|
January Round Up: Rates Hold Steady
In Freddie Mac's esults of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.10 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending January 29, 2009, down from the previous week when it averaged 5.12 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.68 percent.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.80 percent with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from the previous week when it averaged 4.80 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.17 percent.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.27 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from the previous week when it averaged 5.24 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.32 percent.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.90 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from the previous week when it averaged 4.92 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.05 percent.
"Mortgage rates held steady this week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "The index of leading indicators rose 0.3 percent in December, the first increase in 6 months, fueled by an expansion in the money supply. However, the Federal Reserve acknowledged in its January 28th policy committee statement that since December the economy has weakened further.
"Both the S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city composite index, which registered an 18 percent annual decline through November, and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) sales data, down 15 percent in December from a year ago, indicate sharply lower house prices across many U.S. metropolitan areas. At the same time, interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages reached a 50-year low toward the end of December. These two factors contributed to housing affordability reaching its highest level since 1973, as measured by the NAR's monthly affordability index and help to explain the 7.0 percent increase in existing home sales in December."
Builders Offer Ideas for Up-to-Date Kitchens
At the International Builders' Show last month in Las Vegas, the emphasis was on kitchens.
Builders and designers say that strapped consumers are eating out less and cooking more, which is increasing demand for functional kitchens.
Kitchen trends include:
Making room for multiple refrigerators, including under-counter models, island refrigerators and column types.
Considering cost-effective updates, including using limited amounts of expensive tile as a backsplash or accent, eye-catching hardware, and mixed countertops.
Going green, not only in terms of recycled materials in countertops and floors, but also as a color for walls and other surfaces.
Houses are shrinking and appliances are getting smaller so they don’t overwhelm the space.
Home Buyer Tax Credit: How It Works
First-time homebuyers can take an income-tax credit on their purchase, thanks to passage in Congress last year of the first-time home buyer tax credit.
The definition of first-time homebuyer is generous. To get the credit, the homebuyer cannot have owned a home in the previous three years. The home must be a principal residence and purchased between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009.
The credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $7,500. Single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) up to $75,000 and couples with MAGI up to $150,000 will qualify for full credit. Singles with MAGI up to $95,000 and couples with MAGI up to $170,000 will get a reduced amount. Those with higher incomes don’t qualify.
If the amount of tax a homebuyer owes is less than the amount of the credit, they get to keep the difference in the form of an IRS refund.
The homebuyer must begin to repay the credit in two years in increments of about $500 a year over a 15-year period for those who received the full credit
Homebuyers who sell their home before the credit is repaid must pay off the loan with any profits. If they sell the home at a loss, the loan is forgiven.
Note: The credit is set to expire in mid-2009, although industry groups, including the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, are encouraging Congress to extend it. NAR is also encouraging Congress to make the credit available to all buyers and to eliminate the repayment requirement.
New Buyers Are Bred on Bytes
A marketing company that focuses on the needs of Generation X'ers - that home buyer group born between 1961 and 1981 - says homes that show they can accommodate upscale gadgetry are most likely to whet the appetite of this mainstream buyer.
Generational Marketing Corp. is recommending that home sellers showcase technology features in their homes, such as availability of phone jacks and cable outlets, as well as extra space that can be freed up for an at-home office.
Gen X'ers "will demand special wiring for cables, phone lines and electrical outlets, clustered together properly," says the firm. "A home that appeals to an X'er welcomes the future."
Written by Realty Times Staff
Wondering What Your Home Is Worth? -- Contact me for any buying or selling real estate question.
| 
