Register Real Estate Advisors » Interest Rates

Mortgage Rates Hit Yet More Record Lows

Jack Haymes, Realtor — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:11:05 +0000

Houston Association of Realtors just announced that Mortgage rates hit another low. Follow this link below to the article and when your ready to buy call me.

See the original article HERE.

Mortgage rates hit new historic lows last week, as the average 30-year fixed rate fell to 3.87 percent, according to Freddie Mac Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday.

The 30-year dropped after nudging up a bit the previous week to 3.98 percent, but overall the rate has remained below 4 percent for a couple months. Other rates hit new lows, including the 15-year, which fell to an average 3.14 percent, down 0.8 percentage points.

Compared to the same period a year ago, average 30-year fixed rate was 4.81 percent and the 15-year was 4.08 percent.

"Mortgage Rates Hit Yet More Record Lows" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on February 7, 2012.

Market Update for Houston, Texas

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:43:45 +0000

At the end of 2009, 10% of mortgages had at least 1-payment past due and another 5% of mortgages were in the foreclosure process. At the end of the 3rd quarter of 2011 8% of mortgages had at least 1-payment past due and another 4% of mortgages were in the foreclosure process. Currently, there are fewer homes being foreclosed on. Many families are concerned about inflation in the US. It has caused prices to rise throughout the country by about 64% over the last 20 years. That’s an annual increase of 2.5%. An example that looks grim is that a person who retired December of 1990 on a fixed income with no cost of living adjustments would have 61% of their purchasing power as of December of 2010. That surprising example keeps consumers teetering between purchasing homes and staying in their current homes. The good news for Houston is that our current housing inventory has reduced, interest rates are low, and we have the most stable housing market in the country. Consumers buying homes in Houston, Texas have a lot more buying power than home buyers in other areas of the country.

"Market Update for Houston, Texas" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on December 16, 2011.

How Much House You Can Afford

Samantha Chelette, Buyers Agent — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:57:24 +0000

There are a number of factors that can contribute to the affordability of a house and, as a potential homebuyer, it’s important that you know what type of mortgage payments are within your budget.

Debt-To-Income Ratio

As a homebuyer, your first consideration will be the amount of your monthly mortgage payments. If you owe a lot of debt, lenders may consider you to be a high credit risk, which makes debt-to-income ratio a leading factor in determining how much of a house you can afford.

Most lenders will discount any loans that you will have paid off within one year when determining how much of a home you can afford. As a general rule, your mortgage payment should not exceed 25-30 percent of your monthly take-home pay.

Loan Term

Although you will end up paying more interest in the long run, you will find that you can afford a more expensive house if you request a loan term of 25-30 years, compared to a shorter term of 15 years.

Interest Rates

When you look at an interest rate, all you see is a number. Hopefully, it’s a single digit that’s comparable with current market rates. Most homebuyers already know that their interest rate affects their monthly payment which, in turn, is determined by the borrower’s income. Lower interest rates mean that you can afford a larger principal loan amount, which means a more expensive house.

Credit History

Because your past credit history will play a large role in determining your interest rates, it will also impact the affordability of a house. For instance, a buyer who pays six percent interest will save a considerable amount of money over a buyer who pays eight percent interest on their home loan. It may not seem like much now but, when averaged over time, the savings could be tremendous.

Down Payment Amount

Believe it or not, the amount of your down payment will not only show the lender how serious you are about buying a home, but it will also affect your ability to afford a particular house. For instance, if you were to qualify for a home loan of $200,000, but your dream home was currently listed for $250,000, a down payment in the amount of $50,000 would get you into the home.

The above scenario is just an example, but it does show how a down payment can affect the price of the home that you are able to afford. Some lenders may only require a five percent down payment, but you are free to pay as much above that as you wish. A larger down payment can also reduce the principal loan amount, which thereby reduces the monthly mortgage payments.

You can find over 15 calculators to help you determine how much house you can afford here.

"How Much House You Can Afford" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on September 15, 2010.

