Current Mortgage Refinance Rates in Austin, Texas:  Is now the right time to refinance?  Unsure of what type of mortgage refinance loan is best for you?  Are you interested in a home equity loan while current interest rates are at an all time LOW?  We’re a local Austin mortgage company that can answer all your mortgage refinance questions.  Give us a call today! 512-996-8194

Austin’s Current Rates as of 03/31/2009
Mortgage Rate                      Interest Rate  APR
Conforming Home Loans: 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   4.625%   4.833%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   5.000%   5.289%
15-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   4.625%   4.989%

Texas Jumbo Loans: (Amounts that exceed $417,000) 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   6.500%   6.651%

Texas FHA Home Loans: (loan limits vary by county) 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   5.000%   5.645%

Texas Mortgage Refinance Home Equity Loan                      

Fed’s Move to Lower Mortgage Rates: May Backfire on Market

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29962475?__source=RSS*tag*&par=RSS&Sort=MostRecent

The Federal Reserve’s latest moves to push down mortgage refinance rates quickly raised expectations about helping the housing recovery, but it may be months before the impact is entirely apparent and the effects may not all be positive, say people in the real estate and housing industries.

First and foremost, there is general skepticism about the how much impact government intervention will have in the marketplace, as well as concern about the potential for unintended consequences.

“It’s wrong to place too much hope on what the Fed would be able to accomplish in pushing interest rates lower,” says economist Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “There’s a limit to what they can realistically do.”

That’s apparent in what some call the inevitable bounce back in interest rates since the Fed’s announcement at the March 19 FOMC meeting that it would increase its planned purchase of GSE and MBS debt as well as finally begin buying longer-term Treasuries.

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/consumer_rates/64316.aspx

The yield on the 10-year note went from roughly 3.00 percent down to 2.50 percent, but has slowly climbed back to around 2.75 percent. Thirty-year mortgage rates, which track the 10-year yield, have moved accordingly.

“Mortgage rates are historically low, but the expectation is that interest rates should be much lower than they are,” says Manhattan Mortgage Company CEO Melissa Cohn.

That sort of criticism highlights the difficulty of the Fed’s mission, and though the significant drop in mortgage rates in the past six months has been welcome in almost all quarters, it is hardly a magic bullet for the multi-faceted housing market. For one, Cohn and others have seen a greater increase in loan refinancing activity that in loans for home sales.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/31/real_estate/January_Case_Shiller/index.htm?postversion=2009033109

The Mortgage Bankers Association last week increased its forecast for loan originations in 2009 by 40 percent to $2.8 trillion, more than any year since 2005 and the fourth highest on record.  Some 71-percent of that, however, will be mortgage refinancing. Home purchase origination’s will be almost 4-percent lower than last year.

“For the purchase market, it is still an issue of the economy,” says Jay Brinkman, chief economist and senior vice president of the mortgage industry trade group. “I don’t think mortgage interest rates were an impediment even before the Fed’s move.”

http://mylendingplace.com/mortgage/rates/todays/

Mortgage refinancing does not a housing rebound make, although it certainly increases the chance of keeping a homeowner out of foreclosure. That and other forces continue to put a drag on housing. Right now, the single-family market is still in the doldrums, though many measures point to a possible bottom.

  Apply online or Give us a call!  We will work with you, Today!  512-996-8194

Today’s 30 Year Fixed and 15 Year Fixed Mortgage Refinance Rates: If you’re interested in the current low mortgage refinance rates, give us a call today. We help people all over Texas purchase homes, refinance existing homes and take home equity loans. We’re a local Austin mortgage company that can answer all your mortgage refinance questions.

Give us a call today!   In Austin: 512-996-8194   In Houston: 713-589-2244

Austin’s Current Rates as of 03/25/2009
Mortgage Rate             Interest Rate APR
Conforming Home Loans: 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate    4.625%   4.833%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate    5.000%   5.289%
15-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate    4.625%   4.989%

Texas Jumbo Home Loans: (Amounts that exceed $417,000) 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate    6.500%   6.651%

Texas FHA Home Loans: (loan limits vary by county) 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate    5.000%   5.645%

Texas Mortgage Refinance Home Equity Loan                                                                              

MBA Boosts Mortgage Originations Forecast By Over $800 Billion:

http://www.mbaa.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/68196.htm?Sort=MostRecent

Washington, DC (March 24, 2009) — The Mortgage Bankers Association today increased its forecast of home mortgage refinance originations in 2009 by over $800 billion.  MBA now expects originations to total $2.78 trillion, which would make 2009 the fourth highest originations year on record, behind only 2002, 2003, 2005. 

