Miami mortgage rates decreased for 5th week

Miami mortgage rates, Miami real estate

Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey of lenders, for the fifth week in a row Miami mortgage rates have declined. Interest rates for Miami real estate properties are at their lowest level of the year, with 30-year fixed-rate loans below 5%.

Early this week, lenders were offering 30-year fixed home loans at 4.93% on Miami real estate properties which was down from 5.0% last week. The mortgage company said that rate was with borrowers paying 0.7% of the loan balance upfront.

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Miami Short Sales, Miami Real Estate

As Foreclosures Rise, banks take more loses on short sales

Three years into a U.S. housing slump that pressed the economy into a recession and reduced resale values and Miami real estate by 30% from the peak in July 2006, more and more banks are beginning to accept increasing numbers of short sales. In the first six months of 2009 short sales almost tripled to 40,000, from the same period a year earlier. However, according to data from the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, for each short sale there were 25 foreclosures started or completed in the first half of this year.

This year, Wells Fargo, Bank of America Corporation and JPMorgan Chase & Company have hired and trained more staff, developed software systems for accelerating short sales and increased marketing of short sales to delinquent borrowers.

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Miami Homes, South Beach Real Estate

Slightly fewer Miami Homes Valued less their Loan Amount

Nearly half of the owners of Miami homes in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area were valued for less than the mortgages owed against them.

According to a new report from web-based real estate services firm, out of 387,157 homes, 46% percent of homeowners were underwater at the end of September 30, compared to 47% in the second quarter.

The firm said that nationally, 21% of homeowners were underwater as of September 30, down from 23% in the second quarter, as values of Miami homes stabilized in the short term and more underwater borrowers lost their Miami homes to foreclosure.

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Mortgage Fraud, Miami Beach Real Estate

Florida’s Mortgage Fraud Penalties Steepened

The state Senate, in the wake of Florida's real estate downturn and rapid rise in Florida foreclosures, passed a second bill increasing the penalties for those convicted of mortgage fraud.

Not only is the legislation increasing penalties for mortgage fraud but they are also creating a remedy for some of the damage mortgage fraud can inflict on neighborhoods and condominium buildings in the form of higher property taxes.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida has the fastest growing white-collar crime rate in the nation and is a hotbed for real estate fraud...

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Mortgage Rates Rise-Potential Homebuyers Disappointed

Would-be home buyers were disappointed this week when mortgage rates that had been sliding went up.

It was reported that 30-year, fixed rate mortgages, which were at 5.96% last week, their lowest in more than two years, averaged 6.11% this week. On 15-year fixed-rate mortgages the rates rose from 5.65% last week to 5.78%.

The rates increased to 5.89% on five-year adjustable rate mortgages form 5.75%; and one-year ARMs moved up to 5.50%.