Mortgage rates have troughed. Or, so it seems.

According to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 4.00 percent nationwide — roughly the same rate as it’s been for 5 weeks.

During that times, rates have ranged between 3.97 and 4.02 percent with an accompanying 0.7 discount points, plus “typical” closing costs. Closing costs vary by state and 1 discount point is equal to 1 percent of your loan size.

In other words, to get the weekly, published Freddie Mac rate, borrowers should expect to pay a complete set of fees to their respective lenders. The larger the loan, the higher the costs. “Low-fee” and “no-fee” loans are available, too — typically in exchange for a slightly rate.

A breakdown of the Freddie Mac survey shows that interest rates and discount points vary by region. Typically, states in the West Region offer the lowest rates but with the highest costs. East Region states work in reverse; rates are often highest but the accompanying points are fewest.

The most recent mortgage rate breakdown by region shows :

• Northeast Region : 4.00% with 0.7 discount points
• West Region : 3.96% with 0.8 discount points
• Southeast Region : 4.06% with 0.9 discount points
• North Central Region : 3.97% with 0.7 discount points
• Southwest Region : 4.04% with 0.7 discount points

What’s most notable, though, is that in all 4 regions, rates are well below their 2011 highs. Since mid-April, mortgage rates have been in descent, dropping for 5 consecutive months before reaching to their current, “rock-bottom” levels in early-November.

Since then, however, rates have idled and the forces that combined to make rates low throughout San Mateo are subsiding. The U.S. economy is showing signs of a rebirth; the Eurozone is edging closer to solvency; and the housing market is recovering.

So, if you’ve been wondering whether now is a good time to refinance, or whether higher rates will harm home affordability, the answer is yes. Get in touch with your loan officer to review your home loan options because, looking ahead to 2012, mortgage rates look poised to rise.

If you plan to buy of new construction sometime in 2012, don’t expect today’s low prices. Like everything in housing of late, the market for newly-built homes appears to be stabilizing and, in some markets, improving.

As foreshadowed by this month’s strong Homebuilder Confidence survey, the Census Bureau reports that the number of new homes sold rose to a 6-month high in October, climbing to 307,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis.

A “new home” is a home that is considered new construction. It’s the opposite of an “existing home”.

Home buyers are comparing new construction to home resales and liking what they see. At the current sales pace, the nation’s complete new home inventory would now be depleted in just 6.3 months. This marks the lowest home supply since April 2010 — the last month of the last year’s federal homebuyer tax credit.

By building only to meet new demand, builders are keeping home supplies in check, and home prices stable. They’ve also found a niche market – 80% of homes sold last month sold for less than $300,000.

Split by region, the Census Bureau reports October’s New Home Sales as follows :

• Northeast Region : +0.0% from September 2011
• Midwest Region : +22.2% from September 2011
• South Region : -9.5% from September 2011
• West Region : -14.9% from September 2011

Unfortunately, the data may be incorrect.

Although the October New Home Sales report says that sales climbed 1.3 percent last month, the government’s data was published with a ±19.7% margin of error. This means that the actual New Home Sales reading may have been as high as +21.0 percent, or as low as -18.4 percent. Because the range of values includes both positive and negative values, the Census Bureau assigned its October data “zero confidence”.

As home buyers, then, we can’t take our market cues from the published data. Instead, we should look to other metrics including Housing Starts data and the aforementioned homebuilder confidence survey. Each points to strength in the new home market, and foretells higher home prices in 2012.

If you’re in the market for new construction, consider writing an offer soon. Home prices remain low and mortgage rates do, too — a combination that keeps home payments low. Next year, that may not be the case.

Posted by Spiro The Loan Guy at 6:08 AM 0 comments

Labels: Margin of Error, New Home Sales, New Home Supply

“December was a good finish to 2010, when sales fluctuate more than normal,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The pattern over the past six months is clearly showing a recovery. The December pace is near the volume we’re expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level. The recovery will likely continue as job growth gains momentum and rising rents encourage more renters into ownership while exceptional affordability conditions remain.”

So it’s a great to let me help you find your dream home, investment property In the San Francisco Bay area… Just let me know what you want.

“Mortgage rates followed bond yields a little higher amid positive data reports from The Conference Board,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac. “That suggests the economy is strengthening. The index of leading indicators rose 1.0 percent in December, nearly twice that of the market consensus forecast and represented the sixth consecutive monthly increase, according to the Board. They also reported a stronger gain in consumer confidence for January, rising to an eight-month high. In addition, the share of households who said jobs were plentiful rose to the highest level since May 2009.”

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This beautiful 4 bedroom, 2 and one half bathroom is located in the desirable San Rafael neighborhood of Terra Linda. With 2 stories, a remodeled kitchen with granite counter tops, gorgeous hardwood flooring, and nice double-paned windows throughout …  Request more info

Land that owners sell to PG&E will likely be turned over to one company to simplify the process: Article By: John Upton
from  The Bay Citizen.org

A single developer could acquire scores of lots that were left vacant in San Bruno after homes were destroyed by a natural gas pipeline explosion last year.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is offering to buy any of the 38 property lots where homes were destroyed by the Sept. 9 explosion and fire, which killed eight people. It is also providing $50,000 in compensation for every destroyed house.

Parcels of land that are sold to PG&E would then be purchased by a newly formed subsidiary, PG&E Real Estate LLC, according to company spokeswoman Katie Romans. The subsidiary and its newly acquired land assets would likely be sold to a single developer, she said.

“It’s possible that all of the parcels will be redeveloped at the same time by a single experienced real estate developer,” Romans said.

It’s unclear how many property owners plan to sell their land to PG&E, but the city of San Bruno is working with architects representing owners of 10 of the 38 destroyed houses who plan to return to the neighborhood, according to Community Development Director Aaron Aknin.

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Homebuilding has not begun on any of the affected lots. The first application to rebuild a home was filed recently by the owners of 1710 Claremont Dr.

Putting a single experienced developer in charge of rebuilding — instead of a utility company or scores of homebuilders — would simplify the process.

But it would also create risks that the project would be geared towards maximizing profits by minimizing architecture costs and building generic homes throughout the devastated neighborhood.

The city recently approved expedited building permit approval processes for homes proposed to replace those that were destroyed. The expedited procedures will apply to returning residents and the PG&E-selected developer.

Local zoning rules ensure that only single-family homes reaching no higher than 28 feet will be built in the low-density neighborhood, according to Aknin.

An architecture review panel must approve the new home designs, and that will help prevent a developer from erecting scores of similar houses, he said.

“We would probably want to see some type of diversity in architecture and not just have the same thing repeated over and over,” Aknin said.

The city is planning to survey all of the affected lots to clarify property lines, according to Mayor Jim Ruane.

“We could start to see some shovels in the ground in early spring to late spring,” Ruane said.

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On February 25, 2007, the first advertisement announcing the iPhone aired during the 79th Academy Awards on ABC.

Nearly 4 years later, at the Verizon press conference , Tim Cook, COO of Apple stated that they are pleased to provide the iPhone to Verizon’s 93 millions customers. The iPhone 4 will be available on the CDMA network, not LTE. Talks apparently started back in 2008 to bring the iPhone to Verizon.

According to Verizon’s website the Verizon iPhone 4 will be available on February 3, 2011 for existing Verizon customers online, and February 10, 2011 for everyone and priced at $199.99 for the 16GB model.

Published by Tei Baishiki under Technology.

The Verizon iPhone 4 will be able to connect 5 Wi-Fi devices to the phone, which is unlike the AT&T model. Additionally, there is an antenna design change, which is intended to fix the infamous “death grip” drop call issues.

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