Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), and for yet another week, fixed-rate mortgages reached record lows, as did the five-year adjustable rate in this survey. The 30-year fixed-rate survey began in 1971, the 15-year began in 1991, and the five-year adjustable in 2005.Read more

Delinquency rates were mixed in the second quarter for commercial/multifamily mortgage investor groups, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report. The delinquency rate for loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) is the highest since the series began in 1997. Delinquency rates for other groups remain below levels seen in the early 1990s, some by large margins.Read more

An online poll conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) in August has revealed that as a result of the economic crisis, 51 percent of the 3,201 respondents took steps to reduce their debt. The NFCC’s August Financial Literacy Opinion Index was conducted via the homepage of the NFCC Web site (www.DebtAdvice.org) from Aug. 1-31, 2010 and answered by 3,201 individuals.Read more

The aggregate value of Commercial Real Estate (CRE) loans priced by DebtX that collateralize commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) increased to 79.4 percent as of July 30, 2010, up from 77.4 percent as of June 30, 2010. Loan values were 71.1 percent as of July 31, 2009. "Despite weak CRE fundamentals and increasing levels of delinquencies and defaults, 90 percent of CMBS loans are still performing," said DebtX Chief Executive Officer Kingsley Greenland.Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Aug. 27, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2.3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 2.8 percent from the previous week and is at its highest level since May 1, 2009. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.8 percent from one week earlier.Read more

A new analysis from Market Rates Insight (MRI) reveals that consumers are exhibiting one-third less (36 index points) confidence in the economy during the current downturn in deposit rates compare to the previous deposit-rate dip in January of 2004. In January of 2004, which was the previous downturn in deposit rates, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (MCSI) stood at 103.8, and the national average rate for deposits was 1.88 percent. In July 2010, the MCIS stood at 67.8, and the national average rate for deposit hit a new record low of 0.99 percent.Read more

Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported an aggregate profit of $21.6 billion in the second quarter of 2010, a $26 billion improvement from the $4.4 billion net loss the industry posted in the second quarter of 2009. This is the highest quarterly earnings total since the third quarter of 2007. Despite the improvement, earnings remain below historical norms. On the positive side, one in five institutions reported a net loss for the quarter, compared to 29 percent a year earlier.Read more

Freddie Mac has announced the results of its second quarter Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI). The Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI) Purchase-Only Series for the United States registered a 3.1 percent (13.2 percent annualized) increase in the second quarter relative to the first quarter on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis. U.S. home values fell 0.2 percent relative to the second quarter a year ago.Read more

CredAbility has released the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index results for the 2010 second quarter. The Index, a quarterly measure that tracks the financial condition of the average U.S. household, finds that high levels of unemployment and the strain of housing costs continue to keep consumers mired in financial distress. But consumers' net worth has increased for the past five quarters as they continue to pay down debt and, in some parts of the country, benefit from stabilizing housing prices.Read more

Sales of newly built, single-family homes declined 12.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 276,000 units in July, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department. This was the lowest sales rate for new homes on record. "Today's report, though not unexpected, is disappointing in view of the improvement in sales activity that we saw in June," said Bob Jones, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich.Read more