Friday, January 22, 2010

“Rates on 30-year home loans fall to 4.99 pct (Washington Post)” plus 1 more

“Rates on 30-year home loans fall to 4.99 pct (Washington Post)” plus 1 more

Rates on 30-year home loans fall to 4.99 pct (Washington Post)

Posted: 21 Jan 2010 09:00 AM PST

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.99 percent, down from 5.06 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.

It was the third-straight weekly decline. The drop comes after interest rates fell in the bond market this week as concerns about the economy increased demand for the safety of government debt, which is closely tied to mortgage rates.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day, often in line with long-term Treasury bonds.

Rates for 30-year loans had dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent in early December, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce consumers' borrowing costs.

The Federal Reserve is pumping $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities to try to bring down mortgage rates, but that money is set to run out next spring. The goal of the program is to make home buying more affordable and prop up the housing market.

While it's possible that the program could be extended, analysts believe the Fed is reluctant to do so.

The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.4 percent, down from 4.45 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.27 percent, down from 4.32 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages dropped to 4.32 percent from 4.39 percent.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 point for 30-year loans and 0.6 point for 15-year, five-year and one-year loans.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.



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Small water system loans available soon (Yakima Herald-Republic)

Posted: 21 Jan 2010 10:39 PM PST

 

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Operators of small water systems have another chance to apply for loans to construct improvements.

The state Department of Health announced Wednesday it has reopened the application process for 2010 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loans. The program has about $58 million available to lend this year, up by 45 percent from the last loan cycle.

Applications will be accepted between Feb. 1 and March 1.

The additional money comes with some strings:

* About $7 million must be dedicated to "green" infrastructure projects that offer significant water-use efficiency or energy-efficiency benefits, or are projects that protect the environment.

* About $10.5 million will be used for subsidies, which means some of the principal for low-interest loans won't have to be repaid when used in disadvantaged and economically distressed communities. The subsidies can also be used for water system restructurings that involve a change of ownership.

* All borrowers must comply with federal prevailing wage requirements.

Applications received last fall are still considered valid and will be scored and ranked.

"We're pleased to have more dollars to put to work in communities around the state," said Denise Clifford, director of the agency's Office of Drinking Water, which has the forms on its Web site.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.



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Posted by Rakhma at 4:03 PM

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