This week’s economic news was mixed for mortgage markets. A speech from Fed Chief Bernanke pushed mortgage rates lower early in the week, but weak results in the Treasury auctions caused them to turn higher again later in the week. In the end, mortgage rates finished with little net change.

Despite a stronger than expected November Employment report released on Friday, December 4, Bernanke came out on Monday and repeated the Fed’s plans to maintain the fed funds rate at extremely low levels for an extended period of time. According to Bernanke, the Fed still expects the labor market to improve very slowly, so they are reluctant to remove monetary stimulus by raising rates. Fed officials believe that inflation will remain low for the next couple of years, meaning that there is little short-term pressure to raise rates.

For expert assistance with your financing needs, call our in-house mortgage executive, Rick Cannavaro, at (203) 672-2706.

Click here to send a secure online mortgage application.

Here are this week’s rates:

Friday, December 11th, 2009

All rate quotes are for a 60-day lock with 0 points, 5% down payment, and a 720 FICO score.

Conforming limits are up to a $417,000 loan limit*

30 yr conforming fixed: rate = 5.000% APR = 5.240%

15 yr conforming fixed: rate = 4.375% APR = 4.542%

7/1 yr conforming ARM: rate = 4.375% APR = 4.641%

5/1 yr conforming ARM: rate = 4.000% APR = 4.354%

30 yr FHA Fixed : rate = 4.875 APR = 5.230%

30 yr CHFA w/ 1 pt : rate = 4.375% APR = 4.559%

———————————————————–

Jumbo loan limits range from $417,001 to $1,000,000*

30 yr jumbo fixed: rate = 5.250% APR = 5.452%

15 yr jumbo fixed: rate = 4.875% APR = 5.154%

7/1 yr jumbo ARM: rate = 4.625% APR =5.225%

———————————————————————————

CHFA (Connecticut Housing Finance Authority) rates for the week of December 10 – December 16 , 2009

Homebuyer Mortgage Plan:
Interest rate: 4.375 % (APR range 4.475 – 4.875%)
Fees: Up to One Point (1% Origination Fee) * Payable to Lender
Term – 30 years, fixed rate

Downpayment Assistance Program (DAP)
(Rate listed is for DAP loans with Homebuyer Mortgage Program financing.)

Interest rate: 4.375 % (APR range 4.475 – 4.875%)
Fees: Up to $2000 Application Fee * Payable to Lender
Term – 30 years, fixed rate

(NOTE: If at any time the interest rate for the Homebuyer Mortgage Program exceeds 6%, the DAP interest rate will be capped at 6%.)

* Additional fees may apply

*Conforming loan limits listed above are for a single-family owner occupied residence.
Courtesy of The Harriman Team and William Raveis Mortgage

*All rates are subject to change. Minimum down payment and credit score requirements may apply. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified .

William Raveis Real Estate, 465 S. Main St., Cheshire, CT 06410

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

Mortgage Rate Update 12/11/09

Mortgage rates took a step towards the sub 5% range this week, reacting positively to President Obama’s mortgage rescue plan. More unease in equities and lots of government assistance coming into the mortgage market will help borrowers, lenders and servicers increase mortgage finance activities, and may sustain the downward trend of the current rates. A majority of financial experts still feel rates will decrease slightly over the next 30 days.

For expert assistance with your financing needs, call our in-house mortgage executive, Rick Cannavaro, at (203) 672-2706.

Here are this week’s rates:

Friday, February 20th, 2009

All rate quotes are for a 60-day lock with 1 point, 5% down payment, and a 720 FICO score.

Conforming limits are up to a $417,000 loan limit*

30 yr conforming fixed: rate = 5.125% APR = 5.440%

15 yr conforming fixed: rate = 4.750% APR = 5.320%

7/1 yr conforming ARM: rate = 5.500% APR = 5.925%

5/1 yr conforming ARM: rate = 5.250% APR = 5.550%

30 yr FHA Fixed : rate = 5.250% APR = 5.605%

30 yr CHFA w/ 1 pt : rate = 5.000% APR = 5.275%

———————————————————–

Jumbo loan limits range from $417,001 to $1,000,000*

30 yr jumbo fixed: rate = 6.125% APR = 6.499%

15 yr jumbo fixed: rate = 5.750% APR = 5.959%

7/1 yr jumbo ARM: rate = **** APR = ****

———————————————————————————

CHFA (Connecticut Housing Finance Authority) rates for the week of February 19 – February 25th, 2009

Homebuyer Mortgage Plan:
Interest rate: 5.000 % (APR range 5.100 – 5.500%)
Fees: Up to One Point (1% Origination Fee) * Payable to Lender
Term – 30 years, fixed rate

Downpayment Assistance Program (DAP)
(Rate listed is for DAP loans with Homebuyer Mortgage Program financing.)

Interest rate: 5.000 % (APR range 5.100 – 5.500%)
Fees: Up to $200 Application Fee * Payable to Lender
Term – 30 years, fixed rate

(NOTE: If at any time the interest rate for the Homebuyer Mortgage Program exceeds 6%, the DAP interest rate will be capped at 6%.)

