Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.99% from 4.08% last week. Last month, the rate touched 3.87%, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage also fell, to 3.23%. That’s down from 3.30% last week and above the record low of 3.13% hit earlier this month.

The low rates have made home-buying and refinancing more affordable at a time when the housing market is flashing small signs of improvement. Still, most economists say it will take years for the market to fully recover from the housing bust.

Source:  USA Today “Mortgage Rates Dip, Helping Homebuyers” March 30, 2012

The spring season typically runs March through June but may have started early this year because of unseasonably warm weather.

While last year was dismal for existing home sales, this year is looking better. Existing home sales in February were up 9% from the same time a year ago, as was the Pending Home Sale Index, which reflects signed contracts leading to sales, says the National Association of Realtors.

Meanwhile, Realtors’ confidence in the single-family home market is the highest in four years, according to a late February NAR survey of 4,300 agents. Coldwell Banker says its website’s traffic was up 47% in February from last year.

This spring season “will be the best in four or five years,” says economist Paul Dales of Capital Economics.

Source: USA Today “This springs home buying season could be best in years” April 02, 2012

Inflation-adjusted consumer spending has now been unchanged for three straight months, casting a pall over the economicoutlook because household purchases of everything from televisions to restaurant meals are major drivers of growth.

Source: MSNBC “Income rises, but so do gas and rents” March 01, 2012

MLS #: 254337

One of the factors leading to higher fixed mortgage rates this week was signs of a gradually improving housing market, Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft says. For example, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this week that seriously delinquent loans — those 90 days or more past due — and the inventory of foreclosures dropped 5.3 percent by the end of 2011, marking the lowest quarterly share since the beginning of 2009. Also, the National Association of REALTORS® reported this week that existing-home sales in January were at their strongest pace since May 2010.

Here’s a closer look at how rates fared for the week ending Feb. 23:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.95 percent, with an average 0.8 point, up slightly from last week’s all-time low of 3.87 percent. A year ago, 30-year rates averaged 4.95 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.19 percent, with an average 0.8 point, inching up from last week’s 3.16 percent average. Last year, 15-year rates averaged 4.22 percent at this time.
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.80 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 2.82 percent average. Last year, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.80 percent at this time.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.73 percent, with an average 0.6 point, also dropping from last week’s 2.84 percent average. A year ago at this time, 1-year ARMs averaged 3.40 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

Existing-home sales increased 4.3% in January from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. It was the third increase in the past four months and the highest level of sales since May 2010, when the housing market was lifted by federal tax credits. Compared with January a year ago, sales rose 0.7%.

The housing market has been one of the weakest parts of the U.S. economy, but there are signs it is starting to recover after a price collapse that began 5½ years ago. In 2011, about 4.26 million homes were sold, up 1.7% from 4.19 million in 2010.

Source: Wall Street Journal “Home resales climb higher” 2/23/12

1104 Mishawaka Ave | South Bend, IN 46615

MLS #: 252811

926 GOLFVIEW LANE | SOUTH BEND, IN 46614

$67,500

For more information, please call INTEGRA Real Estate of Michiana at 574.855.4575

The decline was disappointing in light of several other recent reports, which painted a more positive picture of the housing market.

The 20-city index has dropped every month since April. Since the housing bust began in mid-2006, homes have lost nearly 33% of their value.

Peter Morici, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, said home prices remain weak because demand for existing homes is soft. Many potential buyers are migrating to rental markets or buying new homes that had been sitting unsold for months.

According to Morici, the current home price levels represent a correction from inflated prices reached during the bubble.

Source:  CNN Money “Home Prices Drop for 6th Straight Month” December 27, 2011

That was up 1.6% compared with the revised October rate of 310,000 and 9.8% higher than November 2010.

The good news followed other recent positive industry reports. November sales of existing homes rose12% year-over-year; homebuilding spiked nearly 21% compared with 12 months ago; and mortgage rates hit record lows this week.

The sales hike was in line with expectations: The forecast from Briefing.com was for a 315,000 annualized rate.

The median price for a new home was $214,100 in November. Inventory shrank to 158,000 units, a 6-month supply at the current sales rate.

Source:  CNN Money “New Home Sales Edge Up” December 23, 2010