Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s weekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it each Friday afternoon.
- The 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed modestly, according to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® from Freddie Mac. The index shows that mortgage rates hit 6.43% this week, marking the second consecutive week of increases. Experts suggest that the housing market has stabilized from a home sales and price perspective.
- Mortgage applications bounced back after a notable reduction the week before. The number of folks applying for mortgages rose 3.7% seasonally from one week earlier. Despite seeing an uptick this week, experts at the Mortgage Bankers Association acknowledged that activity is still nearly 28% below last year’s pace.
- The share of borrowers late on their mortgage payments dropped in February. Reports show that all mortgaged homes in the U.S. that were delinquent to some degree hit 3%, marking a 0.4% decline from the same period last year. Despite a slight increase from January, experts acknowledged that early-stage delinquency rates (30 to 59 days past due) were “historically low and primarily driven by the strong jobs market.”
Will it help or harm homebuyers? That’s the question on many minds after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a new rule that would raise mortgage fees for borrowers with good credit and a solid down payment on specific homes to subsidize higher-risk borrowers. Beginning May 1, homebuyers with FICO credit scores over 740 will have to pay nearly $40 more each month on a $400,000 loan and a 6% 30-year mortgage if associated with federal mortgage associations Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