* Additional fees may apply

*Conforming loan limits listed above are for a single-family owner occupied residence.
Courtesy of The Harriman Team and William Raveis Mortgage

*All rates are subject to change. Minimum down payment and credit score requirements may apply. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified .

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

Mortgage Rate Update 2/20/09

The Wallingford housing market showed some signs of life in January. There were fewer listings to sell, sales were up 67% from December and they sold almost 25% quicker, and expired listings were almost half of the previous month. The average sales price decreased, but this was largely due to the absence of the new construction and higher end home sales that were evident in previous months.

Condo sales were again slow in January, with only 1 sold for the entire month. That sale took about 4 months and caused the absorption rate to rise by about 50%, and the two condos that did sell managed to sell in about 2 months. These stats still are somewhat misleading since so few condos are selling at the moment. Mortgage rates dropped to historically low levels last month, but that didn’t seem to have much effect on the market. Financing was still hard to get due to stiffer credit score and down payment requirements, and now rates seem to be trending upwards even though the banks are receiving TARP money and bailouts are coming in rapid-fire succession. As we speak, the $15,000 tax credit for homeowners is being debated (and hopefully passed) in Congress, adding more incentive to buyers to move off the fence and start their home search in earnest.

Here’s the comparison of the last three months:

For the purposes of housing market info, it is usually considered to be a seller’s market when there is less than 13 weeks of inventory on the market; 13-26 weeks of inventory is considered a balanced market, and more than 26 weeks indicates a buyer’s market.

Data used was provided by the CTMLS (Connecticut Multiple Listing Service.

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

Wallingford Market Update January 2009

by Brandon Cornett

If you are a senior citizen over the age of 60, and you own a home, I’m willing to bet you’ve been hearing about reverse mortgage loans lately. But why is this lending option so popular among seniors lately, and how does it work anyway? Let’s take a look.

What is a Reverse Mortgage Anyway?

It’s a type of loan that is made against that value of your home. In this way, it’s similar to a home equity loan. But the similarities end there. With a reverse mortgage, the borrower does not have to pay the loan back for as long as they live in the home. So in essence, it’s a way for senior citizens to convert the value of their homes into cash, and without having to repay it right away.

This unique lending option is typically aimed at senior citizens who own their own homes. In fact, the HUD reverse mortgage program (one of the first of its kind) actually has a strict age requirement — applicants must be at least 62 years old for this federally insured program.

As of this writing, the HUD program is one of the most popular. In addition to being 62 or older, applicants for a HUD reverse mortgage must either own the home outright or have a low mortgage balance that can be paid off at closing (with part of the proceeds from the loan).

How Much Can I Borrow?

Here again, the amount will differ from one lender to the next. But in general, the amount you can borrow on this type of mortgage will depend on several factors:

1. Your age

2. The current interest rates

3. The appraised value of your home

This means that people who are older, who have more valuable homes, and who borrow when rates are lower will qualify for a higher amount (generally speaking, of course).

When Do I Pay It Back?

First, keep in mind that the exact details of a reverse mortgage will vary from one lending institution to the next. In most cases, you do not have to pay anything back until (A) you die, (B) you sell the home, or (C) your move out of the home.

In other words, the loan will have to be paid back when the home is no longer your primary residence, for whatever reason. When one of these conditions has occurred, and the loan repayment is due, you (or your estate) will have to repay the amount borrowed plus any lending fees.

Increasingly Popular Among Senior Citizens

The number of reverse mortgages has been rising steadily over the last few years. One reason for this is that there’s a larger pool of potential borrowers each year, because the number of seniors 62 and older is increasing (better medical treatment, better health, etc.). Another reason for the growing popularity has to do with good old-fashioned marketing. The lenders that offer these programs have been pretty active in their marketing efforts lately.

As a result of these and other factors, the number of seniors pursuing this lending option has increased significantly over the last few years. For example, from 2005 – 2006 there was a 56% increase in the number of reverse mortgages granted to senior citizens in the United States.

* Copyright 2008, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article if you retain the citation notes and hyperlink below.

Citation Note: This article was created by Brandon Cornett, publisher of the Home Buying Institute network of real estate websites. You can learn more or contact the author by visiting his mortgage refinance blog at http://www.mortgage-refinance-advice.com/blog/

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• Real Estate Role Reversal: With reverse mortgage, lender pays homeowner

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

The Reverse Mortgage Loan Explained

We’re back from the holiday break with another mortgage rate update; we hope everyone’s holidays were safe and full of good food, family, friends and the spirit of the season.