This boost is due entirely to the expected increase in mortgage refinancing activity motivated by the drop in mortgage interest rates following last week’s Federal Reserve’s announcement on the Treasury bond and mortgage-backed securities purchases programs and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinance programs.  MBA lowered slightly its forecast of mortgage originations tied to home purchases.

Take advantage of the low mortgage refinance rates! Give us call today to discuss your mortgage refinance needs and goals: In Austin: 512-996-8194 In Houston: 713-589-2244

“While the Fed has not announced that it is targeting specific rates for either 10-year Treasury rates or rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the effect of having the Fed bid in the market for a sustained period is enough to create a refinance incentive for a tremendous number of homeowners.  The vast majority of mortgages originated before the latter part of 2008 are probably going to have at least a 50 basis point refinance incentive for at least the next several months, with current mortgage rates hitting lows not seen since the early 1950s and late 1940s,” said Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research and Economics.

http://mylendingplace.com/mortgage/rates/refinance/

“Even with amazingly low mortgage interest rates, lower home prices and the first-time homebuyers tax credit, it is unlikely that we will see an increase in overall home sales until we see some stabilization of employment,”  Brinkmann said.

MBA projects that total existing home sales for 2009 will drop 2.5 percent from 2008 to 4.8 million units.  New home sales will decline about 39 percent in 2009 from 2008 to 293,000 units.  Median home prices for new and existing homes will continue to fall, dropping by about five to six percent from 2008 levels.

Referring to the mortgage refinance forecast, Brinkmann said, “This level of originations will test the operational capacity of a number of mortgage banking firms for multiple reasons.  First, the reduced availability of warehouse lines of credit could limit the ability of a number of independent mortgage bankers to handle this volume in a short period of time.  Second, the capacity burdens will be borne by the retail channel of loan officers working out of branch offices as the mortgage broker channel for originations is considerably diminished since the last refinance wave.  Third, the epidemic of fraud against lenders over the last several years is leading to closer scrutiny of documentation and appraisals.  Fourth, loan servicers that were already burdened with loan delinquencies and workouts are going to be faced with massive churn in their portfolios as old loans are paid off and new mortgage loans booked.”

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/03/24/0324homesales.html

Today’s Mortgage Refinance Rate in Austin: Are you an Austin homeowner interested in refinancing your existing loan? Are you interested in a Home Equity Loan? We’re a local Austin mortgage company that can help you today with your mortgage refinance needs.    Give us a call: 512-996-8194

Austin’s Current Rates as of 03/22/2009
Mortgage Rate                          Interest Rate   APR
Conforming Loans  
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate     4.625%   4.833%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate     5.000%   5.289%
15-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate     4.625%   4.989%
Texas Jumbo Loans – Amounts that exceed $417,000 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate     6.500%   6.651%
Texas FHA – loan limits vary by county. 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate     5.000%   5.645%

Texas Mortgage Refinance Home Equity Loan

BofA out to make jumbo loans                                               

http://www.inman.com/news/2009/03/20/bofa-out-make-jumbo-loans?page=0%2C0

Bank of America has cut interest rates on jumbo mortgage loans in the hopes of expanding its share of what the bank sees as an underserved market for loans too big for purchase or guarantee by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Not everybody will qualify for the 30-year fixed-rate loans of up to $3 million that Bank of America has been offering at reduced rates since January, with interest rates currently in the high 5 percent range.

In order to qualify, borrowers will need strong credit (a 720 FICO score or above), down payments of 20 percent or more, documented income, full appraisals, and assets sufficient to cover six months of payments, said Bank of America product management executive Vijay Lala.

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/03232009_existing_home_sales.asp

But Bank of America thinks its fixed-rate jumbo loans will prove to be attractive to qualifying borrowers, because many competitors will be hard-pressed to match its rates.

Jumbo loans have become more expensive and harder to come by since September 2007, when rising delinquencies gave investors who fund most home loans through the purchases of mortgage-backed securities cold feet about “private label” securities that don’t carry the backing of Fannie and Freddie.

Unlike some lenders who must securitize and sell the loans they originate, Lala said Bank of America has plenty of room on its balance sheet to fund jumbo loans and hold them for investment, and is “putting the pedal down on our pricing and going after this market.”

Lala said Bank of America and Countrywide Financial Corp., which it acquired last year, funded $16.12 billion in jumbo loans in 2008. Although jumbo loan funding dropped to just $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter, Bank of America is already seeing “very nice volume” since introducing its more aggressive pricing.

