“Nonagency jumbo lenders began dipping their toes in the water as early as 2011, and even more so into the end of 2012. Strong loan quality due to tight underwriting combined with competition between large banks and securitzers has led to relatively increased demand. Wells and Chase are keen to compete with securitizers like Redwood or Sequoia in order to capture potential income streams from jumbo clients’ bank business.”

(Read more: Higher mortgage rates may mean easier credit)

In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back and bundle two-thirds of conventional loans, have been raising the fees they charge to banks, so-called guarantee fees, mostly to protect themselves against default. Guarantee fees have nearly doubled in just the past year.

“As G-fees move higher, this increase gets added into conforming mortgage rates,” said Guy Cecala of Inside Mortgage Finance. “It’s a factor, but not the biggest one, allowing portfolio jumbo lenders to match or undercut conforming mortgage rates.”

The bigger factor, said Cecala, is that 92 percent of jumbo mortgages are made by banks that fund the loans with their deposits and then hold them in a portfolio. Given that the interest paid on consumer deposits in banks is still incredibly low, lenders can still make a profit on mortgages priced at 4 percent or less if they want to. In fact, jumbo loans, by some lenders, can actually cost less than conforming.

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100962728

“This implies a continuation of double-digit price increases from a year earlier, with a strong push from pent-up demand.”

(Read More: Rising Mortgage Rates Cause ‘Rush to ARMs’)

The average rate on the 30-year fixed conforming mortgage is up about 100 basis points from the beginning of May to around 4.5 percent. The rate spiked the most in the past week, before these May contracts were signed.

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100847085

For all the latest news on Facebook’s first day of trading, see MarketWatch’s special report on the company’s initial public offering.

Read more real-estate news in this week’s pages, including why lenders are asking borrowers for a mountain of paperwork when they apply for a loan, the latest on record-low mortgage rates and a Realty QA about a landlord who refuses to address a renter’s noisy neighbors.

To read more about the “Facebook effect” on San Francisco real estate, check out The Basis Point blog.

—Amy Hoak, Real Estate writer

Mortgage borrowers face litany of questions

As a home buyer or a candidate for refinancing, you’d expect to submit recent pay stubs and bank-account statements when applying for a mortgage loan. But a copy of your college transcripts? Or a decade-old divorce decree?Read more: Mortgage borrowers face litany of questions.

Landlord refuses to address noisy neighbor

In a recent column, you mentioned dispossessed homeowners sliding “all the way to the bottom of the ladder” to an apartment. Describes me perfectly!Read more: Landlord refuses to address noisy neighbor.

Another record low for fixed-rate mortgages

Fixed-rate mortgage rates hit yet another set of record lows this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.79% in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.Read more: Another record low for fixed-rate mortgages.

Foreclosure activity drops in April

The number of foreclosure filings in April fell to the lowest monthly total since July 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s most recent report, released Thursday.Read more: Foreclosure activity drops in April.

Skip the dorm, buy your kid a condo

Low real-estate prices—and sweet tax breaks—may make buying a condo preferable to student housing.Read more: Skip the dorm, buy your kid a condo.

Is now the time to buy your first house?

Article source: http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-18/finance/31758589_1_fixed-rate-mortgages-mortgage-rates-mortgage-delinquencies

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) April 03, 2012

After the Federal Reserve’s March 2012 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the future of the nation’s currently low interest rates could be at risk, says Bay Area mortgage broker AccessBanc Mortgage. And now is the time to lock in a good mortgage rate, since there is nowhere for them to go but up.

“There is a lot of room for mortgage rates to rise, but there is not much room for them to fall,” explains Greg Erny, Principle of AccessBanc Mortgage. “The safe play is to get a rate locked now.”

The Fed has said repeatedly that it intends to keep the Fed Funds Rate near 0.000% for an “extended period of time”-through 2014 at least. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that conforming mortgage rates and FHA mortgage rates will remain low as well.

Mortgage and FHA rates rise long before Fed Funds Rates in a recovering economy, because they are ultimately an indication of long-term Wall Street attitudes. This is different from Fed Funds Rates, which are usually the outcome of a short-term fix the Fed applies to try to regulate the economy.

“For those individuals who truly want to get a good rate on their mortgage, this is an important time to take advantage of low rates because the only way for rates to go at this point is up,” notes Erny.

The first step for those individuals, says AccessBanc Mortgage, is to make a plan and get a mortgage rate quote. Mortgage rates have remained consistent at historically low levels since 2011, and have only broken 4% within the past few weeks. Following the FOMC meeting, conforming mortgage rates throughout California rose by as much as 0.375%, says Daily Mortgage Advisor, and there is a big chance they will only continue to climb.

According to AccessBanc Mortgage, these rates are a response to the Federal Reserve comments that ignited a mortgage bond selloff by Wall Street, which controls the mortgage rates.

“Locking in mortgage rates now is going to be important because the mortgage rate arena could look drastically different in short order,” says Erny. “Mortgage rates get unpredictable after every FOMC meeting.”

And after the second meeting of the FOMC this year, it’s clear that the economic recovery the nation is seeing is good for stocks and bad for mortgage rates, but the experienced brokers at AccessBanc Mortgage are ready to help lock in loans for interested homebuyers.

For more information about mortgage rate trends, or for information about any of AccessBanc’s products or services, call them at (855) 262-6302 or visit www.accessbanc.com.

About AccessBanc

AccessBanc is a San Francisco Bay Area mortgage broker committed to offering the most seasoned, professional, and competent loan consulting talent available. Because AccessBanc Loan Consultants enjoy favorable lender terms, use state of the art technology, and apply innovative solutions to knowledgeably work the market, they can offer prospective borrowers extremely competitive mortgage rates and great service.

AccessBanc’s services include: refinance, home purchase, first-time homebuyers, conventional conforming loans, jumbo loans, second/vacation homes, investment/rental properties, pre-qualification and pre-approved letters, and home equity loans / lines of credit. From home finance in Marin to first-time homebuyers in San Jose, AccessBanc’s carefully selected Loan Consultant Team can help Bay Area borrowers find the right loan.

AccessBanc Mortgage is a Real Estate Broker licensed by the California Department of Real Estate, License #00892684. NMLS #311147.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/4/prweb9361557.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/03/prweb9361557.DTL