Home » Mortgage News » 2009 » February
Mortgage Refinance Stalls on Higher Costs, Tightening Credit
Mortgage applications fell over the last week as mortgage rates climb and some borrowers wait for President Obama's mortgage plan to be implemented. However, there may be an even bigger contraction that will prevent any significant recovery--mortgage loan officers are finding it increasingly... Read More» |
Government to Stress Test Big Banks
US banking regulators reveal the details of the much anticipated "stress test" to be applied to large financial institutions. This process is intended to sort banks by their ability, strength to endure even deeper recession. Read More» |
Obama Returns to Message of Hope:
Taking a historic stage as the first black president, President Obama took a much more positive message to the American people. Reassuring them that although there are challenges ahead, there is little reason to underestimate the resilience of this great nation. Read More» |
Citigroup Moving Towards Nationalization
Debate builds on the topic of nationalizing US banks as Citigroup seems to be headed for that fate. The Obama administration continues to issue statements that assures the market that they favor a policy of a private banking sector. However, slips of the tongue by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben... Read More» |
Governors Debate President's Economic Stimulus Plan
Gathered for the Winter meeting of the National Governors Association, the leaders of the nations' states are pouring over the details of the $787 billion economic stimulus. States are being devastated by the mortgage foreclosures and home values, whose property taxes are the most significant... Read More» |
Mortgage Rates Fall Back Towards 5%, Bank Nationalization Fears Rise
MortgageLoan.com's mortgage rate watch saw the average 30-year fixed-rate move back down, nearing 5 percent. The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped below 5 percent to 4.80 percent. Read More» |
New Mortgage Plan Expected to Help 9 Million Avoid Foreclosure
President Obama has promised another $275 billion to help homeowners maintain their mortgages and avoid foreclosure. The new mortgage plan will provide $75 billion for direction foreclosure prevention and double the federal guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--adding another $200 billion--to a... Read More» |
Increasing Unemployment Creating New Wave of Housing Problems
Today the Obama administration releases details on how they plan to spend $50 billion, from the remaining TARP funds, to help borrowers in trouble. Most expect another round of loan modification proposals, maybe even some standardization in how to renegotiate these troubled mortgages. Unfortunately... Read More» |
New Mortgage Rescue Plan Expected Wednesday from President Obama
Curiously absent from the enormous economic stimulus plan, expected to be signed by President Obama today, was additional aid for a mortgage and housing market that continues to falter. However, shortly after that legislation cleared the Senate hurdles the Obama administration was talking about... Read More» |
Obama Scraps Car Czar, Will Drive Auto Recovery from the White House
Expected today, is another Obama administration decision that consolidations more power within the White House. President Barack Obama is expected to announce foregoing the concept of a Car Czar, and appointing a task force to administer a reshaping of the US auto industry. Read More» |
US Government May Subsidize Your Mortgage Payment
The Obama administration unveiled an unprecedented plan to directly help homeowners make their mortgage payments. In a dramatic departure from current homeowner assistance programs, this plan would help borrowers before they become delinquent. Read More» |
Tentative Agreement Reached on the Economic Stimulus Package
House and Senate leadership announced an agreement late Wednesday afternoon on a trimmed $790 billion economic stimulus package. The two houses of Congress spent nearly 24 hours negotiating a merger of the House-passed legislation and the stalled Senate version. Read More» |
Geithner's Bailout Plan Leaves Markets with Questions and Big Losses
Contrary to President Obama's promise in Monday's prime time press conference, Treasury Secretary Geithner's new TARP plan was neither "clear" or "specific." Geithner's outline of Obama administration's plan seemed to fall short. Read More» |
New TARP Unveiled Today, Finding Homes for Bad Mortgages
President Obama, in his first prime-time press conference, continually deferred questions of mortgage crisis and financial sector recovery to his Treasury Secretary. Timothy Geithner is scheduled to reveal his approach to financial system rescue and clearing out troubled mortgages. Read More» |
Bank of America Fights Back Government Takeover Rumors
Bank of America stock plunged below $4 last week on rumors that Bank of America would go back for more TARP funds or even be taken over by the US government. Embattled CEO Kenneth Lewis said rumors of a government takeover was "absurd." Read More» |
Fannie Mae Loosen Underwriting on Mortgage Refinance | Fannie Mae Refi Plus Program
Fannie Mae has posted new guidelines for approving homeowners attempting to lower their loan payments with a mortgage refinance. Read More» |
Hope for Homeowners Mortgage Program Needs Makeover
Hope for Homeowners, one of the first mortgage rescue programs, has been a dramatic failure. Designed and advocated as a foreclosure prevention program, it has only received 451 applications, closed a mere 25 loans, and none have been insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Read More» |
Affordability Returns to Housing Markets, Low Mortgage Rates Drive Home Sales
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) report US homes at the most affordable levels since 1970, when they began tracking affordability. NAR's affordability index jumped 10.9 percent in December--rising on falling home process and low mortgage rates. Read More» |
Republicans Propose Different Stimulus, Targeted at Mortgages and Homeowners
Senate Republican lead Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced a radically new economic stimulus approach. McConnell requested an amendment to the House economic stimulus bill entering the Senate. This radical departure from the Democrat engineered economic stimulus would give government-backed low-... Read More» |
Bad Bank Out, Limiting Executive Pay and Expanding Mortgage Lending In?
Wall Street reveilled briefly in the prospect of "bad banks," aggregating toxic mortgage loans into a government controlled bank. Likewise, they reacted aggressively on the hint that the plan is shoved to the back burner. Read More» |