Whitney Minnich Real Estate and Community Updates

More Homeowners Paying Their Mortgages on Time March 4, 2019 More Americans are paying their mortgages on time than at any point in nearly two decades, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Delinquency rates are a key economic measure, closely watched by economists. The last time a large number of homeowners stopped making mortgage payments on time, from 2007 to 2008, it impacted the entire economy. Borrowers who have conventional mortgages are the most likely to pay on time, while borrowers with loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration tend to pay late nearly three times more often. (Still, 91 percent of FHA borrowers pay on time.) FHA borrowers tend to have lower credit scores, higher debt-to-income ratios, and lower down payments. All three factors multiply the risk that borrowers will pay late, according to the MBA. But the FHA delinquency rate of 8.65 percent is still a big improvement over a decade ago, when it was about 14 percent. W...

Data Breach Prompts Call for More Mortgage Protections February 11, 2019 Hackers recently gained access to the personal data of about 54,000 mortgage borrowers on loans originating from Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Capital One, HSBC, and other lenders. While the loans were being acquired by an investment firm, documents with borrowers’ information were apparently exposed online with no password or other protections. Security experts are unsure how much personal data hackers were able to access, and many of the victims may not know they were affected. The banks say they have had no direct involvement in the data breach because they don’t own or service the mortgages but are working to identify which customers were affected. Hackers could use borrowers’ personal information to establish new credit card accounts or apply for new mortgages, experts warn. Rick Hill, vice president of industry technology for the Mortgage Bankers Association, told  The Washington Post ...

Have You Noticed? The Housing Market Is Starting to Look Brighter January 28, 2019 Real estate indicators are starting to shift in favor of home buyers as the housing market sets its sights on spring. Mortgages are getting cheaper, housing inventories are growing, and home prices are rising at a slower pace. Mortgage rates have been holding steady for the last few weeks. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.45 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. Late last year, mortgage rates were nearing the 5 percent threshold, but several weeks of decreases have offered some relief to home shoppers. The five-year adjustable-rate mortgage has been averaging under 4 percent, landing at 3.90 percent last week,  Freddie Mac reports . Home buyers are responding to the lower rates. New mortgage applications of home buyers across the country surged to the highest level since 2010 during the week ending Jan. 11, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assoc...