Tag Archives: Adjustable-rate mortgage

Five Real Estate Predictions for 2015

November 19, 2014 jd

Photo courtesy of http://colossalplanet.com/strange-funny-houses/

Expect the home-purchase market to strengthen along with the economy in 2015, according to Freddie Mac‘s U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for November.

“The good news for 2015 is that the U.S. economy appears well-poised to sustain about a 3 percent growth rate in 2015 — only the second year in the past decade with growth at that pace or better,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Governmental fiscal drag has turned into fiscal stimulus; lower energy costs support consumer spending and business investment; further easing of credit conditions for business and real estate lending support commerce and development; and consumers are more upbeat and businesses are more confident, all of which portend faster economic growth in 2015. And with that, the economy will produce more and better-paying jobs, providing the financial wherewithal to support household formations and housing activity.”

Freddie Mac economists have made the following projections in housing for the new year:

Mortgage rates: Interest rates will likely be on the rise next year. In recent weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has dipped below 4 percent. But by next year, Freddie projects mortgage rates to average 4.6 percent and inch up to 5 percent by the end of the year.
Home prices: By the time 2014 wraps up, home appreciation will likely have slowed to 4.5 percent this year from 9.3 percent last year. Appreciation is expected to drop further to an average 3 percent in 2015. “Continued house-price appreciation and rising mortgage rates will dampen affordability for home buyers,” according to Freddie economists. “Historically speaking, that’s moving from ‘very high’ levels of affordability to ‘high’ levels of affordability.”
Housing starts: Homebuilding is expected to ramp up in the new year, projected to rise by 20 percent from this year. That will likely help total home sales to climb by about 5 percent, reaching the best sales pace in eight years.
Single-family originations: Mortgage originations of single-family homes will likely slip by an additional 8 percent, which can be attributed to a steep drop in refinancing volume. Refinancings are expected to make up only 23 percent of originations in 2015; they had been making up more than half in recent years.
Multi-family mortgage originations: Mortgage originations for the multi-family sector have surged about 60 percent between 2011 and 2014. Increases are expected to continue in 2015, projected to rise about 14 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

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Real Estate

Mortgage Rates Continue to Rise

July 14, 2013 jd

Photo credit: http://onepicinspires.blogspot.com/2013/01/strange-and-unusual-houses-around-world.html

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey(R) (PMMS^®), showing average fixed mortgage rates continuing to trend higher for the week on more market speculation that the Federal Reserve will reduce future bond purchases following June’s strong employment report.

News Facts

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.51 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending July 11, 2013, up from last week when it averaged 4.29 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.56 percent.
15-year FRM this week averaged 3.53 percent with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.39 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.86 percent.
5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.26 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.10 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.74 percent.
1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.66 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.69 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

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Real Estate

When an Adjustable-rate Mortgage Makes Sense

September 7, 2012 jd

Photo credit Cleveland Seniors www.http://www.clevelandseniors.com/forever/headlines.htm — Photo credit Cleveland Seniors www.http://www.clevelandseniors.com/

When the housing market began declining, many people claimed that adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were the cause. However, recently they’ve been making a comeback, especially among affluent borrowers

An ARM offers an introductory period in which the borrower pays a lower interest rate than with a fixed loan; after that, the rate can fluctuate up or down.

With rates near historic lows, the safety of locking in a fixed-rate appeals to many borrowers. But these borrowers are paying a premium for that security. The spread between rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and the most-popular ARMs now stand at about one percentage point, more than double the difference just five years ago.
That means that homeowners who are planning to either move or pay off their mortgage over the next few years can save big with an ARM.
Borrowers can determine if an ARM is the right loan option for them by looking at their financial situation and the terms of the ARM. ARMs carry risks in periods of rising interest rates, but can be cheaper over a longer term if interest rates decline. An ARM may be a good option to consider for borrowers who plan to own the home for only a few years, expect an increase in future earnings, or the prevailing interest rate for a fixed-rate mortgage is too high.
Before deciding to apply for an ARM, borrowers should consider if their income is likely to rise enough to cover higher mortgage payments if interest rates increase; whether they will be taking on other sizable debts such as car loans or school tuition in the near future; how long they plan to own the home; and whether their mortgage payments can increase even if interest rates generally do not increase.

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