Spring, Tx New Homes

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has decreased below 4 percent for the first time ever.

Freddie Mac stated that the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 3.94 percent from 4.01 percent last week, which was the previous low.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed loan slipped to 3.26 percent.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, mortgage rates are now lower than they were in the early 1950s.

This week, total mortgage applications fell over 4 percent from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Refinancing applications dropped over 5 percent.

Source: builderonline.com

Fort Bend Independent School District in the Houston, Tx area has bought 65 acres in Telfair for a new high school.

Telfair is located in Sugar Land, Tx.

The site is at University Boulevard and Chatham Avenue, which is bounded on the west by land slated for an 80-acre public park, and on the north by Bullpen Bayou.

According to Newland Communities, which developed the master-planned community, this is scheduled to be the second Fort Bend ISD school in Telfair.

A timetable for construction has yet to be announced.

Source: chron.com

Supposedly, a 290-unit luxury apartment tower consisting of 21 stories is coming to the Houston, Tx area.

The unit will be comprised of panoramic views of the downtown Houston skyline, the Buffalo Bayou, River Oaks, Memorial Park and the Galleria.

The information on the tower, the Horizon, comes from GID.

GID owns the Allen House Apartments and tore down the majority of them for a mixed-use project that has yet to happen.

Source: chron.com

A 10-acre tract in Houston, Tx once slated for a luxury housing development has been sold to a Houston apartment builder.

An affiliate of Martin Fein Interests Ltd. purchased the 171-unit Willowick Court Townhomes at 3237 Las Palmas near the corner of West Alabama and Weslayan.

The new owner is scheduled to continue to operate the existing apartments on the site while it completes plans to develop a new high-end project there.

McCord Development had plans of a gated community of 62 multimillion-dollar homes on the parcel but cancelled the project in 2009 due to “economic upheaval.”

At that time, the company said it would try to convert the existing apartments into for-sale units.

Source: chron.com

This week, mortgage rates slipped again, setting new records.

According to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped 4 basis points this week, to 4.37 percent.

The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.38 origination and discount points.

A year ago, the mortgage index was 4.53 percent, while four weeks ago, it was 4.54 percent.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped 15 basis points, to 3.48 percent.

The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage dropped 5 basis points, to 3.07 percent, and the 30-year, fixed-rate jumbo decreased 5 basis points, to 4.89 percent.

Since Bankrate started the weekly mortgage survey nearly 26 years ago, this is the lowest rate on the 30-year fixed.

Last week, the fixed rate reached a previous record when it hit 4.41 percent.

Source: lvrj.com

Today’s mortgage rates are holding onto record lows as stocks saw an increase which was a switch from last weeks slide.

Current 30 year fixed mortgage rates are at 3.875%, 15-year fixed mortgage interest rates are at 3.250% and 5/1 ARM loan rates are at 2.625%.

These low conforming mortgage rates have had a positive effect on refinances that are recently on the rise.

Borrowers need good credit and the necessary documentation to receive lender approval, in order to obtain these low mortgage rates with 0.7 to 1% origination fee.

Also, FHA mortgage rates are currently below 4%.

Today’s FHA 30-year fixed mortgage rates are at 3.750%, while FHA 15-year fixed mortgage interest rates are at 3.500%.

FHA 5/1 ARM loan rates are at 2.750%.

FHA down payment requirement is 3.5% with a credit score as low as 580, which is an incentive for homeownership.

FHA mortgages are more affordable when combined with housing grants and approved gifts.

FHA closing costs do have a tendancy to be higher because of the upfront mortgage insurance premium and other FHA fees.

Source: freerateupdate.com

Average mortgage rates continued to drop week-over-week, marking the year’s lowest levels according to the LendingTree Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse.

The LendingTree Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse tracks the lowest and average mortgage rates offered by lenders on the LendingTree network.

On August 9, average home loan rates from LendingTree network lenders were 4.49% (4.72% APR) for 30-year fixed mortgages, 3.72% (4.09% APR) for 15-year fixed mortgages and 3.40% (3.72% APR) for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARM). Average 30-year fixed rates showed a 7% decrease week-over-week.

On the same day, the lowest mortgage rates from lenders on the LendingTree network were 4.125 percent (4.26% APR) for a 30-year fixed mortgage, 3.25 percent (3.49% APR) for a 15-year fixed mortgage and 2.63 percent (3.08% APR) for a 5/1 ARM, returning to the historical low levels seen in November 2010.

Doug Lebda, Chairman and CEO of LendingTree, stated "The aftermath of the US credit downgrade has created a short term window for consumers to lock in long-term, historic low interest rates. Average 30-year fixed rates today are within a hair of all-time lows. Refinancing a mortgage with these rates could put major cash back in consumers’ pockets. LendingTree customers save an average of $353 per month, or $4,200 annually."

Source: redorbit.com

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the 30-year fixed rate dropped to 4.45% from 4.57% last week.

The rate on the less popular 15-year fixed fell to a new record low of 3.52%, down from 3.67% a week earlier.

The up-front points lenders charged fell as well, to 0.78 from 1.14 for 20%-down loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A homebuyer financing a $200,000 mortgage may save $14 a month and pay $720 less at closing based on the current points.

The interest rates increased total mortgage applications by an estimated 7%, compared with a week earlier, stated Michael Fratantoni, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s vice president of research and economics.

While the increase could seem substantial, he added that applications are still well below last year’s level.

He added, "Refinance application volume increased, but even though 30-year mortgage rates are back below 4.5 percent, the refinance index is still almost 30 percent below last year’s level. Factors such as negative equity and a weak job market continue to constrain borrowers."

With rates low and home prices down more than 30% from peak, there has likely never been a more affordable time to purchase a home.

Source: news4jax.com

In June, builders broke ground on more single-family homes and apartments, helping the battered construction industry gain some life after a dismal spring.

According to the Commerce Department, builders started work on a seasonally adjusted 629,000 homes last month, which is a 14.6 percent increase from May.

That’s about half the 1.2 million homes per year that economists say must be built to sustain a healthy housing market.

Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, labeled the gains "just a blip in the overall flat-lining trend of homebuilding activity."

"We have to see a rebound in job creation to sustain a recovery in housing," she added.

In June, much of the increase came from a surge in apartment construction.

That sector increased over 30 percent last month.

Single-family home construction grew 9.4 percent.

It was the largest jump since June 2009, when the recession officially ended.

Source: builderonline.com

According to the latest survey from Freddie Mac, mortgage rates moved higher this week after spending a month within a hair or two of 4.5 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate loan remained with an average of 4.6 percent in the Freddie Mac tally, which is up from 4.51 percent a week earlier.

The rate has increased to where it was at the end of May, before the latest fall.

Rates have a tendancy to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which has moved higher since hitting the June 24th low.

The government-controlled Freddie Mac, which requests information from lenders each week about the terms they are offering to well-qualified borrowers, stated that the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was being offered at an average rate of 3.75 percent this week.

The rate averaged 3.69 percent last week.

In the survey, the borrowers would have had solid credit and down payments and/or home equity totaling 20 percent, and would have paid 0.7 percent of the loan amount up-front on average in discount points and fees to the lenders.

Freddie Mac stated that rates for adjustable loans are increasing too.

It emphasized that home finance is still a great deal by historical standards.

Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft, stated "Interest rates on all mortgages outstanding in the first quarter of this year averaged just under 6 percent. With today’s rates, these homeowners who have the ability to refinance could shave $169 per month in interest payments on a $200,000, 30-year fixed mortgage."

Source: seacoastonline.com