【英语国际】美国住房抵押贷款债券再获市场青睐

Residential mortgage bonds, the center of the financial crisis not long ago, are once again darlings of the financial market.

Investors are seeking out mortgage bonds backed by the U.S. government as a safe haven from the tumult of the global economy, a reversal of fortune that has helped drive mortgage rates for consumers to record lows.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tumbled this week to 4.58%, government-sponsored mortgage agency Freddie Mac said Thursday, from 4.69% last week. That is the lowest rate since Freddie Mac started keeping track in 1971.

Typically that would be good news for the economy and the beleaguered housing market. Falling mortgage rates often act as shock absorbers for a troubled economy, triggering waves of mortgage refinancing that put cash in homeowners' hands by lowering their monthly payments.

But relatively few homeowners have so far taken advantage of the low rates to refinance, in part because a large swath of eligible homeowners refinanced when rates were almost this low last year, while those remaining lack some of the qualifications needed.

A refinancing wave would be welcome now, with the economy appearing to lose momentum. The housing market has been a particular source of worry. A report Thursday from the National Association of Realtors showed that pending home sales sank 30% in May from the month before, far worse than economists expected.

Once toxic, mortgage bonds have benefited as investors seek safe assets amid the European debt crisis and fears of slower global growth.

The implied government backing of mortgage debt issued by government-sponsored entities such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae seems to offer a risk-free investment at a slightly higher yield than comparable Treasury debt.

'For better or worse, right or wrong, most accounts these days see Fannie and Freddie mortgage-backed securities as quasi-governmental instruments, guaranteed even more than in the past,' said Walter Schmidt, mortgage strategist at FTN Financial.

As a result, mortgage-bond prices are near record highs set nearly 20 years ago, according to the Barclays Capital MBS Index tracking the price of mortgage-backed securities.

Bond yields, which move in the opposite direction of prices, are near record lows relative to Treasury yields, even as Treasury yields have also fallen. The 10-year note yielded 2.93% Thursday, the lowest since April 2009.

But so far, refinancing activity has been relatively quiet. Refinancing applications rose 13% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but applications are still half their level of a year ago. In contrast, refinancing activity roughly quadrupled when mortgage rates dropped below 5% in 2003.

Borrowers who are still paying relatively high mortgage rates are often discouraged from refinancing by an array of factors, including poor credit scores, low or non-existent home equity or tighter lending standards.

住房抵押贷款债券不久前还处于金融危机的风暴眼，如今它再度受到金融市场的宠爱。

投资者正在物色有美国政府支持的抵押贷款债券，把它作为一种安全投资来避开全球经济的动荡。这种财富挪移帮助把消费者的房贷利率降到了创纪录的低水平。

政府支持的抵押贷款机构房地美(Freddie Mac)周四说，本周30年期固息抵押贷款的平均利率，从上个星期的4.69%大幅下降到了4.58%。这是房地美在1971年开始跟踪该数据以来的最低利率。

一般地讲，这对整个经济形势和四面楚歌的楼市来说都是好消息。房贷利率的下降，常常会引起为房贷进行再融资的潮流，降低房主月供、把现金留在他们手中，从而为处于困难中的经济起到吸纳冲击的作用。

但到目前为止，利用现在的低利率进行再融资的房主相对较少，一部分原因在于去年利率也差不多这么低的时候，已经有大量符合条件的房主进行了再融资，而剩下的人缺少部分必备的条件。

在经济增长似乎失去动力的情况下，如果现在出现一轮再融资潮流，那将是好事。房地产市场的情况尤其令人担忧。全美地产经纪商协会(National Association of Realtors)周四的报告显示，5月份待完成住房销量较前一月下降了30%，比经济学家的预期糟得多。

由于欧洲债务危机发生且担忧全球经济增长放缓，投资者寻求投资于安全资产，给一度沦为坏账的抵押贷款债券带来了提振。

由房地美和房利美(Fannie Mae)等政府支持机构发行、具有隐性政府担保的抵押贷款债券，收益率只略高于可比美国国债，俨然一种无风险投资。

FTN Financial抵押贷款策略师施密特(Walter Schmidt)说，不管好还是坏，对还是错，这些天很多说法都觉得房地美和房地美的抵押贷款支持证券是一种准政府的投资工具，比过去获得了更大的担保。

于是，抵押贷款债券的价格已经接近于差不多20年前创下的纪录高点。这是巴克莱资本抵押贷款支持证券指数(Barclays Capital MBS Index)所显示的。

债券收益率与价格反向而动。尽管美国国债收益率也已经下降，但抵押贷款债券相对于国债的收益率还是接近了纪录最低水平。周四10年期美国国债收益率为2.93%，为2009年4月份以来的最低水平。

但到目前为止，再融资活动相对不活跃。抵押贷款银行家协会(Mortgage Bankers Association)的数据显示，上周的再融资申请数量增加了13%，但只有一年前的一半。相比之下，2003年抵押贷款利率降到5%以下时，再融资活动大约翻了两番。

支付利率仍然相对较高的借款人，常常是因为一系列的因素而失去再融资的兴趣，其中包括信用记录差，房产净值不高或没有，以及贷款标准收紧。