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Mortgage Marvel Releases Year-End Data From More Than 700,000 Mortgage Applications
MEQUON, WI, Jan 19, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
Mortgagebot LLC, which operates Mortgage Marvel.com, released data
compiled from more than 700,000 submitted applications -- across all
50 states -- to lenders using its online, direct-to-consumer,
mortgage origination platform in 2011.
-- The average national property value was $278,892. The states --
including DC -- with the highest property values were District of
Columbia, California, Hawaii, Maryland and New Jersey with average
property values of $575,683, $493,293, $493,198, $427,305, and
$422,943 respectively. The states with the lowest property values were
Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Indiana with property
values of $155,304,$164,127, $167,484, $173,566 and $176,707
respectively.
-- The average loan amount nationwide was $189,198. The states --
including DC -- with the highest average loan amount were District of
Columbia, Hawaii, California, Virginia and Maryland with average loan
amounts of $375,737, $316,738, $305,259, 288,859, and $278,501
respectively. The five states with the lowest average loan amount were
Michigan, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Iowa with average loan
amounts of $116,238, $125,444, $130,386, $134,978, and $135,008
respectively.
-- The average indicative FICO (Fair, Isaac and Company) credit score was
surprisingly high at 730. The states (including DC) with the highest
credit scores were California, Oregon, Wisconsin, District of
Columbia, and Hawaii. The states with the lowest credit scores were
Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
-- Average mortgage rates provided to consumers in 2011 fell to
historically low rates, moving below 4 percent in August and staying
below 4 percent through the end of the year.(1) (NOTE: These figures
are based on the rates offered by lenders for the applications
analyzed across all product types and discount point ranges.)
Rick Allen, Mortgage Marvel's Chief Operating Officer, summarized
2011's mortgage rate environment by saying, "Mortgage rates for
conforming 30-year fixed mortgages began the year at about 5.2
percent and peaked above 5.3 percent in early April. Then, as
European and domestic economic woes continued, rates started to take
on a steady decline through the summer and fell just below 4 percent
in August, a sign that the Fed's 'Operation Twist' had some of its
intended impact. On December 31, 30-year, fixed rates stood at an
average of 3.74 percent." (NOTE: Again, These figures are based on
the rates offered by lenders for the applications analyzed across all
product types and discount point ranges.)
During difficult economic times like those experienced in 2011,
investors tend to move their capital away from riskier investments
and into the safest possible investments like U.S. Treasury notes,
Allen said. As demand for Treasury notes increases, their price
increases and yield falls. Mortgage rates generally follow the same
path as Treasury notes and have fallen accordingly, but not by as
much, in 2011.
Historically, the spread between 30-year fixed mortgage rates and
10-year Treasury notes is about 170 basis points, or 1.7 percent,
Allen said. Based on Mortgage Marvel Rate Trends, this spread was at
its historical norm at the start of the year, narrowed to less than
1.5 percent as rates increased early in the year, and then spiked to
more than 2.2 percent for much of the fourth quarter as rates reached
new lows.
"In a lower rate environment like this, mortgage spreads widen for
two reasons. First, investors' flight to quality leads to greater
price gains in the most risk-free investments, like U.S. Treasury
debt. Second, lenders tend to set their rates at a slightly higher
level than normal," Allen said. "They do this in part to be able to
make more money on the loans they complete and also to keep from
being inundated with more loan applications than they can handle."
Victor Li, an associate professor of economics at the Villanova
School of Business who worked with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke at Princeton University recently stated, "The economic gloom
just might lift in 2012, with a double-dip recession seeming less
likely and another drop in the unemployment rate seeming more
probable. But economists will be watching inflation and GDP very
carefully."
For a complete list of aggregate and state by state data, or for
interview requests, please contact Ana Tackett at 480-318-1238 or
ana@tonyfelicepr.com.
About Mortgage Marvel
Mortgage Marvel is an online
mortgage-shopping website that delivers real-time quotes from
multiple lenders -- in complete privacy. Consumers can learn more
about how rates trended in 2011 by visiting the Rate Trends section
of the website www.mortgagemarvel.com. These rate trend data are
among the most accurate and complete anywhere. Mortgage Marvel pulls
rates every day directly from the live product and pricing database
of more than 1,000 national, regional, and local banks and credit
unions across the country. For ease of comparison, all rates in
Mortgage Marvel Rate Trends are presented with zero discount points.
Mortgage Marvel is a service of Mortgagebot LLC, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Davis + Henderson Corporation, that has led the
industry since 1997 by providing the unique, award-winning
PowerSite(R)family of integrated point-of-sale solutions for taking
mortgage applications in every mortgage business channel:
consumer-direct via the Internet, in the branch or call center, or
through professional loan officers.
(1) Note to reporters: Individual state and county data are available
upon request.
For further information, contact
Cindy Golisch
Email Contact
Ana Tackett
Email Contact
SOURCE: Mortgagebot
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=3C541288A516A19E
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=220F327509B803AA
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