Will they go lower? That is really hard to say since we keep achieving now lows, but one thing seems to be sure, they should stay in this area for a while. Until the global economic concerns are eased, investors are going to keep money into security of bonds.

If you have a rate over 5% right now, give us a call to see if refinancing makes sense. Even if you are upside down but have a fannie or freddie owned loan (we will help you find out) you may be able to refinance your 1st mortgage to 125% of your appraised value. Let us check it out for you!

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The biggest reason there has not been the forecasted increase in rates has been the uncertainty of the European financial market, specifically, Greece and Portugal. Investors have been continuing to keep their money in the safety of the bond market which has kept mortgage rates low. As the European issue gets resolved, rates should naturally move higher.

Read what other experts think you should expect.

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Rates up.  The fed stopped purchasing and we dropped 141 basis points.   We should expect more instability and then stability in the market due to 2 reasons.  1) there will be an auction of long term t bills tomorrow and thursday and 2) the fed may start to sell what it already owns.     Staying in place isn’t likely the best option – as rates are going up!

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Some of the high points of today’s market update include:

• March in like a lamb – out like a lion!
• Job numbers come out on Friday, and they are expected at this point to be good. That should mean that stock market will rise and the mortgage bond market drop.
• Rates have already climbed up last week and we only expect them to continue to climb higher.
• If you are thinking about doing anything in the buying market or refinance market, sooner rather than later is your best bet!

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The Phoenix area has become a hotbed of real estate activity over the past months with sales approaching the volume of 2005 – the highest volumes recorded. Values have gotten so low that many homes for sale are having multiple offers by consumers trying to advantage of the pricing. This has created several problems for the potential home buyer.

First, since many of the properties are either bank owned foreclosures or short sales, the banks are slow to respond to offers waiting to see which will be the highest offer. The second problem is that short sales require a lengthier period of time to close just due to the fact that all lien holders need to sign off on the offer; many times offers take 60 days or more just to get any response. Finally, the mortgage lending industry has such a large volume of business the whole approval process is backed-up. This will only continue to get worse as more people rush to get their purchase in time to qualify. More pressure was added to the system by the recent closure of the third largest FHA lender – Taylor Bean & Whitaker – in August.

It is now mid-August, and if you haven’t even started to look or gotten yourself pre-qualified, you are rapidly running out time to get a purchase closed in time. Realistically you should have a purchase offer completed in September to help ensure you will get your transaction completed in time.

If you are considering buying a home, whether you are a first-time buyer or not, values have not been this low since 2002. Mortgage rates remain near historic lows. Neither of these items are likely to continue. Now may be the home buying opportunity of your lifetime.

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After a record-breaking 27 months of decline in the Valley’s median home price, some of the most influential local real-estate analysts predict that home values finally have hit the bottom of the slide.

That doesn’t mean all home prices will start to increase in the near future. Some houses, particularly the more expensive ones, should continue to decrease in value gradually, while less-expensive homes could hold steady or see moderate gains in value…

While this data doesn’t have me popping the champagne corks yet,  It does make me hopeful that we could finally be starting the long, slow trudge out of home price hell.

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Homes built before 1980 may still contain asbestos materials. There are now many Eco-sustainable options that make the use of asbestos obsolete.

Arizona is a state known for its tropical weather, beautiful scenery and national parks. It is one of the ideal spots for active lifestyles and is easy to see why many potential home buyers are choosing Arizona as their destination of choice.

The path to home owner ship is an exciting time for you and your family, but it is one that may bring additional responsibilities into your life. Having the assistance of an honest and experienced Arizona real estate agent can make all the difference during this process.

Homes that are newly purchased may require additional remodeling or repairs. This can pose several risks to homeowners because asbestos fibers can be ingested during the renovation process. This is not to make you frightened because asbestos exposure is easily preventable by taking simple precautions.

Tips & Important Info

If any asbestos is located in your home, the best thing to do is leave it un-disturbed until a home inspector can determine the best course of action. In many situations, the best action is no action. Asbestos that is disturbed or damaged due to age is known as “friable” asbestos. This is a concern because its toxic fibers can easily circulate and become inhaled. The removal of asbestos from specified locations must be undertaken by abatement contractors who are licensed in their corresponding states.