Mortgage Rates Decline; Current 30-YR Fixed Rate is 4.8%

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:28:25 +0000

SEATTLE, March 2 /PRNewswire/ — The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is currently 4.80 percent, down four basis points from 4.84 percent compared to this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 4.87 percent late last week before hovering below 4.80 percent over the weekend.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060503/ZILLOWLOGO)
Zillow’s real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers through the site, and reflect the most recent changes in the market. These are not marketing rates, or a weekly survey.
The rate for 15-year fixed home loans is currently 4.23 percent, while the rate for 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) is 3.57 percent.
The total volume of mortgage requests in the past week was unchanged from the prior week. Of last week’s requests, 32.2 percent were for refinance loans, 65.8 percent were for purchase loans and 2.0 percent were for home equity loans. The prior week, 30.2 percent of requests were for refinance loans, 67.7 percent were for purchase loans and 2.1 percent were for home equity loans.
Below are current rates for 30-year fixed mortgages by state. Additional states’ rates are available at: www.zillow.com/Mortgage_Rates.
State Current 30-Year Fixed Rate (3/2/10) Last week’s 30-Year Fixed Rate (2/23/10) Change in Basis Points
California Mortgage Rates
4.71% 4.82% -11
Colorado Mortgage Rates
4.88% 4.92% -4
Florida Mortgage Rates
4.79% 4.86% -7
Illinois Mortgage Rates
4.79% 4.85% -6
Massachusetts Mortgage Rates
4.90% 4.88% +2
New Jersey Mortgage Rates
4.86% 4.89% -3
New York Mortgage Rates
4.88% 5.00% -12
Pennsylvania Mortgage Rates
4.81% 4.78% +3
Texas Mortgage Rates
4.69% 4.82% -13
Washington Mortgage Rates
4.82% 4.89% -7

About Zillow Mortgage Marketplace
Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is a free, open, and transparent lending marketplace, where borrowers connect with lenders to find loans and get the best mortgage rates. Borrowers anonymously submit loan requests and receive an unlimited number of custom mortgage quotes with real rates directly from thousands of competing lenders. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace also provides mortgage calculators, mortgage advice, mortgage widgets, and lender directories.
Zillow.com and Zillow are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.
SOURCE Zillow.com

"Mortgage Rates Decline; Current 30-YR Fixed Rate is 4.8%" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on March 3, 2010.

Government Refinancing Program Extended

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:28:16 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Associated Press) – Homeowners have received another year to refinance their loans under the Home Affordable Refinance Program, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced yesterday.
The program, which was originally scheduled to end June 10 but now expires June 30, 2011, allows borrowers who owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are worth to refinance at lower interest rates.
The Treasury Department reports that, so far, the program has helped about 220,000 homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, far less than the projected four to five million.

"Government Refinancing Program Extended" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on March 2, 2010.

Mortgage Applications Jump, Interest Rates Fall

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:24:09 +0000

AUSTIN (Austin American-Statesman) – Applications for mortgages have jumped in the past week as the average interest rate on 30-year loans fell below 5 percent for the first time since May, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.

As the average interest rate for 30-year loans fell from 5.08 percent to 4.97 percent in the week ending Sept. 18, the association’s index of mortgage activity rose 12.8 percent and was 14 percent higher than the same week in 2008.

As has been the case for months, most applications continue to be for refinancings, which accounted for almost 64 percent of the total.

The association’s purchase index was up 5.6 percent last week from the previous week.

The average rate for 15-year loans was unchanged at 4.41 percent, and the rate for one-year adjustable loans slipped to 6.52 percent from 6.61 percent the previous week.

"Mortgage Applications Jump, Interest Rates Fall" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on September 29, 2009.

Fed Keeping Key Rate Near Zero for ‘Extended Period’

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:01:38 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. (New York Times) – The Federal Reserve acknowledged on Wednesday that an economic recovery was underway but signaled that it was still much too early to start raising interest rates.

In a statement following a two-day meeting by the Fed’s policy makers, the central bank repeated that it would keep its benchmark overnight interest rate at virtually zero for “an extended period.”

Policy makers also announced that they would extend the Fed’s program to buy up almost $1.5 trillion worth of mortgage-related securities through the end of March.

