Mortgage Informer

In another encouraging sign for the U.S. housing market, mortgage delinquencies fell in March for the second month in a row, according to new data.

The number of mortgage loans that were at least 30 days past due or in foreclosure declined 8.6% in March, according to LPS Applied Analytics, which tracks loan performance. The biggest slide came in loans that were 30 days past due. Such loans fell by a record 342,000 to roughly 1.45 million, a level not seen since spring 2008.

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The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities posted its largest increase ever in March, Moody’s Investors Service reported Wednesday, blaming most of the gain from the collapse of a $5.4 billion housing deal in New York.

The ratings agency said that the rate rose 69 basis points in March, a $4.3 billion increase as 343 loans became delinquent.

But 45 of the basis points were attributable to the loan for the Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town housing project in Manhattan. A $3 billion loan for the development moved into delinquency in March.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.07% for the week ending April 15, down from 5.21% last week. A year ago, the mortgage averaged 4.82%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.40%, down from 4.52% last week and 4.48% a year ago.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 4.08%, down from 4.25% last week and 4.88% a year ago. And the 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.13%, down from 4.14% last week and 4.91% a year ago.

“After rising for four consecutive weeks, mortgage rates eased back to where they were two weeks ago and still remain historically low,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a news release.

The number of mortgages taken out by homebuyers rose by 12% in February following a weak January, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed today.

A total of 35,000 loans worth £5bn were advanced over the month compared with 32,000 the previous month.

However, while the number of loans was up by 49% on February 2009’s figure, and the value was up by 67%, the CML said the monthly increase signified only a “modest recovery” and reflected the extremely weak housing market in January, resulting from severe winter weather and the end of the stamp duty holiday on properties costing between £125,000 and £175,000.

A new Obama administration get-tough policy on home mortgage discrimination is drawing kudos from consumer advocates, along with expressions of serious concern from lawyers who represent lenders and brokers.

Rates for 30-year home loans surged this week, rising to the highest level in eight months amid the improving economy and the end of a government push to keep rates low.

The average rate was 5.21% this week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates, released Thursday. The mortgage averaged 5.08% last week and 4.87% a year ago. It hasn’t been higher since the week ending Aug. 13, when it averaged 5.29%.

U.S. mortgage rates climbed to the highest level in almost three months as the Federal Reserve ended a program that helped cut borrowing costs for homebuyers.

Rates for 30-year fixed loans rose to 5.08 percent for the week ended today from 4.99 percent, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said in a statement. That’s the highest rate since the period ended Jan. 7. The average 15-year rate was 4.39 percent, according to the McLean, Virginia-based company.

A unit of the government-controlled insurer American International Group is offering the first of two new residential-mortgage-backed securities worth a total of $1.8 billion, priming the pump for the return of so-called private-label mortgage-backed securities.

American General Finance Corp., through American General Mortgage Loan Trust 2010-1, is selling what could be the first of many deals, a $1 billion issue backed by existing prime and Alt-A residential loans made in 2003 and 2004. The triple-A tranche of $501.33 million is expected to yield 5%.

The company also is offering a second mortgage-backed deal of $800 million that is expected to be sold next month.

The initiative, which has been criticized, will be altered beginning June 1 to make loan servicers more proactive about helping homeowners facing foreclosure and to speed up the entire process.

Reporting from Washington – The Obama administration on Thursday announced changes to its controversial initiative to ease home foreclosures, expanding public outreach and eligibility in response to sharp criticism that the $75-billion program had been ineffective.