Rates Still Low...But For How Long - 05/28/10 06:46 PM
There is an article in today's San Diego Union Tribune by Roger Showley regarding choices available to potential home buyers and current homeowners in San Diego County (nationwide really).
The choices, according to the author, are:
Buy or refinance now and lock in a low rate Wait and hope that rates sink even lower as some economists are predicting Watch rates rise to as much as 5.5% or more as some economists predict and make up the difference by an expected 5% dip in home prices Option #1 makes pretty good sense.  As I mentioned in my post last Friday, these low … (1 comments)

Rate Recap For This Past Week - 05/22/10 01:19 PM
Down, down, down.  That's where rates went.  Why?  The following is an excerpt from MBSQuoteline:
"Uncertainty about the pace of the economic recovery caused investors to shift to relatively safer assets, including government insured mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Also positive for mortgage markets, the economic data released this week showed that inflation remains extremely low. As a result, mortgage rates declined during the week, reaching the lowest levels of the year."
Chinese banking officials indicated that they will tighten their monetary policy to reduce inflation.  There is also concern about the pace of economic growth in Europe.  This type of uncertainty typically results … (2 comments)

Lower Rates Mean Increased Purchasing Power - 05/21/10 05:19 PM
Great news going into the weekend.  We have seen a nice drop in rates over the last week, about 0.50% across the board.  This drop equates to an increase in buying power and an increase in buying options. 
Increased buying power, four examples with a 30 year fixed:
•·         A payment of $1,565 at 5.25% equated to a loan amount of $283,400.  Same payment but at 4.75% equates to a loan amount of $300,000.  Loan amount increase of $16,600.
•·         A payment of $2,175 at 5.25% equated to a loan amount of $393,875.  Same payment but at 4.75% equates to a … (0 comments)

Luxury Buyers, Many Are International - 05/15/10 01:26 PM
The luxury market, whether in a mountain resort town or coastal California, has many international buyers.  And up until recently, these international buyers were able to take advantage of a weak US Dollar.  However, the currency markets have been quite volatile lately allowing the Dollar to appreciate against the Euro and many other currencies.
Prior to this latest swing, buyers converting from stronger currencies to the Dollar were able to, in a sense, obtain discounts as their home currency could purchase more Dollars.  Now that the Dollar is stronger, especially against the Euro, the purchasing power of the international buyer has decreased. 
A post on UrbanDigs … (0 comments)

What Happened This Week? A Quick Re-Cap - 05/14/10 07:12 PM
Overall, rates improved for the week.  We actually saw 30-year fixed rates firmly below 5% again for the first time in a while.  In fact, a buyer purchasing a home using a conventional conforming loan, minimum 20% down payment, and high credit scores could obtain a 4.75% 30-year fixed rate loan with zero points today.  FHA rates were pricing out the same and with no hits for credit score (minimum 620).
So why did rates drop this week?  Although there were little surprises in this week's economic date, the long-term Treasury auctions later in the week helped the bond markets keep … (1 comments)

Update to CA State Tax Credit...Again - 05/11/10 01:07 PM
Update to a recent post...
The CA Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has updated their website to show the number of applications for the First-Time Buyer Credit as of 5/04/2010...427 so far!
Now, they only show the amount of funds allocated as $2,350,708.  Isn't it supposed to be $10,000 per applicant?  Not exactly.
The State Tax Credit is "up to" $10,000 per applicant and the State of CA only expects about 57% of the allocated credit to be used by each approved applicant.  Since the money is allocated over three years at a maximum of $3,333 per year, and since it is only … (1 comments)