There are more than 19,000 mortgage companies in the U.S. and some of the largest and most reputable of them specialize in subprime mortgage refinancing.
Steven Frank, Senior Vice President of Marketing at FlexPoint Funding identifies a subprime borrower as someone with a FICO score below 620. He or she will pay between 1.5% and 2% higher interest for a mortgage, but there is no shortage of money or willing lenders in the subprime mortgage market.
What trends do you see in the subprime mortgage market for 2006 and beyond?
Steve: We went through the biggest refinancing boom in history from mid 2002 through September of 2005. As many as 80% of Americans refinanced their homes during that time. Interest rates on adjustable rate loans dropped to under 4% during the boom with some homeowners opting for fixed rates as low as 5%.
Now both fixed and adjustable are back around 6.5% and will probably reach 7% for an A-grade 30-year fixed mortgage and 9% for a subprime mortgage by the end of 2006. The rate of appreciation is a more normal 6% – 12% annually. A typical home in most parts of the country stays on the market about six...