Fix it & Forget It!

Grandma's miracle product for her dentures should lend their slogan to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Today's announcement from the Mortgage Bankers Association that 90%+ percent of loan applicants are applying for fixed mortgage rates on refinances and purchases has renewed my faith that people get it! These rates are unreal and can't last. NOTE:CLICK CHARTS FOR FULL SCREEN.

www.thegreatloan.com

Boring Mortgage Banker Talk Below:

Wed, 2009-12-23 10:39 — NationalMortgag...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Dec. 18, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume decreased 10.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10.9 percent compared with the previous week.
 The Refinance Index decreased 10.1 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 11.6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 13.4 percent compared with the previous week and was 32.7 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 0.2 percent. The four week moving average is down 1.0 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 0.6 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 75.9 percent of total applications from 75.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 3.8 percent from 4.1 percent of total applications the previous week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages remained flat at 4.92 percent, with points increasing to 1.23 from 1.08 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.34 percent from 4.33 percent, with points increasing to 1.03 from 0.91 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs remained flat at 6.52 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

For more information, visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

Jumbo Default Rate: 2x Conforming Loan Levels

Homeowners with jumbo mortgages of more than $1 million are defaulting at almost twice the U.S. rate and some are turning to so-called short sales to unload properties as stock-market losses and pay cuts squeeze wealthy borrowers.

“The rich aren’t as rich as they used to be,” said Alex Rodriguez, a Miami real estate agent with JM Group USA Inc., whose listings include a $2.9 million property marketed as a short sale because the price is less than the mortgage, leaving the bank with a loss. “People have reached the point where they can’t afford the carrying expenses of a $2 million home.”

Payments on about 12% of mortgages exceeding $1 million were 90 days or more overdue in September, compared with 6.3% on loans less than $250,000 and 7.4% on all U.S. mortgages, according to data from First American CoreLogic Inc., a Santa Ana, California-based research firm. The rate for mortgages above $1 million was 4.7% a year earlier. This continues to pressure luxury home prices throughout the country but especially so within the 1-2 million dollar segment of the market of the "working rich".

As defaults on the biggest jumbo loans rise, borrowers such as Steve Holzknecht, 53, are turning to short sales to exit loans that now are larger than the market value of the house. Last month he cut the asking price for his 7,280-square-foot home in Washington, by $550,000 to $1.25 million, lower than the balances of his two mortgages.  Holzknecht, the former owner of Four Suns Inc., a Seattle luxury homebuilder that went out of business two months ago, constructed the Craftsman-style home in 2000. He declined to identify his lenders or the amount he owes.

With the fire sale of assets causing luxury real estate markets to implode and very probable future increases in the rates of LIBOR based ARM loans; doing nothing and going about your life is not an option. Get your financial house in order as this ride will last many more years.