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MCLEAN, VA - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing mortgage rates continuing to trend higher amid a growing economy led in part by the recovering housing market. This marks the first week the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has averaged above 3.5 percent since September 13th of last year. The all-time record low for the 30-year fixed was set the week of November 21, 2012, when it averaged 3.31 percent.

MCLEAN, VA - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to give families and communities affected by Hurricane Sandy more time to recover, Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) announced that it is extending its mandatory suspension of evictions and foreclosures involving homes secured by mortgages owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac through April 30, 2013. The extensions build on Freddie Mac's November 13 announcement [PDF]of storm relief for borrowers with homes or places of employment located in presidentially declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual Assistance programs are available. Freddie Mac is one of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, who serves as President Obama’s Chairman of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco today announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac will extend expiring protections against foreclosure actions against homeowners whose properties were damaged or destroyed due to Hurricane Sandy.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is adding 15 more states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to a pilot program that enables current USDA home loan borrowers to save money on housing costs by refinancing their mortgages with lower interest rates. USDA Housing Administrator Tammye Treviño made the announcement on behalf of Secretary Vilsack

NEW YORK, NY - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fixed mortgage rates recorded the biggest one week increase since last March, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 3.77 percent this week, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.29 discount and origination points.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Inlanta Mortgage is pleased to announce seven new hires in January 2013, which included one new loan originator and six support staff.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- TOMORROW, Administrator for USDA Rural Housing Programs Tammye Treviño will announce that USDA is expanding the USDA Single Family Refinancing Pilot Program to help more rural homeowners reduce their mortgage payments. The program is being expanded to include 15 additional states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Fairfax, VA - January 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to the latest report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showing the economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications decreased 8.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 25, 2013. The results include an adjustment to account for the Martin Luther King holiday.

Washington D.C. - January 29, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- New homebuyers are likely to play an important role in a sustained housing recovery, provided they can get access to good mortgages. High down payment requirements are a known barrier to homeownership for households who do not have extensive assets but are otherwise creditworthy. Mortgages with down payments of less than 20 percent down, when structured right, have provided a safe bridge to homeownership and the middle class for many decades.

Washington, DC - January 29, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reported that the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) contracts, was 3.29 percent based on loans closed in December. There was a decrease of 0.07 from the previous month.

Washington, D.C. - January 28, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former executive at New York-based broker-dealer Jefferies & Co. with defrauding investors while selling mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the wake of the financial crisis so he could generate additional revenue for his firm.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 28, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- An exemption for reverse mortgages from the Illinois High Risk Home Loan Act that just took effect at the beginning of January will be postponed for another year under a bill that passed the legislature and was sent to Gov. Pat Quinn for his approval.

MCLEAN, VA - January 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTCBB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing fixed mortgage rates moving higher from the previous week. The 30-year fixed averaged 3.42 percent, its highest reading since September 29, 2012. Regardless, fixed-mortgage rates still remain highly affordable near their all-time record lows, and should continue to aid in the ongoing housing recovery.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released its final rules on loan originator (LO) compensation. The CFPB, after working for many months and examining the many aspects of this regulation which it inherited from the Federal Reserve Board, issued a rule that will harm consumers according to NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals.

Washington, D.C. - January 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today said it supports provisions of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that will allow community banks to hire and retain qualified mortgage loan originators while providing consumer safeguards against steering and other inappropriate behaviors. The CFPB rule, which bans certain incentives that some loan originators had used to sell unsafe mortgage loans, clarifies that acceptable mortgage loan originator compensation structures include qualified and non-qualified bonus and profit-sharing plans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 23, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 7.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 18, 2013.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released important new rules today that protect homeowners facing foreclosure when they interact with the financial institutions, called servicers, that handle their loans. The mortgage servicing rules also introduce new clarity to the mortgage payment process for all homeowners, regardless of whether they are in default.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 18, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Financial Services Roundtable and its Housing Policy Council issued the following statement regarding the final mortgage servicing rule issued today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

WASHINGTON, DC - January 18, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Six federal financial regulatory agencies today issued the final rule that establishes new appraisal requirements for "higher-priced mortgage loans." The rule implements amendments to the Truth in Lending Act made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act). Under the Dodd-Frank Act, mortgage loans are higher-priced if they are secured by a consumer's home and have interest rates above certain thresholds.