All rates this week were virtually unchanged from the last update in December. The outlook for which way the rates will be headed over the next 1-3 months is mixed, but most experts feel the rates will decline slightly. The Mortgage Rate Trend Survey asks 250 mortgage experts where they think the rates are headed, and below is the breakdown of their collective wisdom:

Over the next 30 days:	Over the next 90 days:
rates will rise significantly: 0.0%	rates will rise significantly: 0.0%
rates will rise slightly: 17.2%	rates will rise slightly: 20.7%
rates will remain unchanged: 17.2%	rates will remain unchanged: 17.2%
rates will decline slightly: 58.6%	rates will decline slightly: 48.3%
rates will decline significantly: 6.9%	rates will decline significantly: 13.8%

Most feel the purchase of the mortgage backed securities and a new president will drive the rates lower; others feel that consumer confidence spurred by Obama taking office will have the opposite effect. Either way, rates are still at historic lows. If you’re looking for a home now, you should be able to get a very attractive rate. If you decide to wait and see if the rates go lower (maybe the 4.5% range?), you might miss out. The problem is, as the graph above shows, no one really knows. Do what’s right for you. For expert assistance, call our in-house mortgage executive, Rick Cannavaro, at (203) 672-2706.

Here are this week’s rates:

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

All rate quotes are for a 60-day lock with 0 points

Conforming limits are up to a $417,000 loan limit*

30 yr conforming fixed: rate = 5.125% APR = 5.330%

15 yr conforming fixed: rate = 4.875% APR = 5.140%

7/1 yr conforming ARM: rate = 5.50% APR = 5.825%

5/1 yr conforming ARM: rate = 5.250% APR = 5.510%

30 yr FHA Fixed : rate = 5.250% APR = 5.605%

30 yr CHFA w/ 1 pt : rate = 5.250% APR = 5.375%

———————————————————–

Jumbo loan limits range from $417,001 to $1,000,000*

30 yr jumbo fixed: rate = 6.000% APR = 6.229%

15 yr jumbo fixed: rate = 5.625% APR = 5.936%

7/1 yr jumbo ARM: rate = **** APR = ****

———————————————————————————

CHFA (Connecticut Housing Finance Authority) rates for the week of January1 – 7, 2009

Homebuyer Mortgage Plan:
Interest rate: 5.250 % (APR range 5.350 – 6.750 %)
Fees: Up to One Point (1% Origination Fee) * Payable to Lender
Term – 30 years, fixed rate

Downpayment Assistance Program (DAP)
(Rate listed is for DAP loans with Homebuyer Mortgage Program financing.)

Interest rate: 5.250 % (APR range 5.350 – 5.750 %)
Fees: Up to $200 Application Fee * Payable to Lender
Term – 30 years, fixed rate

(NOTE: If at any time the interest rate for the Homebuyer Mortgage Program exceeds 6%, the DAP interest rate will be capped at 6%.)

* Additional fees may apply

*Conforming loan limits listed above are for a single-family owner occupied residence.
Courtesy of The Harriman Team and William Raveis Mortgage

*All rates are subject to change. Minimum down payment and credit score requirements may apply. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified .

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

Mortgage Rate Update 1/2/09

If you remember, I wrote a post and posed a question on BuzzDash a month ago to try to get a feeling for what the real estate consumer is looking for when they read a real estate blog. Well, the poll has expired and the results, meager though they are, are in. Keep in mind that the debate settled into roughly two camps: those for posting mainly real estate info, like listings and market updates, and those who maintain that the blog should be predominantly community information based.

From April 9th to May 9th, 36 intrepid souls cast their vote for what they want to see in a real estate blog, and it seems the proponents of real estate info have prevailed: 69%, or 25 out of 36 people, agreed that they look first and foremost for listings. Another 14% (5 people) were looking for real estate related news, while only 11% (4 people) look for community information first. Two people, perhaps frustrated Michigan or Florida primary voters looking for something to vote on that really counted, chose “Other” as the thing that drew their attention in real estate blogs. Poor Souls.

I was actually surprised by the low turnout for this hotly debated and thought-provoking question, especially since the real estate market (at least where I live) seems to be raising its rotting corpse from the dead. Maybe BuzzDash was the wrong place to ask the question, but they do get a lot of traffic to their Real Estate polls so I thought this issue might get some attention. I have placed a similar poll on PollDaddy to see if there is any interest generated there, but I’m not hopeful.

Speaking of Poll Daddy, there are a few polls there of minor interest. Some of the more popular ones are:

1. Who is the most ubiquitous real estate blogger? (Jeff Turner leading with 37% of the 38 votes cast, Jay Thompson trailing with 21%)
2. What is the most important service your real estate agent provides? (53% say “Listing my property in the MLS”), and my personal favorite submitted by the inimitable Broker Bryant,
3. If I wrote a book about real estate, would you…(A. Want a hard copy, B. Want an e-book, C. Have no interest, D. Be very interested, or E. Throw it in the lake. The majority would want the hard copy, a testament to BB’s stature in the RE.net.)

I got a kick out of those polls, but back to my own poll. An inquiring mind wants to know…as a real estate blog reader, what kind of info do you most want to see in a blog? Listings? Community info? A balanced mix of the two, or something else all together? Be you a realtor or a potential buyer/seller, feel free to post a comment here and let us know how you feel about this issue. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make up a good excuse as to why I voted to throw BB’s book in the lake…

Post from: Wallingford Wired©2009 by Pat & Wayne Harriman

UPDATE: What The Real Estate Consumer Wants From Your Blog