Mortgage Rates Archives - Page 23 of 178

What Is an Assumable Mortgage Loan: What You Need To Know Everything has its benefits and drawbacks, and that includes mortgage loans. There are plenty of options available, and you need to find the best one to meet your needs. You have probably heard about conventional mortgages, FHA loans, and even VA loans. On the other hand, have you heard about assumable mortgages? What do you need to know about this option, and how do you know if it is right for you?

An Overview Of An Assumable Mortgage

So, what is an assumable mortgage loan? This means that the buyer is responsible for taking over the mortgage obligations of the seller. One of the biggest advantages of this is that the buyer can use the seller’s interest rate and terms. For example, if you have noticed that interest rates have gone up significantly between now and when the seller took out his or her mortgage, you might decide to take on the seller’s interest rate instead of getting your own interest rate.

How An Assumable Home Loan Works

Now, it is time to take a closer look at how this works. Even though you might want the interest rate that the seller has, you still need to compensate the seller for the equity that he or she has built up. For example, the loan may only have a balance of $200,000, but the seller has already put in $100,000 of equity. As a result, you will either have to take out a second mortgage to cover the $100,000, or you will have to pay the seller $100,000 in cash. Even though you might have to take out a second mortgage for the remainder of the balance, the rest of the mortgage will still have the original interest rate, which could be lower.

Are All Loans Assumable?

Not all loans are assumable; however, there are some examples of loans that are. For example, FHA loans, VA loans, and USDA loans are assumable. If you want to assume a USDA loan, you have to meet the qualifications to take out a USDA loan. VA loans are only available to veterans, but non-veterans are allowed to assume VA loans, which could help them save a significant amount of money.

What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week - February 6, 2023 Last week’s economic reporting included readings on home price growth from S&P Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Administration. Monthly reports on job growth and unemployment were released by the federal government and ADP. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims were also released.

S&P Case-Shiller HPI: Home Prices Drop in November

S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices revealed that U.S. home prices fell for the fifth consecutive month in November. The National Home Price Index fell by -3.1 percent year over year in November as compared to a positive reading of 2.8 percent home price growth in October. Miami, Florida, Tampa, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia held the top three places in the 20-City Home Price Index. Detroit, Michigan was the only city to post a positive reading for home price growth in November’s 20-City Home Price Index.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reported that prices of homes owned or financed by the two government-sponsored enterprises fell by 0.10 percent in November. Analysts expect that home prices will continue to fall in the coming months.

Mortgage Rates and Jobless Claims

Average fixed mortgage rates fell last week. Freddie Mac reported that the rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by four basis points to 6.09 percent. Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by three basis points to 5.14 percent.

183,000 first-time jobless claims were filed as compared to the expected reading of 195,000 new jobless claims and the previous week’s reading of 186,000 first-time jobless claims filed. 1.66 million continuing jobless claims were filed as compared to the previous week’s reading of 1.67 million ongoing jobless claims filed.

Public and Private Sector Job Growth

The federal government’s Non-Farm payrolls report for January posted 517,000 jobs added as compared to the expected reading of 187,000 jobs added and December’s reading of 260,000 jobs added.ADP reported 106,000 private-sector jobs added in January as compared to expectations of 190,000 jobs added and December’s reading of 253,000 private-sector jobs added.

The national unemployment rate for January was 3.4 percent; analysts expected an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent and December’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent.

What’s Ahead

This week’s scheduled economic news includes readings on consumer sentiment, inflation, and weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims.