Posts Tagged ‘Associated Press’
IRS: tax break for homeowners with Chinese drywall
Homeowners with homes damaged by tainted Chinese drywall are getting a bit of help from the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS said Thursday that it will give tax breaks to homeowners who suffered property losses due to bad Chinese drywall installed in their homes between 2001 and 2009. The IRS says repairs to homes and household appliances can be treated as casualty losses. People can file amended tax returns to claim the deduction. Chinese drywall was installed in thousands of homes across the nation, including many in Louisiana. It has caused problems ranging from a foul odor to corrosion of pipes and wiring. AP Logo Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press.
Fannie Mae offers housing aid to military families
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae plans to give military families a break on their home loan payments if they are struggling because of the death or injury of a service member. The Washington-based company says it will reduce or suspend borrowers’ monthly payments up to six months. Fannie Mae is the largest buyer and backer of U.S. home mortgages, owning or guaranteeing about $3.2 trillion in home loans. Fannie Mae also says it would suspend reporting to credit bureaus for up to six months to minimize the impact on the borrower’s credit score. To determine whether they are eligible, military members or their surviving spouses should contact their mortgage company. Or, they can call a special military phone number: 1-877-MIL-4566. AP Logo Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
Feds approve additional housing aid for Florida
Floridians who are struggling to make mortgage payments are getting additional help from the federal government’s Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets. The Treasury Department this week approved a plan by the Florida Housing Finance Corp. to redirect $239 million in previously approved foreclosure-prevention assistance expand options for unemployed workers. Treasury also announced the state housing agency is getting $401 million more in Hardest Hit money to expand the reach of its programs. Assistant Treasury Secretary Herb Allison said the aid is being targeted to areas and states such as Florida, where unemployment and steep home price declines have been concentrated. AP Logo Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
Home prices up 1% in June
U.S. home prices rose in June for the third straight month amid a burst of homebuying due to tax incentives that have since expired. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index posted a 1 percent increase in June from May and was up 4.2 percent from a year ago. Home prices nationally were up 4.8 percent in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, largely due to government tax credits of up to $8,000 that caused sales to surge. Seventeen cities showed price gains on a monthly basis. Prices in Seattle and Portland (Oregon) were flat from a month ago, while prices in Las Vegas fell. Nationally, prices have risen 6 percent from their April 2009 bottom. But they remain 28 percent below their July 2006 peak. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Alan Zibel, AP real estate writer.
Number of underwater mortgages in U.S. fell in 2nd Quarter
Real estate data provider CoreLogic says the number of U.S. homes with mortgages that exceed what the property is worth declined slightly in the second quarter versus the first three months of this year. The firm said Thursday there were 11 million homes with so-called underwater mortgages at the end of June. That's down from 11.2 million at the end of March. The firm attributed the decline primarily to homes being repossessed by lenders. In all, 23 percent of U.S. homes with mortgages were underwater at the end of June. Nevada had the highest rate of underwater mortgages of any state at 68 percent, followed by Arizona at 50 percent and Florida at 46 percent. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Alex Veiga, AP real estate writer.
Mortgage rates hit low of 4.36%
Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the ninth time in 10 weeks as concerns grow that the economy is weakening. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.36 percent this week, down from 4.42 percent last week. That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The average rate on a 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.86 percent from 3.90 percent the previous week. That’s the lowest on records starting in 1991. Rates have fallen since spring as investors shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields. The low rates have fueled borrowers to refinance their home loans. Refinancing is at its highest level since May 2009 and made up 82.4 percent of all new loan activity. However, low rates haven’t budged home sales, Those have been stymied by high unemployment, slow job growth and strict credit standards, and have dropped sharply since the expiration of homebuying tax credits in April. To calculate the national average, Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day. Average rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages were unchanged at 3.56 percent. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to an average rate of 3.52 from 3.53 percent. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 a point for 30-year and 1-year mortgages. They averaged 0.6 of a point for 15-year and 5-year mortgages. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, J.W. Elphinstone, AP real estate writer
Average mortgage rates hit low of 4.42%
Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the eighth time in nine weeks, a sign that investors are concerned about the weak economy. The average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.42 percent, down from 4.44 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The average rate on 15-year fixed loans dropped to 3.9 percent, down from 3.92 percent last week and the lowest on records dating back to 1991. Rates have fallen since spring as investors sought the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields. Falling rates have pushed refinancing of home loans to the highest level since May 2009. But it’s still lower than during the first three months of that year, when rates first fell to around 5 percent. Low mortgage rates, however, have failed to spark home sales. They remain hobbled by the weak economy and tight credit standards. Rates have fallen since spring as investors sought the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields. To calculate the national average, Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day. Average rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages were unchanged at 3.56 percent. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages also were unchanged at an average of 3.53 percent. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 a point for 30-year and 1-year mortgages. They averaged 0.6 of a point for 15-year and 5-year mortgages. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Alan Zibel, AP real estate writer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Senate approves higher gov’t mortgage fees
Higher monthly fees are coming for consumers who take out home loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration, the primary source of mortgages for first-time homebuyers. The Senate late Wednesday unanimously approved legislation giving the FHA the power to hike monthly premiums it charges to consumers. The measure now goes to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it. The new law would affect new loans and not ones that already have been made. Officials say the agency needs the authority to stabilize its finances, which have deteriorated because of the foreclosure crisis. The fees are projected to bring in an extra $3.6 billion per year, according to the FHA. The agency does not make loans, but offers insurance against default. People who take out FHA-backed loans pay a smaller downpayment, as low as 3.5 percent of the home price. But they are subject to two additional fees – one at the start of the loan and an annual fee. Both fees are typically spread out in monthly installments over the life of the loan. Borrowers who take out loans through FHA pay an annual fee of 0.55 percent of the total loan. FHA officials expect to raise that to 0.9 percent, though the bill would give them the power to hike it as high as 1.55 percent. Earlier this year, the FHA raised the upfront fee to 2.25 percent of the total mortgage amount from 1.75 percent. Agency officials want to lower that to 1 percent. The combined impact of lowering the upfront fee and raising the monthly fee would mean a borrower taking out a mortgage of $170,000 at an interest rate of 5 percent would pay an extra $38 a month. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Alan Zibel, AP real estate writer.