"Fed Keeping Key Rate Near Zero for ‘Extended Period’" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on September 27, 2009.

Texas Still Buyer’s Market

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:30:27 +0000

TEXAS (Real Estate Center, The Herald-Zeitung) – Despite rising foreclosure rates in the United States (now nearly 32 percent), the rate in Texas is down 14 percent since last year.

Jim Gaines, research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said the Texas housing market is doing very well compared with the rest of the nation.

“We’re being compared to large, high-growth states like Florida, New York, California and Illinois, and our housing market is in much better shape. This is partly because about four or five years ago, we didn’t have the big run-up in prices that many of those states had,” Gaines said.

Texas also benefits from a lack of overbuilding, which often creates an excess of inventory to drive down home prices.

Affordable homes, low mortgage and interest rates, and first-time homebuyer tax credits also make this an ideal time to buy a home, according to Gaines.

"Texas Still Buyer’s Market" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on June 28, 2009.

It’s Time to Buy Your First Home Today

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:43:56 +0000

By: Shannon Register

If you have been on the fence about buying your first home, now is the time to buy and I want to tell you why this is the best financial opportunity for you right now.

Right now your Uncle Sam is offering you an amazing deal. If you buy your first home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 you qualify for a first time home buyer tax credit. The tax credit is equal to 10% of the home’s purchase price up to $8,000. It DOES NOT have to be repaid. Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with inomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. This tax credit is also available to buyers who have not owned a home in the past three years. Unlike previous home buyer tax credits, this one is refundable which means that the credit can be claimed even if you have little or no federal income tax liability. So if you had a tax liability of $2,000 and received a tax credit of $8,000, Uncle Sam would send you a check for $6,000. It really does pay to buy now!

Interest Rates are at an all time low rigth now. It’s been atleast 40 years since rates have been this low. There’s no better time to lock in a low interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate loan. We know for sure rates will go up, but we don’t know when. Take advantage while they’re really low!

Right now there is a lot of inventory on the market to choose from. There are builders that have houses ready to be purchased that have never been lived in. There are also resale homes. As a first time home buyer, you can get more than a starter home right now. You can get a lot of house for your money. Softened prices have increased home affordability!

I have never met a financial or tax advisor that thought owning a home was a bad investment. There are tax incentives to home ownership. There is the peace of mind that you own it and are not worried about your landlord’s financial standing. Now is the time to create long-term financial stability thru home ownership. Stop renting and paying someone else’s mortgage. Start building equity!

Make a move before it’s too late! If you have a good job and have been pre-approved, what are you waiting for? Rates will go up, inventory will decrease, and if you wait too long you’ll lose the opportunity of a livetime from Uncle Sam. Act now, before the market starts to improve. We were in a sellers market for years. This buyers market won’t last long and we’ll be back in a seller’s market and you will have missed this amazing opportunity. Yes, it can be scary when you have never purchased a home before. I can help you. I can represent your best interest in the buying process and it doesn’t even cost you any money. The seller will pay my fees and I represent your best interest. The market is in your favor right now, but you have to take the first step. Call me today and I will lead you down the road to home ownership. I have done it many times myself and have helped many people buy their own homes. I love selling houses, but there’s nothing like the feeling I get when I see a homeowner taking pride in their first home. You have to have a great agent that won’t lead you astray and is patient enough to explain things along the way. I have had clients call me multiple times with the same questions because days later they’d gotten confused about something. I take the time to explain it again and again because it’s important. Buying a home is complicated and my clients know they can call or email me anytime and I will walk them through the process and answer any questions they have. I want to help you buy your first home TODAY!

"It’s Time to Buy Your First Home Today" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on May 31, 2009.

First Time Home Buyers

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:12:52 +0000

If you are a first time home buyer, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to buy! Interest rates are not high, there are first time home buyer tax credits, sellers are paying for a lot of the closing costs and warranty packages. There is so much inventory on the market that you are going to find the right home for your housing needs and chances are, you’ll get it at a bargain price! Call me today to find out if you qualify for cash back at closing. I can help you find a great home at a low price today.

"First Time Home Buyers" was originally posted as a blog post at RREA.com on November 19, 2008.