30-year mortgage rates dip to lowest level since April

WASHINGTON – Sept. 12, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply this week, falling to the lowest level in five months, as the government’s dramatic takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had the hoped-for impact of lowering mortgage rates.Freddie Mac reported Thursday that its nationwide survey found that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 5.93 percent this week, down from 6.35 percent last week.The sharp decline pushed the 30-year rate below 6 percent for the first time since late May and marked the lowest level for this rate since they averaged 5.88 percent the week of April 17.Private economists had predicted that the government’s move on Sunday to take control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would result in lower mortgage rates for consumers because it removed a huge uncertainty about the future of the two firms, which own or guarantee half of the nation’s mortgages.Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, said Thursday that he believed rates could keep falling and perhaps drop to around 5.5 percent on the 30-year mortgage, which would give a further boost to the battered housing market.“This is the most significant positive benefit of the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie,” Zandi said. “I think it is important that rates have fallen below the key 6 percent benchmark and hopefully rates will move lower in coming weeks.”The 30-year mortgage hit a high for this year at 6.63 percent on July 24 and had been above 6 percent since late May.The Freddie Mac survey showed that other mortgage rates declined this week although one-year rates bucked the downward trend.Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, fell to 5.54 percent, down from 5.90 percent last week.Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.87 percent this week, down from 5.97 percent last week.One-year, adjustable-rate mortgages edged up to 5.21 percent, compared to 5.15 percent last week.The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee for 30-year, 15-year and five-year mortgages averaged 0.7 point last week. The nationwide fee for one-year mortgages averaged 0.6 point this week.A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.31 percent, 15-year mortgage rates averaged 5.97 percent, five-year adjustable-rate mortgages were at 6.17 percent and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages stood at 5.66 percent.

5525 Bamboo Ln. Florida- Historical Waterfont Luxury Home

Historical Waterfront Luxury Home in New Port Richey, Florida
5525 Bamboo Lane

Offered for sale by the At Home in Tampa Bay team of Prudential Tropical Realty



This Waterfront showplace property was Shirley Temple's summer retreat after she was married, and was built in in the pre-depression era when New Port Richey was tabbed to become the "Next Hollywood". It features 150' of riverfront, a grand formal living room with oversized fireplace, brand new kitchen & butler's pantry with GE Monogram appliances, including wine cooler, formal dining room with French doors leading to the courtyard, gleaming wood floors, crystal chandeliers, all new baths, gated circular driveway and so much more.

Offered for sale by the At Home in Tampa Bay team of Prudential Tropical Realty

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Florida's July home sales up from a year ago

For the first time in two years, single-family home sales rose in Florida last month, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. However, median sales prices continued their decline.
And while only six more homes sold in July 2008 than in July 2007, "it could indicate a stabilization in Florida housing sector," FAR noted in a press release.

Statewide, 11,498 existing homes sold last month, while 11,492 homes sold during the same month last year. And, while sales are up, prices remain down the median sales price for existing homes last month was $193,600, down 19 percent from a year ago.

The numbers for the Jacksonville area were ambiguous because they did not include data from the St. Augustine & St. Johns County Board of Realtors. Without those transactions, sales fell 23 percent in Northeast Florida, while the median sales price dipped 6 percent to $180,800.
Condo sales fared worse. Statewide, sales fell 7 percent and the median price of $168,500 was down 13 percent from a year ago. In Northeast Florida, sales were down 37 percent -- excluding transactions from St. Johns County -- while the median sales price dropped 13 percent to $148,000.

Great Values for Foreign Buyers

The weak dollar may be a bad thing for Americans who want to travel abroad, but there is a silver lining: More foreign buyers are making the most of their currencies by investing in the U.S. real estate.

Dan Green, a certified mortgage planning specialist and author of TheMortgageReports.com, estimates that the number of inquiries he's received from outside the U.S. is probably five to 10 times larger than it was a year ago.

Foreign investors are increasingly supporting real estate markets in Miami and San Francisco, says Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.New York, Chicago, and other parts of Florida are also attractive to foreign investors.

"[The U.S. is] an enticing investment," says Phillip Hegarty, the sales director for Castleroc Estates, a Dublin, Ireland-based firm that works with Irish investors to buy residential and commercial real estate in the United States.

Source: The Associated Press, Stephen Bernard (11/09/2007)