Category Archives: Lewisboro

Fixed mortgage rates remain mostly unchanged: Freddie Mac | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Fixed mortgage rates relaxed this week, showing rates either remaining unchanged or dropping slightly, Freddie Mac said in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The 30-year, fixed rate was 3.53% for the week ending Feb. 7, the same as last week, but down from 3.87% a year before.

The 15-year, FRM dropped to 2.77%, down from 2.81% last week and down from 3.16% last year.

Meanwhile, the 5-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.63% this past week, down from 2.70% and down from 2.83% a year earlier. 

Additionally, the 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.53% this week, down from 2.59% last week and down from 2.78% last year.

“Mortgage rates were either unchanged or lower this week following a mostly positive employment data report for January,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac.

He added, “In January, the economy gained 157,000 new jobs and revisions to November and December added another 127,000 workers.  On top of that, the annual benchmark update showed payrolls grew by an additional 424,000 jobs between April 2011 and March 2012. The only downside to the report was that the unemployment rate ticked up from 7.8% to 7.9% in January, which is still historically high.” 

via housingwire.com

Consumer confidence breaks darkness surrounding housing | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Higher home sales and growing optimism on the jobs front are further signs of a stabilizing real estate market, Fannie Mae concluded Thursday. 

“Concerns about job loss are waning as payrolls are growing – a trend that may give potential homebuyers more confidence that they can meet the financial obligation of homeownership,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist for Fannie Mae. 

The government-sponsored enterprise released the results of its January 2013 National Housing Survey.

After polling just over 1,000 Americans, Fannie Mae concluded more survey respondents believe now is a good time to sell a home, with 23% responding favorably to that question, up from 11% last year.

Expectations around personal finances remain flat, while projections for consumer home prices and rental and ownership properties are at their highest levels in two-and-a-half years.

About 41% of respondents believe prices will rise in the next 12 months, down 2 percentage points from December’s survey high.

Those who believe prices will continue to drop reached a low of 10%. Forty-one percent of respondents expect mortgage rates to tick up in the coming year.

Americans also see rental prices rising alongside property values, with 50% predicting an uptick in rental prices in the next 12 months.

The good news is homeownership is still a valued endeavor, with 65% of surveyed Americans saying they would buy if moving in the near future.

via housingwire.com