Last week, the Federal Reserve announced that it would buy $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. Mortgage rates immediately dropped, and that led to a surge in mortgage refinancing activity for the week — even with the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Pretty much everything we looked at was sold before we could get there,” Ron Canterbury said by phone Tuesday.

November 25, 2008

A hard freeze crippled the credit market in September, leaving borrowers scrambling for mortgages.  But with the huge moves that the federal government has made to encourage banks to make loans, mortgage lending has thawed in recent weeks.

The fees are meant to help cover the risk of certain home loans. Ready to pay more for a mortgage?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the congressionally mandated private corporations charged with providing liquidity to the mortgage markets, have tacked on new 2008 charges for their business to ensure that what they charge aligns with the risk they bear, they say.

The quarter-basis-point price increase will mean about an additional $250 in fees per $100,000 in borrowing for the average consumer.