This week’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® had the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.01 with 0.7 point typically paid to obtain that rate. This is up for the week ending February 4, 2010 from the week before when it averaged 4.98 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate averaged 5.25 percent. The survey is conducted weekly by Freddie Mac.

This week’s survey showed home loan rates to be lowest in the west and southwestern regions of the country, which, of course, includes Arizona.

Mortgage applications for home purchases jumped at the end of January, according to figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association released on February 3. Meanwhile,the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey reported that banks generally stopped tightening standards on most types of loans in the fourth quarter of 2009, with commercial real estate as the exception. However, banks have yet to unwind the tightening that occurred over the last two years.

Here are the numbers from this week’s Freddie Mac survey:

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

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Results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® for the week ending January 28 showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.98 percent with an average 0.6 point paid to obtain that rate. This is down so slightly from the prior week that Freddie Mac headlined its press release as Mortgage Rates Flat.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.10 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.39 percent with an average 0.6 point, down slightly from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent.  A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.80 percent.

The day before Freddie’s survey ended, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee notes from its December meeting were released. The Fed noted that economic activity has continued to strengthen, but there is continued “substantial resource slack” so that inflation is likely to be “subdued” for some time. Translated from Fed-speak, the economy is improving but is still in bad shape and we’re not raising rates anytime soon because we are more afraid of reversing the trend toward improvement than we are afraid of inflation.

Here are the numbers from Freddie Mac's January 28 press release:

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

The weekly Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey released yesterday shows home loan rates for the prior week dipped below 5% again. With the storm going on in Flagstaff, I received no updates from local mortgage lenders this week, but my guess is that if you could see a home in Flagstaff this week, you could get an interest rate below 5%. When the stock market is bad, as it was this week, it’s good for rates. Slow activity in the housing market and a bad report on housing starts also contribute to the lower rates. (On the other hand, building permits jumped according to the U.S. Commerce Department.)

According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.99 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending January 21, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 5.06 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.12 percent.

Here are the numbers:

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To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

Following an uptick in mortgage rates during December, home loan rates have started 2010 by going down two weeks in a row. On Thursday, Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® which showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 5.06 percent nationally with an average 0.7 point for the week ending January 14, 2010. Reports for some Flagstaff lenders on Friday showed rates below 5% with zero points.

The Freddie Mac survey average is down from last week when it averaged 5.09 percent.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.96 percent. With the stock market fall on Friday, rates may continue to fall a bit after the holiday weekend. Here are the numbers:

Many homeowners are taking advantage of these historically low rates to refinance. Freddie Mac reports that 75% of conventional mortgage applications over the last three months have been for refinancing rather than home-purchase loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association most recent survey reported similar results, with mortgage applications of all types up in the new year.

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, contact me:

Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

Average interest on long-term mortgages went down slightly last week, after rising in the four previous weeks. Freddie Mac reported that 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 5.09 percent, down from 5.14 percent a week ago. Local Flagstaff mortgage lender rate sheets that I received Friday showed rates a bit lower than the national average for the prior week – at an even 5% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with only .25 in points to obtain that rate. (The national rate report assumed a .7% point payment to obtain the average mortgage rate.)

Whether the down-tick in mortgage interest rates was related to a reduction in home sales in December, and pending home sales scheduled to close in the next few months, is unclear but is likely because otherwise the improved economic news for the week (stock market up slightly and improved unemployment numbers) should have continued to push home loan rates in the other direction.

Here are the numbers for the first seven days of 2010 per Freddie Mac’s weekly survey:

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

You might have read about a new program called Deed-for-Lease™. Fannie Mae created this program as an option for homeowners who are in distress but who are not eligible for a mortgage modification. Given the recent reports on the lack of success of mortgage modification programs, the Deed-for-Lease™ program, along with short-sales, have to be considered as reasonable alternatives.  According to Fannie Mae’s announcement, Deed-for-Lease™ is specifically "designed to minimize family displacement, deterioration of neighborhoods caused by vandalism and theft to vacant homes, and the effect these have on families, communities and home price stabilization."

Homeowners who qualify for the Deed-for-Lease™ program have the option to remain in their homes as renters after voluntarily transferring the home’s deed back to the lender. The homeowners must prove they are able to afford market rent, and then sign a lease with the lender. Deed-for-Lease™ provides an option for borrowers who do not qualify for, or have not been able to sustain, other loan-workout solutions and want to continue living in the property as their primary residence.  If the homeowners need to move, they should consider a short sale.

While this program is unique to Fannie Mae loans, other lenders are sure to begin offering similar programs modeled on the Fannie Mae Deed-for-Lease™ program. The bottom-line is that lenders do not want to own vacant properties!

Following are a few of the homeowner qualifications for this program:

·         The property is to be used as the occupant’s primary residence

·         The occupant’s income is sufficient to cover rental payments

·         Inspection shows that the property has been kept in good condition

·         The occupant agrees to be responsible for regular maintenance

·         The number of occupants is appropriate for the home

·         The occupants signing the lease must agree to a credit review

To learn more about the Deed-for-Lease™ program and discover if your loan is a Fannie Mae loan, please visit www.efanniemae.com. If your loan is not a Fannie Mae loan, contact your lender's loss mitigation department.

If you need to move out of your Flagstaff home because of job relocation, divorce, or because you cannot afford the market rent under the Deed-for-Lease™ program, contact me about listing your home for sale. Even if you are “underwater” with your mortgage, a short sale can be negotiated as a better alternative to foreclosure.