Freddie Mac Joins Others In Foreclosure Avoidance Program

Freddie Mac is important web site to learn about mortgage in the world. So we maybe learned from there website. Freddie Mac has joined with 14 other major financial organizations including some of the nation's largest mortgage originating and servicing companies to create a multi-faceted foreclosure avoidance program.

The program, which will be largely administered by the NeighborWorks® Center for Foreclosure Solutions, will be aimed at increasing the industry's ability to provide effective counseling to borrowers, undertaking new research, and assisting public and private organizations to educate the public about resources and options available when a mortgage becomes delinquent.

A spokesman for Freddie Mac stated that the corporation's decision to contribute to the $1 million necessary to fund the program was based in part on a company sponsored survey conducted by Roper Public Affairs and Media/GFK NOP which found that 61 percent of borrowers who were behind on their mortgage payments were unaware that there were options available to help them keep their homes and 64 percent were unaware that companies servicing Freddie Mac mortgages provided counselors to help them understand those options.

Ingrid Beckles, vice president of default asset management at Freddie Mac said "We are delighted to be joining NeighborWorks and the other co-sponsors to launch this promising new effort to show borrowers how to avoid unnecessary foreclosures." Among those joining in sponsoring the program are Countrywide Home Loans, Option One Mortgage, Wells Fargo, and HSBC.

Freddie states that the current programs in which it works closely with lenders and organizations like NeighborWorks assists an estimated 50,000 distressed homeowners to keep their homes or dispose of them in an orderly manner each year.

A state by state list of agencies and programs currently available to borrowers who need help keeping their homes can be found at the link above. There is also a link to that site at www.freddiemac.com. The Freddie Mac site also provides a lot of information about alternatives to foreclosure that are available to troubled borrowers.

Mortgage Rates Continue Uptick While Refinancing At Two Year Low

Mortgage rates barely moved during the past week according to Freddie Mac reporting for the period ending May 4 and the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week ending May 5. While the trend continued, as it has for some time, to be up for most products the one-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) actually declined according to both organizations.

The Freddie Mac Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported that the rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.59 percent for the week compared to 6.58 percent the previous week. Fees and points moved upward from 0.5 to 0.6. Changes in fees and points were identical for the 15 year fixed and the average interest rate was also up a mere one basis point to 6.22 percent.

The rate for the 5/1-year hybrid ARM was unchanged at 6.21 percent although fees and points did increase from 0.6 to 0.7. The 1-year ARM declined one basis point to 5.67 and fees and points for this product also increased from 0.7 to 0.8.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported slightly greater changes in the average rates for the week, but swings up and down were still modest. The average contract rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased four basis points to 6.61 percent with points, including the origination fee, declining from 1.18 to 1.14. The 15-year fixed rate increased to 6.20 from 6.19 with points rising to 1.23 from 1.18.

The rate for the one-year ARM decreased from 6.08 to 6.04 percent with points up 0.01 to 0.86. All MBA averages are for 80 percent LTV loans.

Activity was down from the previous periods for which MBA reports. Applications declined 5.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the volume recorded the previous week and 5.2 percent on an unadjusted basis. Volume was down a notable 27.1 percent from the same week in 2005.

Applications to refinance as a percent of overall mortgage activity decreased to 33.8 percent from 35.2 percent the previous week. MBA reports that this is the smallest share held by the refinance part of the market since June 2004. The ARM share of the market was up a bit from 28.3 percent to 28.5.