Friday, August 5, 2011

Now is the time to BUY real estate!!!

Mortgage Rates Reach Record Lows
Daily Real Estate News Friday, August 05, 2011
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Mortgage rates dropped sharply this week, possibly improving the purchasing power of many home buyers. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular choice among buyers, averaged 4.39 percent this week, its lowest average for 2011, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly mortgage market survey. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage and the 5-year adjustable rate-mortgage also both reached new historical record lows.
Rates mostly dropped across the board amid signs of a weakening economy, Freddie Mac says.
"Treasury bond yields fell markedly after signs the economy was weaker than what markets had previously thought allowing fixed mortgage rates to follow this week with the 15-year fixed and 5-year ARM setting new historical lows,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.
Nothaft also noted some improvement in the housing market, however. "There were indications that the housing market is firming,” he says. (see Pending Home Sales Rise in June)
Here’s a closer look at rates for the week ending Aug. 4:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.39 percent, downfrom last week’s 4.55 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.49 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.54 percent, dropping from last week’s 3.66 percent average.Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 3.95 percent.
5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.18 percent this week, falling from last week’s 3.25 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.63 percent.
1-year adjustable-rate mortgages: were the only ones on the rise last week, averaging 3.02 percent this week, which is up from last week’s 2.95 percent average. Last year at the time, 1-year ARMs averaged 3.55 percent.
Source: “Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows Amid Signs of Weakening Economy,” Freddie Mac (Aug. 4, 2011)

Friday, June 3, 2011

Buyers Better Hurry!!!

For the sixth straight week, fixed mortgage rates inched down, reaching new lows for 2011. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.60 percent this week while the 15-year mortgage averaged 3.78 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders reported this week that home affordability reached its highest level in 20 years, making the purchasing power for home buyers even better during this traditionally prime buying season. Here’s a closer look at mortgage rates:
30-year, fixed-rate mortgage:Averaging 4.60 percent this week, it was down slightly from last week’s 4.61 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.84 percent. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage hasn’t been under this week’s 4.60 percent average since early December 2010 when it fell to 4.46 percent.
15-year, fixed-rate mortgage: Averaging 3.78 percent this week, it also was down from last week’s 3.80 percent average. Last year at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.21 percent. It has not been under this week’s 3.78 percent average since late November 2010 when it fell to 3.77 percent.
5-year adjustable-rate mortgage:Averaging 3.41 percent this week, it was down from last week’s 3.48 percent average. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.97 percent.
Source: “Fixed Mortgage Rates Continue to Find New Lows,” Freddie Mac (May 26, 2011)