Although asbestos exposure does not always lead a related illness, long term inhalation of its fibers can cause a rare but severe ailment known as malignant pleural mesothelioma. Asbestos-related illnesses may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure, which makes mesothelioma diagnosis even more difficult.

GREEN Alternatives
Implementing green methods of building can have positive environmental, health and economic benefits. These include: Conservation of natural resources, enhance air quality, protect eco systems, energy sustainability, increase property value, improve quality of life, improvement of pulmonary and cardiac health, Reduction of waste.

Tax breaks are being offered through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009. This package extends energy efficiency tax incentives first enacted in 2005 and even creates some new ones for those who remodel their homes using eco-friendly materials. Environmentally safe alternatives to asbestos include the use of cotton fiber, lycnene and cellulose. There is no need for any products used in construction to be made from asbestos, yet over 3,000 work and home-based materials still contain this toxin.

The move to a greener lifestyle will build on the change to healthier methods of building products, home remodeling and renovation. With growing education and technology in green sustainable energy and building resources, the state of Arizona has taken actions to ensure safety and health is a top priority in this great state.

For more information about Asbestos and alternatives, check out Asbestos.com

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The government’s First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit expires December 1, 2009.

If you expect to use the program in conjunction with a home purchase, therefore, you may want to consider yourself officially “on the clock”.

Assuming a 60-day window between contract and closing, there are now 77 days left to find a home and go under contract for it.

The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit refunds up to $8,000 at Tax Time for qualified home buyers. A few of the program’s qualification criteria include:

• Home buyer must not have owned a primary residence in the past 36 months


• The home may not be purchased from a family member


• The household adjusted gross income must be below $95,000 for single tax filers and $170,000 for joint tax filers

The tax credit itself is limited to $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less.

Remember, though: The refund is a true tax credit — not a deduction. This means that a taxpayer owing $8,000 to the IRS and claiming the $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit would owe the IRS nothing on April 15, 2010.

The complete list of qualifying criteria is posted on the IRS website.

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For the fourth consecutive month, the country’s foreclosure activity was dominated by a small number of states.

As reported by RealtyTrac.com, more than 50 percent of the country’s foreclosure-related actions in June concentrated in just 3 states:

1. California


2. Florida


3. Nevada

The states rounding out the Top 10 include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Illinois and Colorado.

Meanwhile, June’s reported foreclosure figures are consistent with the data from earlier this year, suggesting that the foreclosure remedy plans put forth by the government and by lenders can barely keep pace with the national default rate.

Foreclosure-related actions nationwide are up 5 percent from May.

The silver lining in data this negative is that foreclosures are creating tremendous buying opportunities for the right buyers. Because foreclosed homes tend to sell at a discount versus non-foreclosed homes and because mortgage rates are low, home sales are showing strength in a multitude of markets because of ample supply at relatively cheap prices.

Distressed homes accounted for one-third of all existing home sales in May.

Search the complete June 2009 foreclosure report for yourself, including foreclosure heat maps and other trends on the RealtyTrac website.

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Mortgage markets worsened for the third straight Tuesday after the government reported June’s Retail Sales report came in slightly better than expected.

Since falling to near 5.000 percent last week, 30-year fixed conforming mortgage rates have risen by almost 3/8.

It’s a similar mortgage rate pattern to what we’ve seen over the last 10 months — rates drift down to near their “all-time lows”, and then surge higher over just a few days time.

This week’s movement, in particular, is vexing home buyers and would-be refinancers.

Many people thought mortgage rates would break below the 5.000 percent threshold. The markets, however, had other ideas.

In addition to the unexpectedly strong Retail Sales data, last month’s Producer Price Index reported higher than expectations, too.

A rising PPI is important to rate shoppers because the figure is akin to the Cost of Living measurement for household, but for American businesses instead. The thought goes that if business costs are rising, consumer costs will eventually rise, too, as businesses share their expenses with American households.

