Sarasota Mortgage Rates | The Mortgage Skinny

The Fed Chairman Bernanke delivered the Federal Reserve’s semiannual report on monetary policy to both the House and Senate Banking Committees yesterday. What was the outcome you ask? How does this affect me and why am I even reading this ever so boring post about what some chairman has to say?

Well I’m so glad you asked! The report given is one of the most important speeches for the Charmain. The areas addressed usually have to do with the overall state of the US economy, recent developments, economic fundamentals, foreign developments, economic outlook, ranges for growth, and concluding remarks. Wow that’s a mouth full!

Bernankes testimony indicated inflationary pressures were decreasing and economic growth was improving with an easing of the housing slump. Mortgage interest rates bounced favorably to Bernanke’s remarks before Congress in which he indicated, “So far, the incoming data have supported the view that the current stance of policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing of core inflation.” This makes it possible for mortgage interest rates to remain low for the time being. Read the rest of this entry »

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Happy Valentines Day! What better way to start off this day of spending on flowers, cards, chocolates and more, than to talk about saving yourself from disaster and putting more dollars into your bank account? Do you have an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) where the payment is fluctuating each month? Or you have an ARM product that will begin adjusting shortly? Now is the time to think about refinancing into that secure fixed rate mortgage… I don’t know anyone who is comfortable in not knowing what their next payment is going to be…

In 2004, the Federal Reserve made it clear that short-term interest rates would be increased at a “measured pace” because of a fluctuating US Dollar, unstable oil prices and an evaluation of other economic indicators. In an effort to curb inflation, the Federal Reserve has kept its word and continued to raise rates, including one incredible streak of 17 consecutive hike announcements following meetings of the FOMC.  The last two meetings they were able to hold off on the hikes but each meeting causes nail biting.

As a result of these interest rate increases, millions of homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages will feel the sting of corresponding increases in their annual adjustments. Consumers with revolving debt accounts tied to the prime rate have already felt the impact, as the prime rate always rides 3% above the current Fed Funds Rate.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Buyers are in the Drivers Seat. The long anticipated slowdown in the housing market appears to have arrived. In my own opinion, the market has settled and the applications are on their way up! I’ve spoken to many other Mortgage Planners and their saying the same thing. More applications and closings mean more home sales. Of course, gains or declines in home prices vary widely from one region of the country to another, as well as within broad regions. Areas that saw the largest and fastest rates of appreciation, like along the coastlines, are generally seeing the most drastic slowdowns or even declines in home values, while some areas where appreciation has been slower continue to experience at least moderate appreciation.

From what I’ve seen I would say that home prices are flat in my area, they haven’t depreciated so much as they haven’t seen much appreciation. I’m talking about Sarasota, Florida where we saw some of the highest appreciation in the country the last couple of years.

In the new environment, what are some strategies for homebuyers and home sellers? The first thing to keep in mind is that, for th emost part, things have shifted from a seller’s market into a buyer’s market. (is that a bad thing? NO) The main thing this means for sellers is that they must be realistic when pricing their homes. How many people did you see asking for the moon last year and then buyers would have a bidding war? Too often! Read the rest of this entry »

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Here’s a quick update I found on CNNMoney.com that shows you what the market is looking like.  After reading this article I have to agree that the applications are starting to pick up for both purchases and refinances.  Even though we’ve been seeing a slight increase in interest rates over the past week the average rates for a 30 year fixed is right around 6.25% which is still a great rate.

NEW YORK (Reuters) — U.S. mortgage applications skyrocketed during the first week of 2007 as interest rates fell for the first time in five weeks, lending support to the view that the housing market is stabilizing, an industry trade group said Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and purchasing loans, jumped 16.6 percent to 671.1 for the week ended Jan. 5.

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To Sumarize the latest in the Housing market: New home sales data came out on Wednesday, Dec. 27th with a positive message.  Home Sales rebounded, up .04 million to 1.05 million in October.  The average median home price came in at $251,700 in November which is about a $3,000 increase since October.  This is good news since we’ve had a decline in home sales in the fall of this year, as well as an increase in the amount of homes put on the market.  Even though the pace of home sales is down 15.3 percent from the hot market we were in last year, it’s up nearly 7 percent from the decline that we had in July. 

This doesn’t mean that we are completely out of our decline in home sales but it is an indicator that we might be getting close.  There are still an overwhelming amount of properties for sale which has turned this market into a buyer’s market.  Developer’s are going to continue to hand out incentives, such as paying up to 6% closing costs and paying a year’s worth of Home owners Association dues.  But I have a feeling that this is a sign that we’re getting closer to bottoming out (if we haven’t bottomed out already), and that 2007 we’re going to see a slight change for the better.

So for all of you buyer’s out there, now is the time.  It’s your market!  Read the posts before this and realize that the power is in your hand.

Blake Gratton, The Mortgage Skinny

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