Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Massachusetts first-time home buyers now have an additional loan option when considering mortgages to purchase a single-family, condominium or multi-family home. 

MassHousing, a self-sustaining agency that does not use taxpayer money, announced on its blog May 20, 2014 a new lender-paid mortgage insurance (LMPI) program that increases a borrower's home-buying power. 

Through the program, the lender pays the full mortgage insurance premium for the borrower at the time of closing, which is good for the life of the loan. This cost is offset by a higher interest rate on the mortgage, compared to a loan with borrower-paid MI (BPMI). Even with the higher rate, the LPMI loan generally results in a lower monthly payment for the borrower for the first several years of the loan.

The average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in the United State rose slightly this week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported April 3, 2014.

Massachusetts first-time home buyers, and really any home buyer, should keep in mind that certain personal and financial moves may hurt their chances of, or disqualify them from, obtianing a mortgage loan or delay their closing. Several seemingly innocent financial or personal changes by a borrower during the loan process may have unintended consequences. The following are 12 things a potential home buyer should not do when seeking a mortgage. 

Average U.S. mortgage interest rates for 30-year, fixed rate loans declined for the third consecutive week, USA Today reported Thursday October 3, 2013.

Continued chaos in Washington D.C., some bleek economic news and the Federal Reserve's decision to continue purchasing mortgage-backed sercurities have resulted in rates dipping below mid August highs. 

Many real estate industry professionals have recently expressed concern that rising mortgage interest rates would slow the real estate recovery around the United States. There's one problem with that theory: Mortgage interest rates have declined slightly over the last couple of weeks. 

The average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate home loans in the United States declined to 4.32 percent this week, the Detroit Free Press reported September 26, 2013. Freddie Mac provided the data.

With average U.S. 30-year mortgage interest rates more than 1 percent higher than average rates in May, sales of new construction homes across the nation declined 13.4 percent in July 2013 compared to June 2013, Yahoo! Finance reported August 23, 2013.

Sales of newly built homes stood at a seasonally adjusted rate of 394,000 in July, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. July's sales numbers for new homes were the lowest in nine months, as sales fell from a rate of 455,000 in June. The June numbers were revised down from a previously reported 497,000 sales. 

Higher mortgage interest rates over the past couple of months may have discouraged some home buyers from seeking a mortgage loan, but that doesn't mean lenders are just going to stand by make less money. 

The following are brief summaries of the latest real estate news in Massachusetts and around the United States to keep home buyers informed. 

A couple of weeks ago two Buyers Brokers Only, LLC home buyers closed on Massachusetts homes on consecutive days with fixed, 30-year mortgage interest rates of less than 3.5 percent. One couple were first-time home buyers and the other couple were moving to a newer, more modern, home.

Mortgage interest rates may not be that low again in their lifetime; however, not everyone thinks it is a bad thing for the real estate market, especially hot markets, such as in Greater Boston, where home prices have been rapidly rising over the past year and real estate inventory is tight.  

MA Governor Deval Patrick is asking local banks to participate in an initiative that would provide 10,000 mortgages over the next five years to Massachusetts first-time home buyers, several media outlets reported June 10, 2013. 

Called the Massachusetts Housing Ownership Compact, the plan is for local banks to provide mortgages loans for home buyers with household incomes that fall below the median income in their geographical areas, Boston.com reported.