by Bonnie Masters - Pagosa Springs Real Estate Online on December 29, 2009
in Uncategorized
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates 1971-2009 (yellow)
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates Sept – Dec 2009 (top in red)
Reproduced with the permission of Mortgage-X.com
Wish I knew the big-picture answer to that question. The short-term answer is yes, they have. Since hitting a 40-year low of 4.71% the first week of December (30-yr-fixed), Freddie Mac’s weekly published rates have risen briskly in 3 weeks to 5.05%, back to September levels.
I was inspired to write this alert this morning, on receiving a weekly e-mail of current rates from our local 1st SouthWest Bank. Their 30-year rate bottomed December 1 at 4.625% and this is the 4th week straight up, to 5.25%. That’s back to August levels in just 4 weeks. What a coal-in-the-stocking Christmas gift for home buyers.
Financial Impact is Huge
Suppose you want to buy a $240,000 home, paying $40,000 down. The difference in cost over 30 years between a $200,000 mortgage at 5% or at 7% is about $96,000. That’s based on each .25% rise in rates adding approximately $6,000 per $100,000 borrowed over 30 years.
If you’re waiting for home prices to drop further … perhaps they will. But be advised to keep one eye on interest rates. With mortgage cost increasing $96,000 on that $240,000 home with a 2% rise in interest rates, the mortgage rate is a more impactful number than the price of the home. If you wait until rates are back to 7%, you’ll be paying much more for that $240,000 home or will have to settle for a much lower priced home for the same overall cost. Pay attention to those rates!
I hate harping on interest rates so redundantly in this young blog, but it is a critical issue for home buyers that may be at or near a critical juncture. Next week I’ll switch gears and start slicing and dicing some real estate sales statistics for our local market here in Pagosa Springs – 2009 in review.
by Bonnie Masters - Pagosa Springs Real Estate Online on December 24, 2009
in Uncategorized
by Bonnie Masters - Pagosa Springs Real Estate Online on December 23, 2009
in Uncategorized
In the December 8 issue Marc Roth asserts that if you want to buy a house, now is the time, and if you don’t act soon, you will regret missing out on these historically low interest rates. He sees it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lock in a 30-year fixed loan for around 5%, with rates likely to rise from here.
Here’s the link to the full article: http://bx.businessweek.com/real-estate-speculators/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessweek.com%2Flifestyle%2Fcontent%2Fdec2009%2Fbw2009127_753974.htm
I have not worked with a single stupid buyer prospect through this economic downturn. I can identify personally with the ‘broke’ part, as I certainly don’t feel very flush in these days of a very slow local real estate market. I think a thrid category of prospective buyers is much larger, though not mentioned in the catchy title – TRAPPED.
Many of us are well aware of the low interest rates and a plethora of property bargains out there, but are not able to take advantage of the situation. Not broke, but not liquid enough to take action in this moment of opportunity.
At least some of the people who would love to relocate to Pagosa Springs will find a way to do just that, recession be damned. I’m hoping they find me so we can go house shopping!
by Bonnie Masters - Pagosa Springs Real Estate Online on December 22, 2009
in Uncategorized
Why visit Pagosa Springs in Winter?
by Bonnie Masters - Pagosa Springs Real Estate Online on December 21, 2009
in Uncategorized
Can they go lower?
These rates are from Freddie Mac’s Mortgage Market Survey for the weeks of November 19 through December 17. The historic, all time low for this series was December 3 with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.71%. That rate has been ticking up through December, but is still near historic lows through this 2009 holiday season.
Local rates are comparable, with Wells Fargo as of 12-17-09 offering 4.88%, with 1 discount point (1%) and 5% with no points and no origination fee. Processing fee is $595.
As of December 15, 1st SouthWest Bank was offering a 30-year fixed at 5.0%, up from 4.88% the week before. Their weekly rate is based on a primary residence with a purchase price of $250,000, with a 20% down payment, 1% origination fee and credit scores of 720 or better.
Today is the Winter Solstice, the beginning of Winter and the shortest day of the year. I’ll be very glad to see the daylight hours lengthening, but with increasing daylight shining on the landscape and on the economy, mortgage rates are more likely to rise from these historic lows than they are to sink lower still. Opportunity knocks for qualified home buyers looking to cash in on way low mortgage rates.
by Bonnie Masters - Pagosa Springs Real Estate Online on December 13, 2009
in Uncategorized
Greetings from the back deck
Pagosa Springs is geared up for a White Christmas! This past week we had the first big storm of the season, with at least 21 inches falling in the Pagosa Lakes area. Kids had a snow day, no school, on Tuesday and the shovel-out began. And round two has arrived, with a strong Pacific storm sweeping over the area. It’s snowing again, as I type, with about 3 new inches here on Bennett Ct. There’s a good chance of another 4 to 8 inches by the time the storm rolls out tomorrow morning.
Needless to say, local and visiting skiers are thrilled. Wolf Creek has received over 5 1/2 feet of new snow this week and conditions are excellent for deep powder skiing. From this morning’s ski report the mountain is 100% open with 14 inches in the last 24 hours. Snowfall year to date is 155 inches with midway base depth 74 inches.
That’s great confirmation for the article run in the Travel sectiion of The New York Times, titled ‘Affordable Skiing: Wolf Creek’ http://travel.nytimes.com:80/2009/12/13/travel/13skiWOLFCREEK.html
I’m a fair weather skier, so I’ll wait for powder AND sunshine. Fortunately, I don’t have any Buyers wanting to see property today. I can kick back, sip hot tea and watch the birds feeding in the back yard as the snow falls and adds depth to this winter wonderland.
