Should I buy a home in the New Year|Homes for Sale in Hayward
2010 came and gone and 2011 started. Now that everyone should be back to there normal routine, what does that mean for buyers. If you wanted to buy a home and wanted to wait until the holidays were over, well now is the time. Prices are still down in most areas and also the interest rates are also down. People always ask me, when will the market go up, and I tell then not for a few years. I also tell them that if they wanted to buy, now is a good time. We really don’t know why prices are going to do but we now what rates will and that’s go up. It’s better to have a low rate, then to try to catch the bottom of the market which will really never happen. As a Realtor I tell my clients that the rate is important and in most cases more important then the price of the home. So if you were on the fence in buying, why not contact you local real estate office and get in touch with a Realtor and start your search.
Tame Inflation Figures Leave Mortgage Rates Mixed|Hayward Real Estate
Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The survey results showed mixed results for both long- and short-term rates, with the 30-year rising slightly and the 15-year falling just as slightly. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.74 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending January 20, 2011, up from last week when it averaged 4.71 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.99 percent. 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.05 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.08 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.40 percent.
5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.69 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.72 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.27 percent. 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.25 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.23 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.32 percent. Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, report, “Mortgage rates were little changed during the holiday week amid reports that inflation remains tame. Both the December core producer price index and consumer price index matched the market consensus. Compared to December 2009, core consumer prices rose at a 0.8 percent rate, the smallest yearly increase since records began in 1958.”
“The housing construction market, however, still remains weak. The Commerce Department reported that new building of one-family homes fell by 9 percent in December, led by a 38 percent drop in the Midwest region. Moreover, homebuilder confidence remained the same in January according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index , but was below the market consensus forecast.”
Real Estate Outlook: New Home Start Decline|Hayward Homes
This week brings more bad news for builders, who are seeing another decline in housing starts. The U.S. Commerce Department reports that starts have declined by 4.3 percent. This is the slowest pace since October 2009. National Association of Home Builder’s Chief Economist, David Crowe, notes that the “report is consistent with what home builders have been telling us in our recent surveys.” He says, “While builders remain extremely cautious about new construction at this time, they are looking forward to putting their employees back to work as economic conditions improve over the new year – assuming they can obtain the necessary financing for new-home production.” Access to credit has been limited, and according to Crowe, “Builders’ access (especially small builders) to the credit they need to start new homes remains the fragile component.”
The 4.3 percent decline in December housing starts was due to the 9.0 percent shortfall in single-family homes. Multi-family housing starts fared better, rising 17.9 percent. The multi-family market, however, has swayed precariously back and forth over the last year and is considered volatile. According to the NAHB, “Building permits, which can be an indicator of future building activity, rose 16.7 percent in December on gains in both the single- and multifamily sectors.” The labor market has also seen a slow start this year. Freddie Mac reports that while nonfarm payrolls rose by 103,000 in December — this rate was weaker than analysts had expected. This sluggish pace does little help the ailing housing market. Most analysts tie a housing recovery with a jobs recovery.
Freddie is more optimistic, though, about the future, saying, “Macroeconomic policies support future growth. The recent tax deal reduced payroll taxes by 2 percentage points for low- and middle-income workers. Together with the extension of earlier tax cuts, lower payroll deductions will bolster take-home pay in the months ahead, which is expected to support the upward trend in consumer spending.”
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