Mortgage interest rates climbed to their highest level since 2014 last week, and consumers are rushing to lock in rates before any further increases, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.46 percent, from 4.36 percent the week prior, the MBA reports.Total mortgage application volume, including both home purchases and refinancings, increased 3.1 percent last week from the previo
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion announced they will soon remove tax lien and civil judgment data from some consumer credit records. The reason for this change is that many liens and most judgments fail to include vital pieces of information. Beginning on July 1, the public records data the firms use must include these data points: the consumer’s name, address, and either a social security number or a date of birth. Existing reports that fail
The gap continues to widen between what homeowners say their home is worth and appraisers' valuations. Homeowners’ estimates of values were, on average, 1.69 percent higher than appraisers’ home value opinions in February, according to Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index. The gap has been detected every month since February 2015.A few metros are running counter to national trends with appraiser opinions actually higher than
Rising home prices are boosting homeowners’ equity across the country. Nationwide, owners saw home equity rise, on average, by $13,700 during 2016, according to CoreLogic’s latest “Homeowner Equity Report.” States like Washington and Oregon saw some of the largest home-price appreciation last year, up $31,000 and $27,000, respectively.Take a look at this map to see the average equity per owner in your state.Of the largest metros by popula
After home buyers get preapproved for a loan, they aren’t guaranteed a swift ride to closing. If they make a financial misstep, they could face a change to their mortgage terms and interest rate or even have their mortgage denied.Here are some tips with their finances they’ll want to avoid on their road to closing:Don’t move your money around.Your buyers may have been storing their cash reserves. Warn them not to move that money out of savi
The number of riskier mortgages is growing, which is increasing delinquencies—albeit slightly—and raising concerns about defaults, USA Today reports. Federal Housing Administration loans, which typically require down payments of 3 percent to 5 percent, are at the center of most of the concern.FHA-backed loans are becoming more available through non-banker lenders, who have in some cases eased credit standards compared to banks.While still far
The flippers are back. The number of single-family homes and condos flipped in 2016 zoomed to a 10-year high, a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions shows.The report shows that 193,009 single-family and condos were flipped in 2016, up 3.1 percent from 2015 and the highest level since 2006. ATTOM Data Solutions defines a flip as a home that was sold twice within a 12-month period.Home flips comprised 5.7 percent of all single-family and condo sale
Colorado and Texas claimed nine out of the top 10 best places to sell a house, according to a new study by SmartAsset.Researchers evaluated 161 cities with populations greater than 150,000 across five factors, including the change in median home value, the percent of homes in the area sold at a loss, the average number of days a home sits on the market, the closing costs, and the number of real estate offices per 1,000 residents.The following mar
One million U.S. borrowers regained equity in 2016, according to CoreLogic’s newly released housing report. Further, about 63 percent of all homeowners saw their equity increase last year.Now, 93.8 percent of all mortgaged properties—or about 48 million homes—are in positive equity territory, according to the report.“Average home equity rose by $13,700 for U.S. homeowners during 2016,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged to its highest average of the year this week, reaching 4.21 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.“The 10-year Treasury yield rose about 10 basis points this week,” said Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “For the first time in weeks, the 30-year mortgage rate moved with treasury yields and jumped 11 basis points to 4.21 percent. The strength of Friday’s emplo
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