Entries from June 2006 ↓
June 13th, 2006 — Mortgage
The next time that you apply for a mortgage the 3 credit bureaus will start smiling. Why, you ask? Well, once the information is requested by your mortgage broker, the credit agency will in turn sell your information to other mortgage brokers so they can contact you to get your business.
And the worst part of this is that there is nothing you can do to stop it. So from the time your mortgage broker pulls the report, your information will be on the so called trigger lists and sold to other brokers within 24–48 hours. And then expect your telephone to start ringing off the hook.
Lists of people who are applying for a new mortgage or a refinancing have become big business for the country’s three largest credit reporting agencies. The agencies sell the information that someone is seeking home financing - called a trigger, because the person’s identity is flagged when a credit report is requested by a mortgage broker - to competing brokers.
The brokers call the customers, presumably to offer a better deal and, they hope, land the mortgage business - taking it away from the broker or bank that first dealt with the client.
It seems like a consumer wins if he or she has several brokers competing for business, but the idea that the application process has become a piece of information for sale doesn’t sit too well with some people. via Maine Today
June 7th, 2006 — Mortgage
Loopnet, the top online resource for commercial real estate had a successful IPO today opening up. The last 5 Initial Public Offerings have all been flat so brokers were pleased that Loopnet’s IPO was successful and there is such confidence for the commercial real estate market.
LoopNet priced in the middle of its $11-$13 range and raised $72 million by offering 6 million shares with underwriters Credit Suisse, Thomas Weisel, Pacific Crest Securities and Pacific Growth Equities.
San Francisco-based LoopNet provides real estate listing services to businesses and individuals.
The company reported net income of $3 million and revenue of $10.2 million in the quarter ended March 31, compared with net income of $1.9 million and revenue of $6.2 million in the year-ago period.
In its featured IPO column, Renaissance Capital said that the company faces competition from CoStar Group, as well as rival efforts from Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Craigslist Inc., which is 25% owned by eBay Inc. See featured IPO column. via MarketWatch.
June 6th, 2006 — Fixed Rate Mortgage, Mortgage Rates
This is just a little spooky. I bet there are a bunch of people who are expecting the housing bubble to pop hard to saying I told you so to this news.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.66%, up 0.05 percentage point from the previous week, and matching a four-year high touched two weeks ago. via USATODAY.com
June 1st, 2006 — Mortgage Company, Mortgage
While this is not surprising, it is a sign of things to come. With housing demand down and the interest rates up, mortgage activity is slowing down.
U.S. mortgage applications fell last week, reflecting a decline in home refinancing loans as interest rates climbed, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended May 26 decreased 1.9 percent to 541.9 from the previous week’s 552.6.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.66 percent, up 0.05 percentage point from the previous week, and matching a four-year high touched two weeks ago.via MSNBC.com.
