December 9, 2009

Tips & Trends
From Rory S. Coakley on some of the latest real estate news and happenings.

30-year-mortgage rates slide to their lowest level
on record

The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent this week, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce borrowing costs.

The rate, published Thursday by Freddie Mac, is the lowest since the mortgage finance company began tracking the data in 1971. The previous record of 4.78 percent was set in April and matched last week.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.19 percent, up from 4.18 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.25 percent from 4.35 percent.

The Federal Reserve is pumping $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities to bring down mortgage rates, but that money is set to run out in spring. The goal of the program is to make home buying more affordable and prop up the housing market.

Buyers and homeowners who want to refinance are picking up their phones. Mortgage applications rose 2 percent last week from a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday, driven by a more than 4 percent increase in purchase applications and a nearly 2 percent increase in applications to refinance existing loans.

Source: WashingtonPost.com


If you would like to suggest a topic for comment in one of our future emailers, please let me know. You can always reach me at rory@coakleyrealty.com or by phone (240)-205-7298 ext. 101. I look forward to hearing from you!

Rory S. Coakley
Coakley Realty, Inc.
20 Courthouse Square - Suite 106
Rockville, MD 20850
www.coakleyrealty.com