The homeownership rate will drop further unless house prices rise substantially, as people who owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth become renters, according to a study released Friday.
U.S. mortgage rates stayed at or near record lows in the past week, with the 30-year fixed rate 1/2 percentage point lower than a year ago, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.
Foreclosures for sale continue to rise in Florida as more homeowners default on their home loans.
Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes fell last week for the fourth straight week, holding 13-year lows, as the housing market adjusted to a selling environment without the federal tax credits that had stoked April sales.
U.S. mortgage rates moved still lower in the past week, nearing a record low set in early December, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.
U.S. mortgage applications to refinance home loans jumped to a seven month high last week as rates neared record lows, but purchase demand remained stuck at a 13-year low.
The default rate for commercial mortgages held by banks in the first quarter hit its highest level since at least 1992 and is expected to surpass that by year-end and peak in 2011, according to a study by Real Capital Analytics.
The U.S. thrift industry reported its third consecutive quarter of profit, earning $1.82 billion during the first three months of the year.
House prices will manage a small gain in 2010 after the worst crash since the Great Depression but gains in coming years are likely to come slowly, a Reuters poll found.
U.S. consumers are less interested in buying a foreclosed home than they were a year ago, which could slow a housing market rebound as banks prepare to sell a record number of repossessed properties, according to a survey released on Thursday.
One in every seven U.S. households with a mortgage ended the first quarter behind on payments or in foreclosure, although a peak in unemployment could mean repayment stress is easing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
Mortgage applications declined 27.1 percent last week compared to the previous week, on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.
Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped in the latest week, according to real estate website Zillow.com on Tuesday, a move that bodes well for the hard-hit housing market as it copes with the absence of government support.
The number of struggling homeowners who were current on permanently reduced mortgage payments under the Treasury's housing rescue program grew to 295,348 in April from 227,922 in March, a Treasury report showed on Monday.
U.S. mortgage rates dropped below 5 percent in the latest week, the lowest level in 5 months, boding well for the hard-hit housing market as it copes with the absence of government support, a closely watched survey showed on Thursday.
Foreclosure activity fell in April as lenders repossessed homes at a record pace but started far fewer new actions against struggling homeowners, signaling a plateau in loan failures, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
Bank of America Corp said on Thursday that it had modified roughly 56,000 customer mortgages so far this year under the primary U.S. government program aimed at preventing bank foreclosures.
The Federal Reserve scored a victory and mortgage bankers suffered a defeat on Wednesday as the Senate took aim at bank supervision and housing finance in its sprawling Wall Street reform effort.
The Federal Reserve scored a victory and mortgage bankers suffered a defeat on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate took aim at bank supervision and housing finance in its sprawling Wall Street reform effort.
U.S. mortgage applications rose last week, reflecting a jump in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates reached their lowest level since mid-March, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
