Hispanic home-ownership divide still wide

Current industry practices create barriers to Hispanic Americans owning homes in safe neighborhoods, according to a study released during the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's National Housing Initiative. And unless certain institutional business practices are changed, the Hispanic home-ownership rate, which is currently 48 percent, will continue to lag significantly behind the overall population's home-ownership rate, which is 68 percent.  more...

Wells Fargo lawsuit reinstated

A federal appeals court last week reinstated a lawsuit that alleges Wells Fargo & Co. of charging excessive fees on home loans.

The U.S. 2^nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reinstated a suit against the San Francisco-based bank that a trial judge had dismissed, according to news reports. The suit claims Wells Fargo violates federal laws by requiring mortgage customers to pay excessive fees for some services.  more...

Texas celebrates 1 year of home equity lines of credit

A year ago this week, Texas voters passed Proposition 16, making home equity lines of credit available to the state's homeowners.

And since that time, most Texas homeowners with home equity line of credit accounts are using them to make home improvements (35 percent) or to consolidate bills (22 percent), according to a study commissioned by Wells Fargo to commemorate the one-year anniversary.  more...

Real estate purchases cool

Overall mortgage purchases fell 2 percent during the shortened Labor Day week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The MBA seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 4.3 percent to 455.7 from 476 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted refinance index increased by 1.2 percent to 1,972.5 from 1,948.9 one week earlier.  more...

Overnight mortgage rates slip

Long-term mortgage interest rates dipped Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.13 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 5.36 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate sank to 4.78 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up slightly at 3.22 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.93 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...