Mortgage Rates

The Obama administration's new plan to stimulate refinancings of FHA mortgages is likely to help large numbers of homeowners — even those who are deeply underwater — cut their monthly costs by switching to a loan with a rate below 4%. Here's a quick overview of the "streamline refi" program and what it will take for you to qualify. First, the baseline criteria: Your current home loan must be FHA-insured and must have been put on the Federal Housing Administration's books no later than May 31, 2009.

Record low interest rates for 30-year mortgages edged down another tick, Freddie Mac said in its latest survey , which showed lenders across the nation offering the benchmark loan at 3.78% compared to 3.79% last week. The typical rate on a 15-year fixed loan held steady at 3.04%. Sales of new homes were rising in a recent survey, with the low rates helping to make housing more affordable. But many homeowners are trapped in homes worth less than their mortgages, restraining home resales and holding back the recovery in the housing markets.

The mortgage market told a sad story throughout 2011: record low rates, but few people taking advantage of them to buy homes. The likely scenario in the new year, according to many analysts, is more of the same. Although the Federal Reserve has pledged to keep rates low through 2013, the experts say high unemployment and home prices that are still falling in many areas provide little incentive for stressed-out consumers to surge back into the housing market. "I think there may be a little bit of an uptick in units sold," said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist at mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae. "But home prices will probably be down again, so the total dollars spent on purchases is likely to be pretty close" to 2011.

High foreclosure rates and a strong rental market pushed the homeownership rate in the U.S. to a 15-year low, even as projections for the housing market grew brighter. The 65.4% rate in the first quarter is down from the 66% rate in the fourth quarter and 66.4% in the first quarter of last year, according to the Census Bureau. Before the housing bubble burst, homeownership reached a high of 69.2% in 2004. The current rate is low compared with the last decade partly because earlier homeownership rates were inflated by people who hadn't made down payments and were really "renters with an option to buy," said Richard K. Green, director of USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate.

The home mortgage market, propped up by more than $1 trillion in government money, is flashing a strong "buy" sign to house hunters. Extending a summer-long slide, the average interest rate on new 30-year fixed-rate loans nationwide has broken through the 5% barrier to 4.97%, nearing the lowest level in decades, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. reported this week. And mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac, which separately tracks rates, reported Thursday that the average fixed rate on a 15-year home loan had dropped to 4.46%, the lowest level on record.

Freddie Mac's latest survey shows fixed mortgage rates inched higher this week, with lenders offering 30-year loans to solid borrowers at an average 3.90%, up from 3.88% a week ago. The rate for 15-year loans rose from 3.11% to 3.13%. Borrowers would have paid about 0.75% of the loan amount in upfront lender fees to obtain the loans, Freddie Mac said. The weekly survey of lenders assumes that the borrowers have good credit and 20% down payments, or 20% home equity if they are refinancing.

Are you a homeowner saddled each month with a heavy first mortgage payment and a home equity loan payment? Then this could be the moment to combine your debt into one shiny new first mortgage. The maneuver is called a "debt consolidation refinance" and current mortgage rates make it an attractive possibility. Of course you have to crunch the numbers relevant to you. But the potential is there to save a lot of money.

Still searching for a fix for the housing market, the Obama administration is trying to make refinancing more attractive to hundreds of thousands of homeowners by significantly reducing fees on many government-backed mortgages. The changes could lead to a savings of about $1,000 a year on a typical mortgage refinance on top of the reduction in monthly payments from a lower interest rate, President Obama said Tuesday. "That would make refinancing even more attractive to more families," Obama said in announcing the Federal Housing Administration plan during a White House news conference.

Fixed mortgage rates are edging up from their record lows, this week's market surveys indicate. Freddie Mac's widely watched sampling of the rates lenders are offering to well-qualified borrowers  showed the average for a 30-year fixed loan at 3.95% for the week ending Thursday.  In the three previous weeks, the rate had been at an all-time low of 3.87%. The 15-year fixed mortgage averaged 3.19%, up from 3.16% last week. Popular with refinancers, the 15-year loan had bottomed out at 3.14% in the Freddie Mac survey for the week ending Feb.  2. The start rates on adjustable mortgages fell slightly, according to the report by Freddie Mac, a giant government-backed buyer and seller of home loans.

