Posts with tag Treasury

30-Year Mortgage Rate Falls to Another Record Low: 3.66%

By Marcy Gordon WASHINGTON -- The average U.S. rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low for the seventh time in eight weeks. Cheap mortgages have helped drive a modest recovery in the weak housing market this year. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year loan... Continue Reading »

30 Percent Down Payment: The New Normal?

I've always been fond of news stories that are neither new nor particularly unknown, like when some local TV station runs a human-interest story on some local teen who organized a charity drive three months ago. They're cute! And they're no less cute when the Wall Street Journal runs such stories, as it did recently,... Continue Reading »

Farewell Fannie and Freddie, Hello Renter Nation

In an earlier AOL Real Estate post, I speculated that the 30-year fixed rate mortgage -- the mainstay of residential housing funding in the United States -- was on its way out. I thought that based on comments from administration officials, think tanks, and other leaders, the goal of the Obama administration was to move... Continue Reading »

Our Homeownership Society: Is It Coming to an End?

After months of processing the input from the Conference on the Future of Housing Finance, as well as countless hours of speaking with various lobbyists from innumerable organizations behind the scenes (resulting, no doubt, in the premature death of many thousands of $250 bottles of wine), the Obama administration finally... Continue Reading »

LIVE: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Will Survive in Some Form, Says Geithner

The need for a government backstop for the U.S. mortgage market will remain, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the audience at Tuesday's future of home financing conference in Washington, D.C. While the Obama administration will not issue a complete proposal until January, Geithner made clear that it is committed to... Continue Reading »

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