What’s striking about recent mortgage news is how much of it is dominated by stories about investigations and indictments related to mortgage scams. Federal authorities have announced a nationwide crackdown, and local authorities have been active in many communities as well.

There were other, less dramatic stories on the mortgage front:

• Mortgage application activity stalled as mortgage rates rose
• The Hope Now Alliance, a mortgage industry group, announced plans to help streamline work-out plans for troubled borrowers
• A long-awaited mortgage bill became bogged down in the Senate due to controversy stemming from favorable mortgage rates received by two Senators

These other stories are worth reviewing, but ultimatly they are best put in context by the crackdown on mortgage scams.

Read the rest of this entry »

A sharp jump in mortgage rates was the week’s most significant development.

• 30-year mortgage rates rose to 6.32%, largely in response to growing inflation fears
• Federal Reserve officials may also respond to the inflation threat, as they’ve begun to hint at possible hikes in the Fed rate later this year
• The grim news on the interest rate front overshadowed what otherwise would have been a bright spot, a bounce back in mortgage application activity

Read the rest of this entry »

Even though stocks have rallied lately on improved economic news, mortgage foreclosures continue to hang like a cloud over the scene.

• An easing in unemployment gains and solid May reports from major retailers were the latest items that suggested the economy was continuing to avoid recession
• On the flipside, a mortgage report for the first quarter of 2008 showed that foreclosures and delinquencies continued to rise
• The foreclosure crisis was given its latest human face when it was reported that celebrity Ed McMahon was struggling to keep his mansion out of foreclosure
• Meanwhile, without fanfare, ten-year Treasuries ended May with a yield above 4.0% for the first time this year — a possible portend of higher mortgage rates to come

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently-released data on home sales sent mixed signals to prospective buyers:

• The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 major markets showed a 14.4% year-over-year decline through the end of March, 2008
• The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the number of new home sales increased 3.3% in the month of April  

While conflicting signals on housing might give home buyers reason to pause, two other developments might spur them to action:

• Revised GDP data strengthened the earlier indication that the U.S. economy avoided slipping into recession in the first quarter of 2008
• Mortgage rates broke out of a month-long holding pattern and showed hints of a possible upward trend

Read the rest of this entry »

A possible Senate compromise on a mortgage relief bill took most of the mortgage headlines this week, but potential borrowers would do well to keep their eyes on the inflation front, where a new surge in oil prices threatened to drive interest rates higher.

Read the rest of this entry »