Hawaii lenders generally lowered their home loan interest rates an eighth of a point this week, producing a prevailing rate of 5.5 percent with some going lower. read more at Pacific Business news>

Home- equity loans and credit lines – have entered the gun sights of a key congressional committee. The staff of the influential Joint Tax Committee, which advises the House and Senate on tax policy issues, has proposed the elimination of interest deductions for all second mortgages and credit lines. The proposal is included in a [...]

In August 2003, the Remie family obtained a home equity line of credit to expand their Marstons Mills home. “We decided to remodel instead of moving,” said Carolyn Remie. “Housing prices are high and we wanted to stay where we are because the kids like their schools.” She said a friend, Tim Macdonald of Plymouth, [...]

For millions of homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages, it’s gut-check time. Short-term interest rates have been rising steadily since they dipped to record lows last spring. As of Wednesday, the average initial rate for a one-year ARM was 4.30 percent, up from 3.69 percent a year ago, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. So if your [...]

Consumers living in predominantly minority neighborhoods in Milwaukee were five times more likely to end up with a higher-cost subprime mortgage than a traditional mortgage when refinancing with Wells Fargo & Co., a new study says. Advertisement That disparity between types of mortgages was 14th highest among 42 metro areas nationwide included in the study [...]

e heads of embattled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac told Congress on Wednesday they are on the right course after accounting scandals and that they oppose limiting their combined $1.5 trillion mortgage portfolios. Despite pressure to tighten regulation of the two government-sponsored companies, the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs [...]

Applications for U.S. home mortgages decreased last week, as purchasing and refinancing activity fell despite lower interest rates on loans, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity decreased 1.6 percent 672.6 in the week ended April 15, slightly offsetting an increase of 6.1 [...]

Buyers are gobbling up Portland-area houses so fast that at current rates they could consume every home for sale in 1.8 months. Housing supply in the five-county area has never been so tight, according to Regional Multiple Listing Service’s March survey. The lowest inventory previously recorded was a 2.4-month supply in June, which was matched [...]

Mortgage interest rates dipped dramatically last week in what many are saying could be the last chance for consumers to lock in a historically low rate before they go up. Bob Walters, Chief Economist at Quicken Loans says that minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, released last week, showed policymakers are concerned about inflationary [...]

Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a second straight week as bond investors expressed relief that the Federal Reserve has not grown overly concerned about inflation pressures. In its weekly nationwide survey, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.91 percent last week, down from 5.93 percent the previous week. [...]