Fannie Mae | M Squared Real Estate

Apr 29

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – April 29, 2013

April 29, 2013 By Joshua Oliver Leave a Comment

Mortgage rates fell again last week and are again near record lows. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage did achieve a record low of 2.61 percent as compared to 3.1 percent one year ago. The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.40 percent and near the record low of 3.31 percent. Low mortgage rates are helping homeowners with refinancing and are boosting housing markets as more buyers can qualify for mortgage loans. Home … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Consumer Confidence, Economy, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Federal Open Market Committee, Financial News, Freddie Mac, Friday, mortgage rates, National Association of Realtors, U.S. Housing Market

Oct 04

With Tomorrow’s Job Report Due, Mortgage Rates May Finally Rise

October 4, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie Leave a Comment

It's a dangerous time for home buyers in District of Columbia to be without a locked mortgage rate. Friday morning, at 8:30 AM ET, the government releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report for September. More well-known as "the jobs report", Non-Farm Payrolls data has the power to move mortgage rates up or down. Unfortunately, ahead of the release, we can't know which. Last year, job growth more than doubled between August and September. If this year shows that same growth, DC mortgage rates … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: August, Bureau of Labor Statistic, Employment, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Mortgage loan, NFP, Non-Farm Payrolls, September, Wall Street

Sep 26

Home Price Index Shows Values Rising 3.7% From One Year Ago

September 26, 2012 By Joshua Oliver Leave a Comment

Tuesday, the Federal Home Finance Agency's Home Price Index (HPI) showed home values rising 0.2% on a seasonally-adjusted basis between June and July 2012, and moving +3.7% on an annual basis. Home values have not dropped month-to-month since January of this year -- a span of 6 months. For today's home buyers and sellers throughout DC , though, it's important to recognize on what the HPI is actually reporting. Or, stated differently, on what the HPI is not reporting. The Home Price … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: District of Columbia, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Administration, Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHFA, Freddie Mac, Home Price Index, House price index, HPI, Price index, washington dc

Aug 28

Government : Home Prices Up 3.0% In Last 12 Months Nationwide

August 28, 2012 By Joshua Oliver Leave a Comment

The housing market recovery appears to be sustainable. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Home Price Index, home prices rose by a seasonally-adjusted 0.7 percent between May and June 2012. The index is now up 3.0% over the past 12 months, and made its biggest quarterly gain since 2005 last quarter. The FHFA's Home Price Index measures home price changes through successive home sales for homes whose mortgages are backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHFA, Freddie Mac, Home Price Index, House price index, HPI, Price index, Real estate pricing

Jul 25

Home Values Rise 0.8% In May 2012

July 25, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

The housing market's bottom is 9 months behind us. Home values continue to climb nationwide. According to the Federal Home Finance Agency's Home Price Index, home values rose 0.8% in May on a monthly, seasonally-adjusted basis. May's reading marks the sixth time in seven months that home values rose. Values are now higher by 4 percent since the market's October 2011 bottom. As a DC home buyer or seller, though, it's important to understand what the Home Price Index measures. Or, more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: District of Columbia, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Administration, FHFA, Freddie Mac, Home Price Index, House price index, HPI, New Home Sales, Price index, Real estate economics, washington dc

Mar 20

Loans For Underwater Homeowners : HARP 2.0 Now Available

March 20, 2012 By Joshua Oliver Leave a Comment

The new, revamped HARP program is now available in District of Columbia and nationwide. It was officially released Saturday, March 17, 2012 by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. HARP is an acronym. It stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program. HARP is the conforming mortgage loan product meant for "underwater homeowners". Under the HARP program, homeowners in District of Columbia can get access to today's low mortgage rates despite having little or no equity whatsoever. HARP is expected to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: District of Columbia, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Administration, Freddie Mac, HARP, Home insurance, Loan-to-value ratio, Making Home Affordable, Mortgage loan, Refinancing, Underwater, washington dc

Feb 10

Revamped HARP : Unlimited Loan-to-Value And Same Great Rates

February 10, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie 3 Comments

The government's new, revamped HARP program is 6 weeks from release. Homeowners in DC and nationwide are gearing up to refinance. HARP is an acronym. It stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program. HARP is the government's loan product for "underwater homeowners". HARP makes current mortgage rates available to households which would otherwise be unable to refinance because the home lacks equity. This is a big deal -- especially today. Mortgage rates are at an all-time low and millions of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Administration, Freddie Mac, HARP, Home Affordable Refinance Program, Home insurance, Loan, Making Home Affordable, Mortgage loan, Refinancing

Jan 10

Lock Your Mortgage Rate : New Loan Fees Expected Within Days

January 10, 2012 By Jessica Wilkie 3 Comments

Starting soon, nearly all home buyers and refinancing households throughout District of Columbia and nationwide will pay higher mortgage loan fees. Congress has made it law. 13 months ago, as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Congress enacted a one-year cut to FICA payroll taxes. FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Taxes collected under FICA fund such programs as Social Security and Medicare. The stimulus plan … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Congress, District of Columbia, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Administration, Fee, FICA, Freddie Mac, Mortgage loan, Payroll Tax, real estate, United States Department of the Treasury, washington dc

Dec 29

Nationally, Home Prices Off 18.3 Percent From April 2007 Peak

December 29, 2011 By Jessica Wilkie 2 Comments

The government confirms what the private-sector Case-Shiller Index reported yesterday. Nationwide, average home values slipped in October. The Federal Home Finance Agency's Home Price Index shows home values down 0.2% on a monthly, seasonally-adjusted basis. October marks just the second time since April that home values fell month-over-month. The Case-Shiller Index 20-City Composite showed values down 0.7 percent from September to October. As a home buyer in DC , it's easy to look at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Case-Shiller Index, Fannie Mae, FHFA, Freddie Mac, Home Price Index, House price index, New Home Sales, October, Price index, Real estate broker/agent, Real estate economics

Nov 25

Conforming Loan Limits Unchanged For 2012

November 25, 2011 By Joshua Oliver 2 Comments

A conforming mortgage is one that, literally, conforms to the mortgage guidelines as set forth by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Conforming mortgage guidelines are Fannie's and Freddie's eligibility standards; an underwriter's series of check-boxes to determine whether a given loan should be approved. Among the many traits of a conforming mortgage is "loan size". Each year, the government re-assesses its maximum allowable loan size based on "typical" housing costs nationwide. Loans that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Conforming loan, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Loan Limits, loan rate, Mortgage loan, washington dc