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On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) proposed a forbearance program that would assist the unemployed in paying their mortgages for up to nine months.

Under the new proposal, lenders and loan servicers would lower eligible borrowers’ payments to a maximum of 31 percent of their household income for as many as nine months. What makes this different from a modification, however, is that the arrears would then be added on to the back end of the mortgage loan.

As part of the proposal, the MBA has asked the Treasury Department to give loans to some lenders to cover payments to the mortgages’ investors. Treasury officials, who met with the group last week, have not yet arrived at a decision on the matter.

The association’s main goal is to help the increasing number of people who are falling behind on their mortgage payment due to job loss.

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New home sales plummeted in January to the lowest level in history, according to government figures released on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales dropped by 11.2 percent to 309,000 last month.  In December, the revised rate stood at 348,000, according to the Census Bureau.

This marks the lowest rate since the federal government started tracking the data in 1963.  It also seems to have caught many economists by surprise.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had thought January sales would actually increase to an annual rate of 354,000.

As for inventory figures, there were about 234,000 new homes on the market at the end of December, says the new report. At the current sales rate, it would take approximately 9.1 months to sell off that amount of inventory.

The median price of new homes that were sold in January was around $203,500.  That’s down from $221,300 in December 2009. The average sale price was $254,500.

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Baltimore MD mortgage rates have dipped slightly as of this morning.  This on the heels of a new report showing that overall consumer confidence fell sharply in February following three months of improvement.

Earlier this morning, The Conference Board reported that its closely watched measure of consumer confidence dropped to 46 in February. This is the lowest reading reported in 10 months. The mark stood at 56.5 in January.

A reading above 90 signals a stable economy, while 100 or greater is an indication of strong growth.

Current Baltimore MD mortgage rates are as follows:

30-Year Fixed: 5.250% with 0 points

15-Year Fixed: 4.500% with 0 points

To start your application, click here to contact us today.

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