Blog – Page 749 of 820 – First Rate Financial Group

01

Apr

Market Outlook

S&P Case-Shiller: Home Price Growth Slows in 2015

Whats Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week March 30 2015 According to the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index report for January, home prices grew by 4.50 percent year-over-year as compared to January 2014’s year-over-year price growth rate of 10.50 percent. This was the lowest rate of home price growth since 2012.

Analysts said that although slower growth in home prices could be good news for home buyers, national wage growth is not keeping pace with home price growth. The Labor Department reports that wages are growing at an annual rate of approximately two percent. Other obstacles to home buyers include strict mortgage standards and likely increases in mortgage rates during 2015.

Highest and Lowest Home Price Growth Rates in January

The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index reports that January’s five highest rates of year-over-year home price growth were:

Denver, Colorado – 8.40%
Miami, Florida – 8.30%
Dallas, Texas – 8.10%
San Francisco, California – 7.90%
Portland, Oregon – 7.20%

The five cities with the lowest year-over-year rates of home price growth were:

Chicago, Illinois – 2.50%
Minneapolis, Minnesota – 2.20%
New York, New York – 2.10%
Cleveland, Ohio – 1.60%
Washington, D.C. – 1.30%

No cities included in the 20 city index recorded no or negative growth rates on a year-over-year basis. David Blitzer, S&P Index Committee Chair, cited growing labor markets, current low mortgage rates, lower fuel prices and low inflation as positive influences on U.S. housing markets.

The Case Shiller 20-City Housing Index report for January was also impacted by severe weather conditions that reduced demand for homes. The 20-City Index has climbed by 29 percent since reaching March 2012 lows.

Pending Home Sales Rise

In other housing related news, pending home sales indicate that home sales are increasing as the peak spring and summer buying season gets underway. The National Association of Realtors® reported that its pending home sale index reading increased by 3.10 percent to 106.9 in February.

This was the highest reading since June 2013 and was up 12.00 percent over February 2014. Pending home sales are sales for which a contract has been signed, but the sale has not closed. Pending home sales are considered an indicator of future home sales.

31

Mar

By support

Home Mortgage Tips

3 Huge Mortgage Mistakes Made by First-time Home Buyers – and How to Avoid Them

3 Huge Mortgage Mistakes Made by First-time Home Buyers - and How to Avoid Them As a first-time home buyer, you may actively be seeking out information about your upcoming purchase. Buying a home is a huge financial move to make, and it can impact your financial situation and even your lifestyle for many years to come. While it is important to learn more about what to look for in a home, it is also important to learn about mistakes home buyers have made. When you learn more about mortgage mistakes that others have made, you can take steps to prevent making those same mistakes yourself.

Committing To A Large Mortgage Payment

Many first-time home buyers contact a mortgage professional to determine what the largest loan amount and monthly payment they qualify for is. However, just because you qualify for a loan amount and monthly payment from a lending perspective does not mean that it is affordable for your budget. After all, you may have a more expensive lifestyle, childcare expenses and other expenses that are not factored into the lending equation.

Not Reviewing All Home Expenses

When you own a home, you will be required to pay for expenses that are not in place when you rent a home. For example, you will have to pay for lawn care, home maintenance tools and supplies, repair bills, homeowners’ association dues and more. It is important to allow room in your budget for all of the expenses related to home ownership to ensure that your new home is affordable for you.

Failing To Inquire About Closing Costs

Your mortgage representative is required to disclose all loan charges and fees to you early on in the loan process, but some first-time home buyers do not take the time to thoroughly review or understand these fees. Many are unfortunately surprised by the amount of money they must come to the closing table with at the end of the loan process, and this can be avoided by simply asking questions and reviewing the preliminary loan statement up-front.

Each of these home mortgage mistakes can be costly to a first-time home buyer, but they also are all entirely avoidable. As you begin your loan process and proceed through it to closing, keep these mistakes in mind. Be sure to ask your loan consultant for more information if you have any questions. You can begin the loan process today by contacting a loan consultant directly.

30

Mar

By support

Market Outlook

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – March 30, 2015

Whats Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week March 30 2015 Last week’s economic reports included reports on new and existing home sales and FHFA’s monthly home price index for properties associated with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages. The details:

New Home Sales Surge, Existing Home Sales Drop

According to the Department of Commerce, new home sales rose in January to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 539,000 which exceeded the expected rate of 455,000 sales and the revised figure of 500,000 sales of new homes in December 2014. This was a 7.80 percent increase over December’s figure and was the first time since 2008 that new home sales met or exceeded the benchmark of 500,000 sales for two consecutive months.

Sales of new homes were close to 25 percent higher than for January 2015, and analysts said that more jobs and relatively low mortgage rates could boost the traditionally busy spring and summer home buying season.

The National Association of Realtors® reported that sales of previously owned homes rose by 1.20 percent in February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million sales against expectations of 4.94 million sales of previously owned homes. Extreme winter weather was cited as a cause for the decline in sales.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors® said that the average price for pre-owned homes rose to $202,600, which represents a 7.50 percent increase year-over-year. Wages are rising at an average of 2.00 percent annually and rents are rising at an average of 3.50 percent annually. This is creating affordability issues for renters and would-be homebuyers as their incomes are not keeping pace with escalating housing and rental prices. The share of first-time home buyers rose by 1.00 percent in February, but analysts said that historically the market share for first-time buyers averages about 40.00 percent.

FHFA: Home Price Index Falls by 0.30 Percent

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that home prices for sales of homes associated with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages fell by 0.30 percent year-over-year in January to an increase of 5.10 percent year-over-year as compared to January 2014’year-over-year increase of 5.40 percent.

Mortgage Rates, Weekly Jobless Claims Fall

Mortgage rates fell last week. Freddie Mac reported average rates for fixed rate mortgages fell by none basis points with the rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaging 3.69 percent and the rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaging 2.97 percent. Discount points for fixed rate mortgages were unchanged at 0.60 percent. The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage dropped by five basis points to an average of 2.92 percent. Discount points also fell from 0.50 percent to 0.40 percent.

Weekly jobless claims fell to 282,000 new claims against an expected reading of 290,000 new claims and the previous week’s reading of 291,000 new jobless claims. This reading supports reports of expanding labor markets that may give would-be home buyers the confidence to buy homes.

What’s Ahead

This week’s scheduled economic news includes the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Pending Home Sales, Non-Farm Payrolls and the National Unemployment Rate along with regularly scheduled releases on mortgage rates and weekly jobless claims.