According to a new report from First American Core Logic, the Fort Worth-Arlington Market was #1 for the lowest Mortgage Risk in the country. Not to be outdone, Dallas-Irving was ranked #2.

First American’s Core Mortgage Risk Index is a commentary on the relative risk of Mortgage Delinquencies due to fraud propensity and collateral risk, home price dynamics, and the health of local market economies. Based on these factors, they determined that Dallas real estate market and the Metroplex overall was one of the least risky places for mortgages, which means several things. If you are a client considering a move to the Dallas area, the chances of you being in house that will lose value are slim, if not non-existent. Economic indicators here are strong-there are many large companies located here, and many more are buying land to move here. These factors will help keep the economy strong here.
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On March 12th Fannie Mae announced further loan level pricing adjustments ON TOP OF the loan level price adjustments that went into effect on March 1st of this year. Basically, the new LLPA’s mean that, if your credit score is below 720, you are going to be paying a higher rate than if your credit score is over 720.

Listen, I don’t claim to be a smart man but this new stuff WILL NOT FIX OUR PROBLEMS! This is a total overcorrection of the floodgate lending that has been going on the past few years. Our goal should be to put GOOD credit borrowers into the glut of houses that are available. We don’t want to make it TOO easy but for goodness sakes we don’t want to make it overly restrictive either! We need to stop trying to nickel and dime good borrowers. If you would have told me that I would have a hard time with a 700+ borrower putting money down and fully documenting his income I would have told you that you were crazy but that is what I see happening.

My only hope is that these new restrictions, along with the new guidelines for Mortgage Insurance, don’t squeeze an already slow market even further.

Craig Pollard is a mortgage professional and owner of Texas Mortgage Team. He specializes in the Dallas Fort Worth area and is a frequent voice on Texas Home Central’s blog. Craig can be reached at 972-317-9900 or emailed by clicking here.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Bank of America came to the rescue Friday of embattled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., saying it would buy the company for $4 billion in an all-stock transaction. Wall Street, which embraced speculation about such a deal just a day earlier, was not encouraged about the news as Countrywide (CFC, Fortune 500) shares tumbled 13 percent in pre-market trading. … The deal, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2008, would make Bank of the America the nation’s largest mortgage lender.

Late last summer, the pair struck a deal in which Bank of America would provide $2 billion in financing to Countrywide in exchange for a 16 percent stake in the company. But Countrywide has experienced mounting woes recently, reporting rising delinquencies and foreclosures within its loan portfolio in December. Speculation also surfaced earlier this week that Countrywide was planning to file for bankruptcy itself. Countrywide later denied that rumor.

Lately, there has been much speculation about where the mortgage market is headed, especially where lenders whose primary focus is on the banking side is concerned. With Bank of America folding their wholesale mortgage division into retail, and now with them purchasing basically a new wholesale platform, who knows what the future holds? One thing is for sure, Texas Mortgage Team and Texas Home Central will be here to guide you through your transaction with your best interests in mind.

Craig Pollard is a mortgage professional and owner of Texas Mortgage Team. He specializes in the Dallas Fort Worth area and is a frequent voice on Texas Home Central’s blog. Craig can be reached at CPollard@Texasmt.com or 972-317-9900