Here's your 'cause-this-is-thriller Thursday roundup of consumer news from around the Web: --How low can it go? The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell again this week to a record low -- the eighth record low in a year. But even bargain-basement loans are failing to attract takers because most who can afford to buy or refinance have already done so. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.88% this week, down from the old record of 3.89% one week ago. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage ticked up to 3.17% from 3.16%, which was also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s.

Freddie Mac's latest survey shows fixed mortgage rates inched higher this week, with lenders offering 30-year loans to solid borrowers at an average 3.90%, up from 3.88% a week ago. The rate for 15-year loans rose from 3.11% to 3.13%. Borrowers would have paid about 0.75% of the loan amount in upfront lender fees to obtain the loans, Freddie Mac said. The weekly survey of lenders assumes that the borrowers have good credit and 20% down payments, or 20% home equity if they are refinancing.

Warm weather doesn't always bring good news. An unusually toasty winter may have poached sales of previously owned homes from March, denying it the expected springtime boost. Consumers bought 2.6% fewer existing homes - pushing the seasonally adjusted annual rate down to 4.48 million from February's 4.6 million, according to the National Assn. of Realtors . In the West, sales were down 7.4% from February and 0.9% from last March. The median price, now $198,300, is 1.6% higher than that of a year ago. There were still signs of health: A third of the buyers were first-timers.

Those 30-year fixed home loans that have rates starting with a "3" are getting harder to find. Bankrate 's running survey of average mortgage rates has edged into the 4%-plus range over the past week and was at 4.05% on Tuesday. It had spent more than three months in the once unimaginable range below 4%, Bankrate senior analyst Greg McBride said. "Last Wednesday, March 13, was the first time with a 4-handle since Dec. 2, 2011," he said in an email. Mortgage rates tend to follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which after seesawing in the 2% range in February has jumped from 1.94% on March 6 to 2.37% on Tuesday.

Still searching for a fix for the housing market, the Obama administration is trying to make refinancing more attractive to hundreds of thousands of homeowners by significantly reducing fees on many government-backed mortgages. The changes could lead to a savings of about $1,000 a year on a typical mortgage refinance on top of the reduction in monthly payments from a lower interest rate, President Obama said Tuesday. "That would make refinancing even more attractive to more families," Obama said in announcing the Federal Housing Administration plan during a White House news conference.

Here are some of the reports out this week that will tell us how the economy is doing. Today, Times reporter David Pierson reports from Beijing  thatChina's leadership is trying to tap the brakes on that country's runaway growth.  Speaking to about 3,000 delegates at the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao said China would cut its growth target for the first time in eight years, from 8% to 7.5%, to...

Fixed mortgage rates are edging up from their record lows, this week's market surveys indicate. Freddie Mac's widely watched sampling of the rates lenders are offering to well-qualified borrowers  showed the average for a 30-year fixed loan at 3.95% for the week ending Thursday.  In the three previous weeks, the rate had been at an all-time low of 3.87%. The 15-year fixed mortgage averaged 3.19%, up from 3.16% last week. Popular with refinancers, the 15-year loan had bottomed out at 3.14% in the Freddie Mac survey for the week ending Feb.  2. The start rates on adjustable mortgages fell slightly, according to the report by Freddie Mac, a giant government-backed buyer and seller of home loans.

How low can they go? Fixed mortgage rates fell for the eighth straight week in Freddie Mac's widely followed survey of lenders, with the 30-year home loan below 4.5% for the first time since early December. Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate being offered to well-qualified borrowers was 4.49%, down from last week's 4.55%. Loans fixed for 15 years were at an average rate of 3.68%, down from 3.74%. Borrowers would have paid 0.7% of the loan amount in upfront lender fees and points to obtain the rates, Freddie Mac said.