The Breakdown of the Fiscal Cliff

Source: cfr.org Was the Mayan Apocalypse predicting the “Fiscal Cliff” all along? Either way, there’s been a lot of head scratching these past few days since the latest buzz word on the street has emerged as something that we should be worried about. But what exactly is this “fiscal cliff” and why is everyone talking about it? A definition found on cfr.org put it this way: "The "fiscal cliff" is a term used to describe a bundle of momentous U.S. federal tax increases and spending cuts that are due to take effect at the end of 2012 and early 2013. In total, the measures are set to automatically slash the federal budget deficit...

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Unemployment Rate Dropped; Economy Recovering

According to the Labor Department, businesses around the nation have added 146,000 new jobs! As a result, the unemployment rate has dropped from 7.9% to 7.7%. This rate is the lowest that it has been since December 2008 when President Obama took office. There was concern initially that businesses would slow down their hiring out of fear of the federal budget's "fiscal cliff" and what it might do to next year's economy, but this appears to not be an issue. Also, Hurricane Sandy did not have as big of an effect on the job market as originally anticipated. The holiday season seems to be keeping moods high as Christmas sales are booming. As a result, most of November's job gains were in clothing, electronics and general merchandise stores.  However, there were declines in employment for...

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Rate Update: Near Record Lows

According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), the mortgage rates remain "little changed and near record lows this week amid indicators of stronger economic growth and signs of tame inflation," said Frank Nothaft, vice president of Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged at 3.34% for the week ending December 6, 2012. Because the mortgage rates have remained steady, the economy is getting a chance to recover.  There has been growth in fixed residential investment, residential construction, and pending home sales. "The housing market is aiding in this recovery," said Nothaft. If you are interested in buying a house or refinancing your home, the near record-low mortgage rates are still attractive! Home affordability is high and...

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HUD Set to Sell Nearly 40,000 Distressed Loans in 2013

In an effort to support hard-hit communities and to increase recovery on losses to the FHA's Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, HUD will sell roughly 40,000 distressed loans over the next year. Working with HUD, the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (DASP) has been instrumental for selling loans of severely delinquent mortgages that are insured by the FHA. There is a competitive bidding process involved that sells loan pools to the highest bidder. The results of these sales from September's auction shows that investors and communities alike are eager for this program to continue. The sales were strong and had a record number of participating bidders. The FHA saw $1 billion in economic value added to their MMI fund due to the decrease of losses that were expected on FHA loans. The first sale...

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HARP Loans Make Up 25% of Loans in Q3

Did you know that Quest Loans specializes in Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) loans? And did you know that in the 3rd quarter of 2012 that nearly one-quarter of all refinances were through HARP? That's right! More than 90,000 homeowners have refinanced their current mortgages with HARP in that time period. The high amount of HARP refinances is largely because of the record low mortgage rates! Did you know: Since HARP began in 2009, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have financed more than 1.7 million loans! Half of all HARP loans in September 2012 had loan-to-value (LTV) ratios greater than 105% and one-fourth had LTVs greater than 125% 19% of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for sorter-term mortgages which builds equity faster If you are thinking about refinancing your...

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