announcement of its Maturity Extension Program and additional purchases of mortgage-backed securities. Interest rates for ARMs, however, were nearly unchanged as the Federal Reserve plans to sell $400 billion in short-term Treasury securities, which serve as benchmarks for many ARMs.”Meanwhile, the spring and summer home-buying season gave a boost to a number of house price indexes. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that its National index not seasonally adjusted rose for the fourth consecutive month in July. Similarly, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City composite index, which has a broader scope of properties, rose 0.9 percent between June and July with 17 of the cities experiencing positive monthly growth. Finally, CoreLogic reported that its index, excluding distressed sales, increased at a 1.7 percent monthly rate for the same month.”

via Cornerstone Real Estate ‘s Real Estate Update.

Wow. Awesome time to buy Utah Real Estate.