Delaware Mortgage Rates

In July 2012, over 28% of all closed mortgage refinances in Delaware were done through the HARP 2.0 program, as more and more homeowners realize that they can refinance their Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac insured mortgage at today’s record low rates and save thousands of dollars.

In total, 1,068 mortgages were refinanced in Delaware in July, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and of those 307 were HARP 2.0 loans. While many of those loans were given to people with a loan-to-value ratio below 105% (188 of the total), the majority were given to people who were significantly underwater in their homes, meaning that they had mortgages bigger than the value of the house covered by the mortgage. In total, 92 had LTVs between 105 and 125%, and 27 had loans that were over 125% the fair-market value of their homes.

The push to refinance under the HARP 2.0 program has caused a spike in mortgage activity throughout 2012. This is because new rules allow anyone who has a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac insured mortgage (sold to Fannie or Freddie prior to June 1, 2009) who is current on their loans to qualify for the program. As of October 2011, any Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage can qualify, regardless of the loan-to-value ration, meaning that it doesn’t matter how much underwater a borrower is when applying for a HARP 2.0 refinance.

“When we announced additional program changes to HARP last fall, we were cautiously optimistic that the changes would double or more the number of HARP refinances,” said Edward J. DeMarco, Acting Director of the FHFA. “With more than half-a-million homeowners taking advantage of the program in the first seven months of this year Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are on track to meet or surpass our original estimates.”

Additionally, the record low interest rates on home loans has kept many more people looking to refinance their loans, even if they are not underwater on the loan. This means that several more people are likely to refinance according to the HARP 2.0 program in the short term, as long as mortgage rates remain low.

FreeRateUpdate.com surveys more than two dozen wholesale and direct lenders’ rate sheets to determine the most accurate mortgage rates available to well qualified consumers at a standard 0.7 to 1% point origination fee.