This is inflationary, of course, and inflation is awful for mortgage rates. It’s part of the reason why mortgage rates closed higher again Tuesday.

All year long, mortgage rates have been jumpy and unpredictable. This past week has been no different and it’s why you shouldn’t necessarily try to time for a market bottom with mortgage rates.

If an interest rate looks good to you today and the payment is manageable, consider locking it in. There’s no guarantee rates will ever fall back toward 5.

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If you’ve been driving lately, you’ve noticed that the cost of a fill-up has gone down.

According to GasBuddy.com, retail gas now costs $2.52 per gallon, on average nationwide. Since peaking in mid-June, gas prices are down 6 percent.

For the economy, this is an important story.

Because Americans are spending less at the gas pump, they’re left with additional dollars to spend in other ways including for everyday items like food and shelter, plus for luxury items, too.

Consumer spending accounts for a huge part of the U.S. economy and falling gas prices give economists one more reason to believe a full economic recovery may be close.

With Back to School season around the corner and the holidays looming, a mini Wealth Effect could propel the economy forward and out of recession.

Falling gas prices can be good for mortgage rates, too.

Because rising gas prices are associated with inflation and inflation is linked to rising mortgage rates, the opposite is often true, too. When inflation pressures recede, mortgage rates tend to fall. And that’s what we’re seeing in today’s market.

As gas prices have fallen, mortgage rates have, too. As a result, home affordability is up.

(Image Courtesy: Department of Energy)

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Mortgage markets improved last week on fresh concerns about the U.S. economy.

With data showing neither overt strength nor weakness, and with earnings season about to start, traders got defensive with their money and parked it in bonds.

As a result, mortgage rates fell in mixed trading last week. It’s the third consecutive week in which rates fell.

This week, rates should be in flux with traders watching 3 things.

The first is the aforementioned Earnings Season reports.

Big Banks JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup report quarterly earnings this week. If balance sheets look healthy and markets are encouraged by the results, it could spark a stock market surge, similar to last quarter. This would be bad for mortgage rates.

The second item markets will be watching is economic data. In addition to inflation-related data like the Consumer Price Index, markets are watching for Tuesday’s Retail Sales report.

Retail sales are a key economic indicator because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy. If the data is weak, mortgage rates should benefit.

And, lastly, markets are awaiting the Wednesday release of last month’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes.

The minutes will give a behind-the-scenes look at the conversation and debate surrounding the Fed’s decision to hold the Fed Funds Rate near 0.000 percent and not purchase additional treasury securities on the open market.

Mortgage rates remain volatile. Therefore, if you’re actively shopping for a mortgage rate, consider that mortgage rates have been falling for the past 3 weeks and may be due for a reversal. All it would take for that to happen is for this week’s economic data to show just a little bit of strength.

We could expect traders to pile back into stocks and mortgage rates to suffer.

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Sometimes, saving money on your mortgage is as simple as picking a better closing date.

It’s all about Rate Lock Commitments.

A Rate Lock Commitment is a bank’s promise to honor a specific mortgage rate for a specific period of time. They are a lender’s prediction of what mortgage markets will look like at some point in the future.

The future is murky, of course, so it follows that the longer the rate lock, the higher the bank’s corresponding interest rate.

Banks have to compensate for “time risk”.

Rate locks typically come in 15-day increments with the 30-day lock serving as the basis for all other pricing:

• 15-day rate lock : 1/8 percent lower than the 30-day rate lock


• 30-day rate lock : The basis for all other pricing


• 45-day rate lock : 1/8 percent higher than the 30-day rate lock


• 60-day rate lock : 1/4 percent higher than the 30-day rate lock

These aren’t exact figures, of course. Spreads between rates can (and do) vary from lender-to-lender. On average, though, they’re fairly close.

This is why choosing a closing date is so important to your mortgage rate. A 45-day closing may reduce your rate 0.125% versus a 46-day one.

Assuming a $250,000 home loan near today’s rates, that’s an annual difference of $236.

So, when negotiating a contract on a home, keep in mind how rate locks work to make sure you get the best rate possible. The shorter the length of your rate lock commitment, the more money you might save long-term.

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