Losses mount for Impac Mortgage Holdings

Losses continued to mount for former Alt-A lender Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., hitting $152 million during the second quarter, up 25 percent from $122 million the previous quarter.

Losses for the year to date for the Irvine, Calif.-based lender totaled $274.2 million, compared with $111.9 million in net earnings in the first six months of 2006.  more...

Former REIT KKR takes losses liquidating mortgage loans

KKR Financial Holdings LLC -- a former real estate investment trust that is attempting to liquidate its residential mortgage assets -- said it lost $40 million selling off $5.1 billion in residential mortgage loans and could lose its entire $200 million stake in its remaining mortgage-backed securities.  more...

Home loan apps rise again

The number of mortgage applications grew last week despite the credit crunch currently impacting the lending industry, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, which measures total home loan application volume, was up 3.4 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before.  more...

Freddie Mac says it will snatch up Alt-A loans

Freddie Mac is giving experienced lenders a 90-day commitment to buy up Alt-A loans, including reduced-documentation mortgages, which should give more Alt-A borrowers the ability to lock in rates for three months.

"Freddie Mac continues to be an active force in the Alt-A market and is taking steps to increase liquidity in the Alt-A market while maintaining its commitment to prudently and responsibly manage mortgage credit risk," Paul E. Mullings, Freddie Mac's senior vice president for single-family sourcing, said in a statement Tuesday.  more...

Thornburg Mortgage stops accepting interest-rate locks

Jumbo lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc. says it won't make a 68-cents-per-share payment to shareholders today as scheduled because of a "sudden and unprecedented decline" in the market price of its mortgage securities.

The decline began on Aug. 9 and prompted an increase in margin calls by the Santa Fe-based lender's creditors, the company said in a press release explaining the decision.  more...

Little movement in overnight real estate rates

Long-term mortgage interest rates were steady Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.73 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average stayed at 6.26 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate dipped to 5.92 percent. The 1-year adjustable, however, rose to 5.64 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was down at 4.99 percent.

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

Secondary markets continue to weigh on mortgage lenders

Early payment defaults and margin calls by creditors have forced Aegis Mortgage Corp. to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a week after laying off more than half its work force.

Aegis said in a bankruptcy court filing Monday that it owed more than $600 million to creditors, including an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management that holds an 80.9 percent equity stake in the firm, Reuters reported.  more...