George L. Duarte - Mortgage Loans Fremont California Horizon Financial Associates

What Is Mortgage Insurance? When it comes to putting a down payment on a house, most lenders are going to ask for 20 percent; however, some lenders will be willing to accept a smaller down payment in exchange for something else.

That something else is usually mortgage insurance. If a lender says they are asking for mortgage insurance, which is also shortened to PMI, it is important for everyone to know what this means.

An Overview Of PMI

PMI stands for private mortgage insurance and is usually required if the borrower is putting down less than 20 percent. The lender will usually go out and find private mortgage insurance before shifting the premium for the insurance policy to the borrower.

Usually, PMI is included with the rest of the mortgage payment. The lender will take the portion of the mortgage payment that makes up the PMI and shift this into an escrow account. Then, the lender will simply move this out of the escrow account to the insurance company to cover the cost of the policy. This is the most common type of mortgage insurance.

What Is The Cost Of Mortgage Insurance?

The cost of PMI is going to depend on a number of different factors. Some of the factors include:

The amount of the down payment
The person’s credit score
The type of mortgage the borrower takes out
How long the mortgage is supposed to last

In general, the larger the down payment and the higher the credit score, the lower the mortgage insurance is going to cost. It is also important for people to note that mortgage insurance is not going to last for the length of the mortgage. As a whole, most PMI policies will be phased out once the amount of equity in the home reaches 20 percent of the home’s value. Then, the PMI will usually be waived.

The Purpose Of Mortgage Insurance

Some people might be wondering why they need to purchase PMI at all. This is an insurance policy that is meant to protect the lender against the risk of the borrower defaulting. If the borrower is able to convince the lender that their risk of default is low, they might be able to avoid being asked for PMI.

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week - June 22, 2020 Last week’s scheduled economic reporting included readings on U.S. Housing markets, housing starts, and building permits issued. Weekly reports on new and continuing jobless claims and mortgage rates were also released.

NAHB: Builder Confidence in Housing Market Recovers in June

Analysts cited slim supplies of available homes, tight housing markets, and low mortgage rates as drivers of new home sales. Builder confidence in current housing market conditions rose 21 points to an index reading of 58 in June; builder confidence in housing market conditions in the next six months rose 22 points to 68.

Builder confidence in buyer traffic in new single-family housing developments rose from May’s index reading of 21 to 43 in June. Readings for buyer traffic are typically lower than the benchmark reading of 50.

Readings over 50 indicate that most builders are confident about housing market conditions and component readings of the Housing Market Index. Prospective home buyers continued to face obstacles of high unemployment and loss of income due to the coronavirus pandemic; these factors will likely impact builder confidence for months ahead as impacts of the pandemic change.

Housing Starts, Building Permits Issued Increase in May

The Commerce Department reported 974,000 housing starts on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis in May as compared to a pace of 934,000 housing starts reported in April. Building permits issued in May rose to 1.22 million permits issued on an annual basis from April’s pace of 1.07 million permits issued. Analysts expected 1.25 million permits to be issued in May on an annual basis.

Mortgage Rates Hit All-Time Low as Jobless Claims Decrease

Freddie Mac reported lower mortgage rates that were the lowest mortgage rates recorded. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was eight basis points lower at 3.13 percent; interest rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 2.58 percent and were four basis points lower than for the prior week. Interest rates for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages averaged one basis point lower at 3.09 percent. Discount points averaged 0.80 percent for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.40 percent for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages.

First-time jobless claims fell to 1.51 million claims last week as compared to the prior week’s reading of 1.57 million initial claims filed. Continuing jobless claims also fell; 20.50 million claims were reported as compared to 20.60 million ongoing jobless claims reported the prior week.

What’s Ahead

This week’s scheduled economic reports include reports on sales of new and previously-owned homes, FHFA’s Home Price Index, and the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.

What Is Mortgage Insurance?

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – June 22, 2020

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