Mortgage Rates At Year Low!

Mortgage rates are at their lowest point of the year! According to Mercurynews.com:

"The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipped to 4.78 percent this week from 4.84 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said. It was the lowest level since early December, when rates fell to a record low of 4.71 percent.

Concerns over the European debt crisis have sent yields for 10-year and 30-year Treasury bonds to their lowest levels of 2010. Rates on 30-year home loans often rise and fall in line with the 10-year note."

With that in mind, it may be time to look at your interest rate again to see if your payment would benefit by a refinance. Additionally, you may still have time to cash in on the low interest rate on purchasing a different home!

A Flood of Foreclosures: Fact or Fiction?

Because foreclosures are often featured as a news worthy item on the evening news, it can make it seem as if all real estate markets are flooded with them. While there are certainly more foreclosures in most areas than there were 5 years ago, there may not be as many as news reports may lead you to believe.

Locally, there are approximately 517 homes for sale on the MLS. Here is the surprising fact: Of those 517 homes, 487 of them are traditional homes sales, meaning non-foreclosure or non-short sale properties!

It appears based on MLS data that currently only 13 homes listed on the MLS are bank-owned foreclosure properties. That is a mere 2.5% of listed properties! Additionally, only 17 more of the 517 listed homes are potential short sales (a little over 3% of listed homes). So, if you add the 2.5% (foreclosures) and 3.2% (short sales) together, that leaves 94.3% of all listed homes as owner owned properties.

So the next time the news leads you to believe that you have your pick of homes and can name your price due to the flood of foreclosures, remember the math. Locally, 94% of the homes are owned by people who just like you hope to make the most from a fair sale.