Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: March 2012: 143.7, an increase from the revised 126.5 recorded in February.

Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: First quarter 2012: 56 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates: Week ending 5/10/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.83% fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.05 fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.73% Fees/points: 0.5% (Source: Freddie Mac)

Of these borrowers, 58 percent maintained about the same loan amount, and 21 percent of refinancing homeowners reduced their principal balance; the share of borrowers that kept about the same loan amount was the highest in the 26-year history of the analysis.

“Cash-out” borrowers, those who increased their loan balance by at least five percent, represented 21 percent of all refinance loans; the weighted average cash-out share during the 1985 to 2008 period was 50 percent.

The median interest rate reduction for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was about 1.5 percentage points, or a savings of about 27 percent in interest rate, the largest percent reduction recorded in the 27 years of analysis. Over the first year of the refinance loan life, the median borrower will save about $2,900 in interest payments on a $200,000 loan.

http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=1w8sWhgcjEnVkWSmcc_UQQ

A new statistical analysis, based on a large sample of all mortgage applications approved and denied in recent months, offers valuable benchmakers for anyone thinking about refinancing a home purchase or refinancing an exisiting loan.
Read the full story
http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20120415,0,7325165.story

Making sense of the story

• Locking in a rate may be especially important for those who are refinancing, where even a quarter of a percentage point could skew a borrower’s calculations and make a refinancing less financially desirable.
• Rate locks can provide buyers with some peace of mind, not to mention one less thing to think about in an otherwise onerous application process.
• Lenders typically will give loan rate guarantee agreements when a borrower has a purchase agreement, but a few will provide them to those who are preapproved for a mortgage.
• The cost of reserving an interest rate depends both on the duration of the lock and the amount of the loan.  The longer the lock, the more costly it is.  Most locks are for 30, 45, or 60 days, but some lenders will go as long as six months.
• Most lenders offer some version of a free lock, though it may be only for 30 days. Others charge points – or fractions thereof – based on the loan size, which could amount to several hundred dollars.  One point is equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.  Sometimes these charges are refundable at closing.
• Borrowers may want to skip a rate lock, or delay taking one, if they are unsure when their home purchase will close.
• Knowing how long to lock in a rate requires a clear picture of the mortgage process, and a good estimate from the lender on how long it will take to approve the loan and complete all the paperwork and other requirements. For some lenders handling refinancing, this can be 15 or 20 days; others take longer.

Read the full story
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/realestate/mortgages-locking-in-peace-of-mind.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

However, data on home prices changed little from the previous month – marking a fifth month of seasonal lows.

The March Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:
Mortgage delinquency rates continued a downward trend and are substantially below year ago levels. In addition, foreclosure completions ticked downward last month, although increased activity is expected in the coming months as firms lift processing delays following the landmark mortgage servicing settlement reached with the five largest banks in early February.
More than 5.8 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of February 2012.
As of February, more than 970,000 homeowners received a permanent HAMP modification, saving more than $530 on their mortgage payments each month.

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2012/HUDNo.12-068

As more people refinance home mortgages, some are getting tripped up by tax-deduction rules.  Those who decide to borrow more than they owe on their existing mortgage often assume they can write off interest on the whole new loan, but in many cases they can’t.
Read the full story
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203960804577239152801934074.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_MIDDLETopNews

Making sense of the story

• The guarantee fee has been charged by government sponsored entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for more than three decades.  The fee does not show up in borrowers’ mortgage documents or good-faith estimates, and it is little known outside the industry.  According to a Fannie Mae spokesman, the fee “gets incorporated into the underlying rate the borrower pays.”
• An interest rate is usually made of up three parts: The largest goes to the bank or the investors who buy the loan; the smaller portion is for the mortgage servicer that collects monthly payments; and then there’s the guarantee fee.  Fannie and Freddie charge guarantee fees as a form of insurance against default for the loans they acquire and resell to investors.
• The guarantee fee will rise 10 basis points on April 1; the increase was included in the two-month extension of the payroll tax reduction last December.  A basis point is equal to one one-hundredth of 1 percent, or 0.01 percent.
• One way to avoid the guarantee fee is to use a lender that does not sell off its loans – for instance, a community bank or a credit union.
• In addition to offsetting risks, the fees provide a primary source of revenue for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Both organizations started raising fee rates in 2008 during the housing crisis, as foreclosure costs rose.

Read the full story
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/realestate/mortgages-a-hidden-fee-is-set-to-rise.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

Mortgage rates are the lowest on record.  But by a key historical measure, they should be even lower.
Read the full story:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204131004577237550558739754.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/23344/StrategicPlanConservatorshipsFINAL.pdf

A Mortgage Bankers Association report Thursday said that after seasonal adjustments, 7.58 percent of all residential mortgages were delinquent by at least one payment as of the fourth quarter of 2011.  That was down from 7.99 percent in the third quarter of 2011 and 8.25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Read the full story:
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-mortgage-delinquencies-20120216,0,5231531.story