Weekly Mortgage Rates Dip Again

Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for the second straight week, declining to the lowest level in more than a month. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 6.40 percent this week, down from 6.47 percent last week. In addition, the points/fees charged to get this rate dropped to six-tenths of a point (.006 of the principal balance). This had been .7 all through August.

The new rate was the lowest since the week of July 17 when 30-year mortgages stood at 6.26 percent.The 30-year mortgage has been above 6 percent since late May, reflecting the view of financial markets that rising inflation pressures will keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates further even though the economy is still mired in a period of significant weakness.

Average Mortgage Rates Dip

Rates on 30-year mortgages fell slightly this week to the lowest level since mid-July. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 6.47 percent this week, down from 6.52 percent, which had been the rate for the previous three weeks. The new rate was the lowest since the week of July 17 when 30-year mortgages stood at 6.26 percent.

The 30-year mortgage has been above 6 percent since late May as financial markets have become convinced that rising inflation pressures will keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates further even though the economy remains mired in a period of significant weakness.

Is Your Property's Assessed Value too High?

Florida property taxpayers are turning their attention to appealing unfair property tax evaluations. Only valuations -- and not tax bills -- are subject to appeal.

Typically, taxpayers look at the "bottom line" and react based on the projected dollar amount of taxes. After the legislative increase of the homestead exemption local government revenues dropped in 2007, many property tax bills in Florida will appear lower. Confusion reigns because while tax bills may be lower, valuations have increased an average of 15 percent.

Again, tax appeal filing deadlines vary from county to county, But all appeals must be filed within 25 days of mailing of notices of proposed taxes for the year.The 25 days starts to run on the date of mailing of the notice of proposed taxes.Don't procrastinate, as any time extensions are not authorized by statute. For more information in Broward County, visit the Property Assessor's website: http://bcpa.net/value.asp

Real Estate Statistics for July

Sales for the month of July remained fairly steady with continued downward pressure on prices. Sales fell just over 2% while prices declined over 4% compared with the June.

Source: Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale

Ambivalence Reigns: Average Rates Remain Steady for Third Week

Rates on 30-year mortgages remained at the same level for a third week while rates on other types of home loans posted small declines. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.52 percent this week. That was the same rate as the two previous weeks and represented the second highest rate of the year.

The highest rate so far this year was 6.63 percent hit for the week ending July 24. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, said 30-year mortgages did not budge because financial markets can’t decide whether the economy is getting weaker or is stabilizing. He noted that retail sales came in weaker-than-expected for July while demand for consumer credit grew in June by more than twice the amount that economists had been expecting.

Mortgage Rates Trending Upward
Mortgage industry experts polled by Bankrate.com last week think that mortgage rates are likely to rise over the next 30 to 45 days. More than two-thirds of the panelists (71 percent) look for higher rates; about one-fifth (21 percent) think rates will fall, and a lonely minority (8 percent) believes mortgage rates will stay about the same.

Weekly Average Mortgage Rates Unchanged

Rates on 30-year mortgages didn't budge this week, while rates on other home loans were a mixed bag.Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.52 percent for the week ending Aug. 7. That was the same as last week's rate, which marked the second-highest of the year. The highest _ 6.63 percent _ came the week ending July 24.Meanwhile, rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, rose to 6.10 percent this week, up from 6.07 percent last week.

Pending Sales to New Listings Ratio

In our unending search for silver linings in this market, we Realtors search high and low. I've been plotting the number of pending sales to new listings for some time now. As you can imagine this ratio got pretty low as the market changed as hopeful sellers jumped into the market at the time buyers decided we were too pricey.

There are a few explanations for the trend represented in the chart to the right. In my opinion, this evidences a gradual acceptance of reality by sellers, that only those properties that NEED to be sold are coming on the market and that those properties are more realistically priced and attracting buyers. Clearly we want to see this ratio continue to increase as a sign of the return of a healthier real estate market. I'll keep you posted.

Monthly Value Decline Slows Slightly

In this political season we're innundated with parsed statements attempting to find a silver lining in any situation. Consider the title of this post as one of those statements.

Values (according to the Case-Shiller Value Analysis) declined again in May 2008 but the decline slowed compared to the previous month for the first time since October of last year. It's too soon to declare the much-anticipated market-bottom but this statistic does deserve our attention.

I really like the Case-Shiller data since it measures value of properties sold against previous sales of the same property (not just closed sale figures).

Housing Bill and Oil Prices Calm Mortgage Rates

Rates on 30-year mortgages, which shot up last week to the highest level in nearly a year, dropped slightly this week following passage of a housing rescue bill.

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the nationwide average for 30-year mortgages dipped to 6.52 percent this week, down from 6.63 percent last week. While the new level was still the second highest this year, it was down slightly from last week when investors were concerned about financial troubles at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which together hold or guarantee nearly half of the nation’s mortgages.

On Wednesday, President Bush signed into law a sweeping housing rescue plan, which had won final approval in Congress on Saturday. The measure aims to help up to 400,000 families avoid foreclosure by allowing them to refinance into more affordable mortgages.It also expands the assistance the federal government can provide Fannie and Freddie as a way of reassuring investors about the financial health of two mortgage titans.The fall of oil prices from their record highs also contributed to the downward pressure on mortgage rates, analysts said.“Mortgage rates moved lower this week as a drop in commodity prices eased market concerns over inflation pressures,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.