Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for the ‘Mortgages’ Category

Homeowner Equity Tops All-Time High

U.S. homeowners collectively experienced a historic milestone in the 2018 second quarter – total ‘tappable’ home equity grew to a record high, according to Black Knight Inc. Black Knight’s Mortgage Monitor Report found that U.S. tappable equity jumped up to $6 trillion, a gain of $636 billion since the beginning of 2018 and triple the amount […]

Top 5 Best and Worst States at Managing Debt

Researchers have found a wide spread between the states where residents pay off their debts well versus those that don’t. Financial website Credible conducted a survey of over 540,000 borrowers from across all 50 U.S. states and found that credit card bills and student loans along with high housing costs are what keep many Americans from […]

Refinance Volume Falls to 18-Year Low

Fewer Americans applied for refinance loans in the latest week, as U.S. mortgage interest rates rose to a 5-week high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In fact, that jump in rates was enough to push refinance application volume to its lowest point in 18 years. “As mortgage rates increased to a five-week high, the […]

Mortgage Credit Loosens But Confidence Falls

Rising home prices and mortgage interest rates have prompted lenders to loosen their credit standards, but those same factors have caused Americans to feel less confident that now is a good time to buy a home. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index rose to 184.1% in July, up 1.7% from June. An increase in […]

Consumer Household Debt Tops Record High

Americans now have more debt than ever before, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, but serious delinquency rates have remained near historic lows. Total U.S. household debt now amounts to $13.29 trillion as the of the 2018 second quarter, up 0.6% from the first quarter. This marks the 16th straight quarterly […]

Mortgage Rates Jump to 7-Week High

Long-term U.S mortgage interest rates rose to the highest level in 7 weeks, according to data from mortgage backer Freddie Mac,  Thursday, posing potential affordability issues for home buyers. During the week ended, August 2, 2018, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) rose to 4.60%, with an average 0.4 point, up […]

Mortgage Applications Jump as Home-buyers Seize their Opportunity

As mortgage interest rates fell and real estate inventory declines slowed, more potential home-buyers applied for home loans this week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey found that home purchase mortgage requests jumped by 7% in the latest week, bring total application volume up for the first time in […]

Refinance Applications Fall to 20-year Low

Even though mortgage interest rates dropped in the latest week, home loan requests also decreased, with refinance applications dropping to one of their lowest readings in 20 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Financial market volatility in response to continued worries about trade resulted in both lower mortgage rates and a drop in applications […]

Credit Card Interest Rates Post 18-Year High

American consumers are paying higher interest rates on their credit cards than they have in roughly 18 years, according to data from LendingTree.com, and they may pay even more before the end of the year. The average credit card rate today is 15.3%, based on information from LendingTree.com’s CompareCards.com, the highest level since 2000. Back […]

Mortgage Delinquency Rate Falls to 11-Year Low

Serious mortgage delinquencies declined to their lowest level in 11 years, according to data from CoreLogic, aided by an improving economy. The rate of serious U.S. mortgage delinquencies  – home loans that are more than 90 days past due – fell to 2.1% in March from 1.9% a year earlier. The current reading is at […]