With mortgage rates are hovering near all-time lows, lots of Americans are taking advantage of refinance and home buying opportunities. The downside of today's unexpectedly-low rates, though, is that mortgage lenders are ill-equipped for the rush of new business.  As a result, the process of underwriting and approving new mortgage applications is taking some conforming lenders as long as 2 months to complete.  This is double the time needed as recently as six months ago. Because there may be 60 days between the application date and the closing date, it's important for ...

The stock markets made strong gains last week but the mortgage markets barely moved in the wake of the Treasury's "toxic asset" plan. After carving out wide trading ranges on most days, mortgage pricing ended the week slightly worse overall. From an economic standpoint, though, last week was an interesting one. Existing home sales showed unexpected strength New home sales showed unexpected strength Data showed home prices rising unexpectedly In addition, consumer confidence rose unexpectedly, too. To rate shoppers, these "unexpected" developments are warnings worth heeding ...

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dips to 5.19%, according to a report from Bankrate.com, the lowest rate since 1956. By Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: March 26, 2009: 2:38 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home mortgage rates dropped to a 52-year low this week, according to a report released Thursday, in the wake of the government's announcement that it will buy more than $1 trillion in debt. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.19% this week, down from 5.29% in the week prior, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The ...

If you're in want of a cash out refinance, the most liberal cash-out program in town is about to make qualification more difficult.  Effective April 1, 2009, the FHA is reducing the maximum loan-to-value on cash-out refinances by 10 percent, dropping the loan size limit from 95% of the home's value to 85%. In its official press release, the FHA days it's making the change to "limit its exposure to undue risk".  It also lists the following cash-out requirements: With less than 12 months since the purchase date, a home's value cannot exceed its original purchase price -- even if ...

The national housing market got its third piece of good news in 3 days: Monday: Existing Home Sales up Tuesday: Home values appear higher nationally Wednesday: New Home Sales up And although national real estate statistics are irrelevant to the local markets in which real estate transactions happen, to a country of would-be and wanna-be home buyers, repeated positive news on housing can be a strong signal that it's time to get off the sidelines. At least, that's what the data is showing us.  According to an industry trade group, first-time home buyers accounted for half of all ...

(Photo by Chad Jones) Conventional wisdom says that buying is preferable to renting. Instead of throwing money away on a home, you can invest in your future and have the sense of fulfillment that comes from owning a home. Turns out, conventional wisdom is wrong. Today, many long-term renters are in a much stronger financial position than many recent homebuyers, and the last thing these homeowners are feeling is contentment. But the combination of firesale prices on homes, the drop in mortgage rates, and government assistance in the form of the first time home buyer tax credit, may have you ...

Don't look now but oil prices are climbing.This should worry today's home buyers and would-be refinancers because some of the same forces that helped to push crude past $50 for the first time in 4 months also cause mortgage rates to rise. March 18, the Federal Reserve committed an additional $1.15 trillion to support the economy.  Since the announcement, investors have questioned whether the Fed is purposefully spurring inflation.  The Fed's total debt purchases now total $1.75 trillion. And to finance its purchases, the Federal Reserve is printing new money, devaluing the U.S. ...

Each month, the National Association of REALTORS® releases a study called the Existing Home Sales report.  It's a detailed look at "used" home sale data from all four regions of the country.Among the key findings of each Existing Home Sales report is something called the "median sales price", the statistical price point at which half of the homes in the U.S. sold for more, and half sold for less.  Last month, the median sales price in the United States fell to $165,400, down 15.5 percent from a year ago. Nevertheless, just because the median sales price is lower from last year ...