Interest Rates

If you are waiting to refinance, it may be time to make your move. Rates are moving up-and could stay higher for a while, experts say. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 4.08% for the week of March 22, up from the record low of 3.87% it hit in February. Rates on 15-year loans were up to 3.30% last week from the record low of 3.13% reached earlier in March. Keep in mind that these rates are still below where they were at this time last year. However, if you are considering refinancing, according to the economists, there really is no point in waiting any longer.

Fannie & Freddie must pay Transfer Tax

A federal judge ruled in favor of Oakland County in the first lawsuit in the nation filed to recover millions in unpaid real estate transfer taxes from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who had argued that they were exempt from paying transfer tax upon the sale of real estate owned by them, as quasi-government entities.

US District judge Victoria Roberts ruled that Fannie and Freddie are essentially a privately owned mortgage banker and that a transfer tax is an excise tax, rather than a tax on real property. This ruling could open the door to all other Michigan counties to file suit. Oakland county damages are between $3-4 million and are $11-12 million across the state.

Still Upside Down?

The number of US homes that are worth less than their mortgages is now back to 2009 levels after a rise late last year. More than 11 million of all residential properties with a mortgage had negative equity in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to market research firm CoreLogic. Mortgages with less than 5% equity account for almost 29% of all residential mortgages nationwide.