Best Time to Buy a Home | Mortgage Interest Rates Near Record Low
Posted by Laurie Randazzo on Sun, Feb 21, 2010 @ 10:56 AM
Spring market is hot - weather is soon to follow! Take advantage of 2010's early start to the spring market.
A win-win for home buyers and home sellers!! The spring real estate market typically takes off in March and runs through May. Because buyers must be under agreement by April 30th, the spring market has started early. There is no better time to buy a house than now. Mortgage rates near a record lows and many buyers qualify for the $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit or the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit.
If you have a home to sell, now is the time to get it on the market. The low interest rates and tax credit have generated a significantly higher number of buyers early in the season. Inventory is low - some areas in Massachusetts are even experiencing a sellers market as a result. Don't wait because this win-win scenario will soon change.
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.93 percent with an average of 0.7 point this week, down from 4.97 percent a week ago, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.33 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 4.34 percent last week and 4.68 percent a year ago.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loan averaged 4.12 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from 4.19 percent last week and 5.04 percent a year ago.
The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.23 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 4.33 percent last week and 4.8 percent a year ago.
Rates surveyed by Freddie Mac are for prime borrowers taking out loans with 20 percent down payments. Borrowers taking out loans too large or risky for purchase or guarantee by Freddie Mac can expect to pay more.
After hitting a low of 4.71 percent in December in records dating back to 1971, rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans and other mortgages are expected to rise if the Federal Reserve wraps up ongoing purchases of $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) at the end of March, as planned.
In a Jan. 12 forecast, the Mortgage Bankers Association projected rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will rise from an average of 4.9 percent during the final quarter of 2009 to 6.1 percent in the final quarter of 2010, 6.3 percent in the last quarter of 2011, and hit 6.6 percent during the last three months of 2012.
Don't wait. Buyers need to be under agreement by April 30th and close by June 30th. It will be here sooner than you think.Contact us today for more information.