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/03/20/0320homesales.html

Bank of America will only offer the loans directly to consumers — and not through independent mortgage brokers — through retail bank branches and Countrywide Home Loans (which will be re-branded Bank of America Home Loans on April 22). Lala said he expects many borrowers will be existing Bank of America customers.

The loans are aimed not only at homebuyers, but homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) jumbo loans who are looking to refinance at better rates. For both purchases and refinancings, the loan-to-value ratio can’t exceed 80 percent on loans up to $1.5 million, or 70 percent on loans up to $3 million.

        Need Texas Term Life Insurance? Visit: http://www.texastermlife.com/  

Today’s mortgage refinance rates in Austin, Texas have dropped! Would you like to benefit from the lower rates? Do you have questions about what type of mortgage refinance loan is right for you? Are you interested in a Home Equity Loan? We can answer all your questions, today! We’re a local Austin mortgage company that has been helping people all over Texas with their mortgage refinance needs.            

   Call us today in Austin!  512-996-8194  or in  Houston:  713-589-2244

Austin’s Current Rates as of 03/13/2009        
Mortgage Rates                    Interest Rate APR
Conforming Loans 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   4.875%   5.086%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   5.125%   5.416%
15-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   4.625%   4.989%
Texas Jumbo Loans – Amounts that exceed $417,000 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   6.500%   6.651%
Texas FHA – loan limits vary by county. 
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate   5.000%   5.645%

Texas Mortgage Refinance Home Equity Loan

Bank of America Says ‘Thank Goodness’ for Countrywide:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aDe2IcgvIIQI

March 13 (Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp.’s mortgage- origination business, the largest in the U.S., is booming after the purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. and as lower loan rates push a wave of refinancing, the unit’s chief said.

“Volume is good, application quality is holding up and the acquisition of Countrywide is really paying off for us with the additional capacity,” Barbara Desoer, head of mortgage, home equity and insurance, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “Thank goodness we have it.”

Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America’s chief executive officer, told reporters yesterday he expects the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company to make money this year after posting a profit in January and February. Last month, he said its “stars” so far in 2009 were businesses acquired with Countrywide, the largest U.S. home lender, and Merrill Lynch & Co.

The average rate on a typical 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.03 percent in the week ended yesterday, according to Freddie Mac. Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage bonds helped drive rates down from 6.46 percent in late October, to a record 4.96 percent in mid-January. Bank of America isn’t yet sure exactly how much its lending will be boosted by the flexibility that the U.S. last month gave Fannie Mae and Freddie to help consumers with little or no home equity refinance, Desoer said.

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com:80/03112009_mba_mortgage_applications.asp

  Desoer, 56, also said that the bank is seeking to make more “jumbo” mortgages, which start at $417,000 in most areas and up to $729,750, the limits for now U.S.-run mortgage firms Fannie and Freddie. The company’s is offering “extremely competitive” rates on jumbo mortgages offered directly to consumers, she said.

 ‘Balance-Sheet Capacity’

“Bank of America has balance-sheet capacity and we’ve allocated it to jumbos given our presence in some of the states and regions where that’s important,” she said. “We’re very much open for business.”

The bank sees an opportunity to do more of the loans with Merrill Lynch’s “mass-affluent” customers, even as it continues to integrate the acquired company, she said. Its Web site says it offers $800,000 30-year fixed-rate loans with 20 percent down payments in New York for 6 percent, versus the 6.78 percent average in the state, according to Bankrate.com.                                                          

To keep up with mortgage demand, Bank of America has added roughly 3,000 employees to its origination unit, including about 1,000 new to the company and 500 shifted from its home-equity division, as well temporary workers, Desoer said. The staff totals about 25,000, Dan Frahm, a spokesman, said.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/12/real_estate/mortgage_rates/index.htm

New Mortgages

Desoer wouldn’t discuss the recent performance of home loans already on its books, saying only “you know what’s happening with” home prices and unemployment “and the potential impact those can have on borrowers being under stress.”

Margins on new mortgages sold off as government-supported mortgage bonds, such as those guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie, are higher than a year ago, she said. U.S. efforts to keep rates on those loans low will be an “extended event,” she added.

Bank of America’s mortgage-servicing business has more than doubled its staff that deals with troubled borrowers to 5,000 in the past year. Still, the company hasn’t always provided the best service, in part because of the volume of calls for help, Desoer said.                        Read the rest of this entry »