Wednesday, December 30, 2015

FHFA: Mortgage Interest Rates Fall in November

Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from October to November, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's mortgage rate index.

The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 3.85 percent for loans closed in late November, down 4 basis points from 3.89 percent in October.

The average interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.86 percent, down 4 basis points from 3.90 in October.

The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less was 4.08 percent, down 4 basis points from 4.12 in October.

The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was 4.01 percent in November, down 3 basis points from 4.04 percent in October. The effective interest rate accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.

The average loan amount for all loans was $319,800 in November, up $11,200 from $308,600 in October.

Monday, December 28, 2015

FHFA House Price Index Up 0.5 Percent in October

U.S. house prices rose in October, up 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.8 percent increase in September was revised downward to reflect a 0.7 percent increase.

The FHFA HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. From October 2014 to October 2015, house prices were up 6.1 percent.

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from September 2015 to October 2015 ranged from -0.5 percent in the New England division to +1.2 percent in the East South Central division. The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +2.9 percent in the New England division to +8.9 percent in the Mountain division.