Fixed mortgage rates fall toward 2011 lows

Fixed mortgage rates fall toward 2011 lows

WASHINGTON – July 15, 2011 – Fixed mortgage rates fell this week, and the rate on the 15-year loan dropped to its lowest point of the year.

The average rate on the 30-year loan decreased to 4.51 percent from 4.60 percent a week ago, Freddie Mac said Thursday. It reached its yearly low a month ago, at 4.49 percent.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, popular for refinancing, fell to 3.65 percent from 3.75 percent. Its previous low this year was 3.67 percent, reached three weeks ago.

Rates typically track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Yields fell sharply last week after dismal jobs data pushed investors into the safety of government bonds. Yields fall as prices rise.

Low mortgage rates and depressed home values have done little to revive the struggling housing market. Many people can’t take advantage of the low rates because of tighter lending standards and higher downpayment requirements. Lenders are cautious because the weak economy and high unemployment make it more likely that some borrowers will default.

Other potential homebuyers are holding off, concerned that housing prices will continue to fall.

Few economists expect the housing market to rebound before 2013.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage edged down to 3.29 percent from 3.30 percent last week. Two weeks ago, it hit 3.25 percent, its lowest level on records dating back to 2005. The average rate on the one-year adjustable loan fell to 2.95 percent, a record low, from 3.01 percent.

The rates do not include extra fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The average fees for the 30-year loans were unchanged at 0.7, according to Freddie Mac’s survey. Average fees for the 15-year fixed loan and the five-year ARM were 0.6. The average fees for the one-year ARM fell to 0.5.

Low vacancies, rising rents for apartments

WASHINGTON – July 11, 2011 – Reis Inc. reports that the average effective rent – the amount paid after discounting – was $997 in the second quarter of the year – an increase from $974 a year ago. Second-quarter rents, meanwhile, climbed in 80 out of 82 markets surveyed.

According to Reis, monthly rent levels rose fastest in San Jose, Calif., to $1,501.

Apartment vacancies dipped in 72 of the 82 markets Reis tracked during the April-through-June period, dropping the U.S. vacancy rate to 6 percent. That is the lowest since 2008 and down from 7.8 percent in 2010’s second quarter, notes Reis.

“Rising rents and falling vacancies are the perfect situation for landlords,” says BMO Capital Markets analyst Rich Anderson. “It’s like drinking without the hangover.”

However, some warning signs are popping up. For instance, apartment owners and managers filled a net 33,000 rental units in the second quarter, a slowdown from the 45,000 units they filled in the first three months of the year. Around 8,700 new apartments opened during the second quarter, the second-lowest quarterly total for new completions since Reis started collecting data in 1999.

Pending home sales turn around in May

WASHINGTON – June 29, 2011 – Pending home sales rose strongly in May with all regions experiencing gains from a year ago, pointing to higher housing activity in the second half of the year, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 8.2 percent to 88.8 in May from an upwardly revised 82.1 in April and is 13.4 percent higher than the 78.3 reading in May 2010. The data reflects contracts but not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

This is the first time since April 2010 that contract activity was above year-ago levels, and the monthly gain was the strongest increase since last November when the index rose 10.6 percent.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the improvement bodes well for home prices. “Absorption of inventory is the key to price improvement, and this solid gain in contract signings implies that home values in many localities are or will soon be stabilizing as inventories get absorbed at a faster pace,” he said. “Some markets have made a rapid turnaround, going from soft activity to contract signings rising by more than 30 percent from a year ago, including areas such as Hartford, Conn.; Indianapolis; Minneapolis; Houston; and Seattle.”

Pending home sales have trended up unevenly since bottoming last June, rising in seven of the past 11 months. “Home sales still could be 15 to 20 percent higher,” Yun said. “If banks would simply return to normal sound underwriting standards and begin lending to more creditworthy borrowers, we’d get a much faster recovery in the housing sector.”

“In addition, a nonsensical situation has developed recently in some states with HUD unable to complete foreclosure deals because of insufficient funds to pay attorney fees at closing, even with buyers offering the full listing price,” Yun added.

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 7.3 percent to 69.2 in May and is 4.4 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index jumped 10.5 percent to 82.8 and is 17.2 percent higher than May 2010. Pending home sales in the South increased 4.1 percent to an index of 95.0 in May and are 14.6 percent higher than a year ago. In the West the index surged 12.9 percent to 100.6 and is 13.5 percent above May 2010.

Yun cautioned that healthy job creation is necessary to ensure a solid recovery in both housing and the overall economy. “The job market has sputtered recently, and because variations in local job creation impact housing demand, markets will recover unevenly around the country,” he said.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®