Fed official advocates 'nimble' response to turmoil

Stocks soared Wednesday after Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said the Fed must be "nimble" in responding to turmoil in financial markets to preserve access to loans for consumers and businesses.

Investors interpreted Kohn's comments as a sign that the Federal Reserve will cut short-term interest rates when it meets on Dec. 11, although Kohn said the views he expressed were his own.  more...

October home sales plummet, inventory soars

The U.S. sales rate for previously owned homes fell for the eighth consecutive month in October, the National Association of Realtors reported today, while inventory levels climbed for the ninth consecutive month.  more...

Refis tumble during Thanksgiving week

Despite an uptick in loan applications for home purchases, overall application volume fell during the week of Thanksgiving, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The group's market composite index, a measure of total home loan application volume, dropped 4.3 percent on a seasonally and holiday adjusted basis from mid-month, taken lower by a double-digit decline in refinancing activity.  more...

Wells Fargo tightens home equity loan standards

Wells Fargo & Co. said it is tightening underwriting standards on home equity loans as it takes a $1.4 billion fourth-quarter write-down on loans originated through wholesale and correspondent channels.

The San Francisco-based bank said it will no longer originate home equity loans through wholesalers when the combined loan-to-value ratio of first and second mortgages exceeds 90 percent or when Wells Fargo is not the holder of the first mortgage.  more...

Overnight real estate rates continue decline

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down again Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 3.95 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.8 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate fell to 5.38 percent. The 1-year adjustable dipped to 5.52 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up at 4.37 percent.

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

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

Freddie Mac issuing $6 billion in stock to raise capital

Freddie Mac will issue $6 billion in preferred stock and cut fourth-quarter dividends to shareholders in an effort to maintain mandatory capital surpluses, the mortgage repurchaser said Tuesday.

The announcement came one week after the McLean, Va.-based mortgage repurchaser reported a $2 billion third-quarter loss, and said a requirement that it maintain a 30 percent capital surplus forced it to sell $45 billion in loans in September and October.  more...