Raleigh, NC Refinance Mortgage Rates Around 4.25% for 30 Year Fixed Interest Loans

Examiner

 

While Raleigh, NC has held up well when it comes to the mortgage market collapse there are still areas that have seen home prices drop in the last several months.  With three major universities in the area and many government jobs available there are many reasons to believe the housing market will improve in Raleigh, NC.  

 

For those looking to stay in the area and invest in their homes it is good to know that Raleigh, NC refinance mortgage rates are around 4.25% for a 30 year fixed interest loan at the end of September 2010.  Be aware that it takes a great financial history to lock in to these low loan rates in October 2010.

Many analysts continue to make mortgage rate predictions that state that 30 year fixed home loans will stay very low as long as Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve Bank feel that the economy is still struggling.  Just last week Bernanke came out and stated that interest rates were going to be held quite low for an extended period of time.  This is very good news to those who have made very good financial decisions in the past.

For those who did not make good financial decisions there are many options when it comes to lower a home loan monthly payment.  The Making Home Affordable government program has helped many to reduce payments as millions of Americans continue to search for Wells Fargo home loan modification.  With Wells Fargo gobbling up Wachovia during the credit crisis it is the case that this major financial institution has many loans that mean the modification requirements.

In a time when mortgage interest rates are very close to all time lows it might be smart to consider refinancing.  Residents of Raleigh, NC can be rest assured that jobs will remain in this area as the capital will not move and the major universities of NC State, UNC and Duke will always be within 25 miles of the state capital. 

40% of Participants Depart Federal Mortgage Aid Program

USA Today

The number of homeowners dropped from the Obama administration's signature program to modify mortgages for cash-strapped homeowners is larger than the number of those receiving permanently lower monthly payments under the program.

The program puts homeowners into five-year programs with lower monthly payments on their mortgages, but first they must provide proof of income and get through a three-month trial period making all payments on time. About 530,000 homeowners, or about 40% of 1.3 million borrowers enrolled, have had their lower mortgage payments canceled, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday.

An additional 398,000 homeowners, or 30% of borrowers, have received the longer-term lower payments on their mortgages.

To qualify, homeowners must be paying about a third or more of their monthly gross income toward their mortgage. They must have a property value less than about $729,000, and they must have incurred some sort of hardship.

For qualifying homeowners, banks will extend repayment periods, drop interest rates to as low as 2% and, in some cases, reduce the outstanding loan value. Homeowners in the longer-term modifications are guaranteed lower payments for five years, then fixed terms at today's low rates for the life of the loan. The typical homeowner is receiving a reduction in the monthly payment of 36%, or more than $500 a month.

Some economists say few are benefiting from the program. "(It) is not helping a lot of people, but for those that have gotten it, it seems to be working reasonably well," says Mark Zandi at Moody's Analytics. "The problem is not a lot of people are getting it."

Others see progress. The total number of homeowners getting longer-term mortgage modifications increased nearly 15% in June. "The housing market and economy are starting to resolve the issues, thought it's going to take years," says Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisors.

For the first time, the government also detailed how many borrowers with modifications are defaulting for a second time. For homeowners with permanent loan modifications for six months, fewer than 6% are 60 or more days delinquent. Fewer than 3% of such homeowners have defaulted at the nine-month mark.

After Months Of Declines, Foreclosures Jump In December

USA Today

Foreclosure filings increased 14% in December from November, the first monthly increase since foreclosure activity peaked in July, according to a RealtyTrac report out Thursday.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 349,519 properties in December, which were also 15% higher than in December 2008, RealtyTrac said.

"It's somewhat startling to see these kind of numbers," says Brian Bethune at IHS Global Insight. "There are a few areas that are improving. New York has had no further deterioration. But the problem states, like Florida, California and Arizona, are still suffering."

After peaking at more than 361,000 homes in July, foreclosure filings had been falling because of trial loan modifications, state legislation extending the foreclosure process and a large volume of homes in the foreclosure pipeline, RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said in a statement.

Foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter decreased 7% from the third quarter, although it was still up 18% from the fourth quarter of 2008.

And after four consecutive month-over-month declines in California, foreclosure activity there in December increased nearly 9% from November. California's fourth-quarter foreclosure activity was still down 17% from the third quarter.

About 2.4 million homes are expected to be lost through foreclosure, auction and other means in 2010, according to Moody's Economy.com. That's despite the Obama administration's efforts to get banks to rework strapped borrowers' home loans into lower monthly payments. The goal is to prevent foreclosures by providing homeowners with more-affordable mortgages.

As of early December, more than 700,000 homeowners had received trial modifications. The Treasury Department will release updated numbers on Friday. "The foreclosure crisis continues on. I don't see any stabilization," says Mark Zandi at Moody's Economy.com. "The foreclosure crisis is in full swing, and the (mortgage) modification efforts aren't working that well."

The ongoing foreclosure crisis, he says, will continue to lead to falling home prices in spring and summer.

Filings were reported on 2.8 million properties in 2009, a 21% increase in total properties from 2008 and up 120% from 2007, according to RealtyTrac.

Some states did see foreclosure numbers continue to decline. In North Carolina, holders of Raleigh real estate saw a further decline in bank foreclosures, with a drop of 16.1% over 2008.

Foreclosure filings could ease as more banks agree to short sales, allowing delinquent homeowners to sell homes for less than the balance of their mortgage. The Obama administration is attempting to encourage short sales.

"We should also see more short sales, because lenders are becoming more comfortable with it, and it costs them less" than a foreclosure, Zandi says.

Foreclosure filings reached a record high in 2009, touching one of every 45 homes, according to RealtyTrac.
State	Total properties w/ filings	Change from 2008
California	632,573	20.8%
Florida	516,711	34.1%
Arizona	163,210	39.6%
Illinois	131,132	31.8%
Michigan	118,302	11.5%
Nevada	112,097	44.3%
Georgia	106,110	24.5%
Ohio	101,614	-10.5%
Texas	100,045	4.0%
New Jersey	63,208	1.1%
Virginia	52,127	6.4%
Colorado	50,514	0.2%
New York	50,369	0.7%
Pennsylvania	44,732	20.2%
Maryland	43,248	33.7%
Indiana	41,405	-9.9%
Tennessee	40,733	-7.8%
Massachusetts	36,119	-18.5%
Washington	35,268	35.3%
Wisconsin	35,252	79.0%
Oregon	34,121	89.6%
Minnesota	31,697	56.3%
Missouri	28,519	-8.8%
North Carolina	28,384	-16.1%
Utah	27,140	82.9%
South Carolina	25,163	67.8%
Alabama	19,896	156.3%
Connecticut	19,679	-10.2%
Idaho	17,161	101.6%
Arkansas	16,547	15.9%
Oklahoma	12,937	3.8%
Louisiana	11,750	64.8%
Kentucky	9,682	33.7%
Kansas	9,056	45.6%
Hawaii	9,002	182.6%
New Mexico	7,212	93.5%
New Hampshire	7,210	8.7%
Iowa	5,681	5.5%
Mississippi	5,402	135.6%
Rhode Island	5,065	-23.1%
District of Columbia	3,235	-22.6%
Maine	3,178	11.5%
Delaware	3,034	20.6%
Alaska	2,442	25.5%
Nebraska	1,845	-42.2%
West Virginia	1,479	115.9%
Montana	1,373	10.2%
South Dakota	765	90.3%
Wyoming	717	5.9%
North Dakota	390	5.1%
Vermont	143	4.4%
U.S. total	2.8 million	21.2%
Source: RealtyTrac