home loans

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both narrowed their losses in the fourth quarter of 2010. But they aren't out of the woods yet: Both of the government-sponsored home-mortgage buyers have requested higher amounts of new federal aid than they did in the previous quarter.

Mortgage applications slowed down in the week before Christmas and increased the week after, while interest rates rose to a seven-month high, then retreated again, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Shifts in refinancing were the key factor.

Bank of America's persistent failure to modify home loans has resulted in the inevitable: a consumer class action lawsuit. Last week, Susan Fraser of Missouri filed suit on behalf of herself and other qualified homeowners whom the bank failed to give permanent loan modifications to.

As a real estate and mortgage market commentator, I've had to say the phrase "interest rates are at historic lows" so many times, it would be my choice of tattoo text if I were into that sort of thing. (A temporary tattoo, of course.) But last week, mortgage rates went up! And, as a result, the...

In a Senate panel hearing Monday, the Iowa attorney general said the problems in the home-loan industry extend well beyond just "robo-signing." A system-wide overhaul is needed, he said. But banks say any mistakes were merely procedural. Were homeowners wrongly forced out of their homes?

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a bargain-basement 4.27% for the week ending Oct. 7, a new record low, Freddie Mac announced Thursday. That's down from the 4.32% rate last week, and way below the 4.87% rate that prevailed at this time last year.

Wells Fargo Bank has agreed to pay $23.7 million to eight states and modify consumers' mortgages to settle deceptive marketing allegations over risky "pick-a-payment" home loans. The home loans were sold by Wachovia Corp. and Golden West Corp., which did business as World Savings Bank. But Wells...

New data from RealtyTrac shows that the real estate market is still on shaky ground. Banks repossessed 95,364 homes in August -- more than in any month since the beginning of the U.S. mortgage crisis.

Fewer Americans received home-loan modifications under the Obama administration's program to reduce foreclosures and delinquencies. More owners with modifications flunked out.

Timothy Geithner's Treasury Department hosts the first public forum today on reforming how mortgages are financed in the U.S. If the long, messy, politicized slogs over health care and financial regulations are any indication, get ready for more of the same, or worse.