FHFA: House Price Index Remains Flat in January
Washington, D.C. – U.S. house prices remained flat in January according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The HPI has reflected positive monthly increases since early 2012, except for November 2013 and January 2017, when house prices were flat on a month-over-month basis. The previously reported 0.4…
CFPB: How to Deal with “Bad Credit” – or No Credit – When You Want to Buy a Home
Buying a home is exciting. It’s also one of the most important financial decisions you’ll make. Choosing a mortgage to pay for your new home is just as important as choosing the right home. You have the right to control the process. Check out our other blogs on homebuying topics, and join the conversation on Facebook…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in January
Washington, D.C. – Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from December to January, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.22 percent for loans closed in late January, up 22 basis points from 4.00…
HUD: New Residential Sales in January 2017 Announced
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau today jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for January 2017: NEW HOME SALES Sales of new single-family houses in January 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000. This is 3.7 percent (±18.5 percent)* above…
FHFA: US House Prices Rise 1.5 Percent in Fourth Quarter
Washington, D.C. – U.S. house prices rose 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 6.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2016. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 0.4 percent…
FHFA: Refinance Volume Continued to Slow in Fourth Quarter
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reported that 13,220 borrowers refinanced their mortgages through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) from October through December. FHFA’s fourth quarter Refinance Report also shows that total refinance volume fell in December, as mortgage interest rates increased. Total HARP refinances now stand at 3,447,671 since…
FHFA: Deadline Extended for Public Input on Potential Chattel Loan Pilot in Duty to Serve Program
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is extending the deadline, from Feb. 17, 2017 to March 21, 2017, for stakeholders to respond to a request for input on potential manufactured home chattel loans pilot initiatives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) as part of the Duty to Serve underserved markets. …
CFPB: How to Decide How Much to Spend on Your Down Payment
One of the toughest parts of buying a home for the first time is coming up with a down payment. You may have heard that in order to buy, you should have 20 percent of the total cost of the home saved up for the down payment. Actually, you can choose how much to put…
FHFA: Public Input Requested on Duty to Serve Program
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is requesting public input on chattel loan pilot initiatives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) and the proposed Evaluation Guidance under the final rule on Duty to Serve Underserved Markets. FHFA issued a final rule on Dec. 13, 2016 to implement the Duty to…
CFPB: Buy a Home? The First Step is to Check your Credit
Buying a home is exciting. It’s also one of the most important financial decisions you’ll make. Choosing a mortgage to pay for your new home is just as important as choosing the right home. You have the right to control the process. Check out our other blogs on homebuying topics, and join the conversation on Facebook…