This article examines the recent revisions made to the Administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and analyzes its actual effect on the real estate market.

The Federal Reserve (the Fed) has embarked on a modest investment tactic in an attempt to kick-start the economy, a monetary policy dubbed Operation Twist. The plan is a flashback to the action taken by the Fed in the 1960s when the central bank nudged long-term interest rates down in response to a weak economy [...]

Home loan rates fell for the seventh straight week, but very few borrowers are taking the opportunity to buy or refinance. Supply is in the air and it is driving prices down, but buyers remain scarce. According to a recent Freddie Mac survey, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) in the U.S. [...]

Notice of Defaults (NODs) recorded in August 2010 throughout California totaled 31,120. That is: a 17% increase from July 2010 (26,671); and a 16% decrease from August 2009 (37,061). Notice of Trustee’s Sales (NOTS) recorded in August 2010 totaled 30,726, marking: a 3% increase from July 2010 (29,920); and a 10% decrease from August 2009 [...]

During this period of prolonged artificially low interest rates, 80% of loan applications submitted nationwide are for a refinance. This financial adjustment may be a prudent decision for the well-informed homeowner who has an equity in his property, but the majority of Americans are relying on the risky calculations of financial advisers looking to profit [...]

In the past, a refinancing homeowner cashed-out some of his appreciated equity, refinancing so he could borrow money to spend on consumer goods or other investments. The recent trend has seen a large number of homeowners now adding cash to their mortgages in order to refinance at current low interest rates, in order to pay [...]

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) currently insures $658 billion worth of the nation’s mortgages – nearly one quarter of the entire national mortgage debt. As part of its risk assessment protocol, the FHA annually reviews the value of its reserves after subtracting 30 years of projected losses. In its most recent review conducted this fall, [...]

The federal government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), designed to help refinance existing mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has been extended to June 30, 2011. HARP releases federal funds to help homeowners, who would otherwise be unable to do so, refinance their underwater homes. A mere 20,000 of the 4 million mortgages [...]

In mid-2006, cash-out refinancing in the nation reached a peak 88% of all refinance activity according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly refinancing data. The nation’s homeowners who refinanced their mortgage and pulled cash out of their equity increased their debt-load by at least 5%. This practice of homeowners pulling cash out of their equity while retaining [...]