Our Primary Mortgage Market Survey results this week show mortgage rates slipping again, which will all but guarantee that the housing industry will continue at its robust pace and set yet again, another record for both new construction and overall home sales. |
Over the last couple of years, we've seen many markets with strong home value appreciation. They're up at a considerable pace in many markets across the country, particularly from New England all the way down to Washington, D.C., ... Home values are up in D.C., for example, by over 10 percent over the past year. That means families have built up home equity. |
Over the last few months, the interest rate difference between fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) has thinned. If this continues, ARMs may lose some appeal amongst homeowners in the coming months, |
Over the last six weeks, long-term mortgage rates have dropped nearly a quarter of a percent in the face of little or no inflationary pressures. |
Over the past few weeks, financial markets have been gearing up for greater growth in the economy, which ultimately leads to higher inflation rates. As a result, mortgage rates increased for the second time this week. |
Over the past five weeks, mortgage rates have remained within a narrow range of 0.1 percentage point around this week's averages. |
Over the past week, several high ranking Federal Reserve officials gave speeches indicating that inflation remains a non-event, ... One official even suggested the possibility that inflation might go even lower is more of an issue for the Fed at the moment. Consequently, the bond market rallied and this caused mortgage rates to fall. |
Overall, the economy remains supportive of both new and existing homes. |
People are feeling much more financially secure. Families who are more financially secure are much more likely to buy a big-ticket item, like a house. |
Plummeting consumer confidence in September led markets to believe that the lack of job growth is wearing on the economy, |
Presently, all eyes are focused on next week's meeting of the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee]. What the Fed decides and what it says at that time will surely have an impact on the future direction of mortgage rates, |
Presently, all eyes are focused on next week's meeting of the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee]. What the Fed decides and what it says at that time will surely have an impact on the future direction of mortgage rates. |
Previous years pale in comparison. |
Quiet financial markets this week left mortgage rates low and almost unchanged from last week's figures. In the meantime, retail sales jumped in January and mortgage applications remained high. These are positive indications that the economy is in recovery mode. |
Rates have gone up -- that's absolutely right. We may see another quarter-percent rise between now and the end of the year for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. |