Sales of previously owned homes fell 0.9 percent in February but remain 8.8 percent above a year ago. According to data from the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales, which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million down from the upwardly revised January number of 4.63 million. Lawrence Yun, NAR̢۪s chief economist, said the market is trending up with record high consumer buying power and sustained job gains giving buyers the confidence to get into the market. The national median existing-home price was $156,600 in February, up 0.3 percent from a year ago. Also, unsold listed inventory is down 19.3 percent from February 2011 and, at the current sales pace, there is a 6.4-month supply of existing homes on the market. A six month supply is considered healthy for the housing market. More here. ...read more
By Reliant Mortgage Company - Auburn, Maine. March 22, 2012
Mortgage rates increased last week but remain historically low, according tothe Mortgage Bankers Association̢۪s Weekly Applications Survey. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.19 percent last week from 4.06 percent the week before. The average rate for a jumbo loan increased to 4.49 percent. Rising rates led to a drop in overall mortgage application demand. The Market Composite Index, which measures total application volume, was down 7.4 percent. But despite a 9.3 percent drop in the Refinance Index, the Purchase Index fell just 1.0 percent and remains up 3.25 percent over the past month. The average size of a loan to purchase a home was $225,463 in February, up from $216,888 the previous month. More here. ...read more
By Reliant Mortgage Company - Auburn, Maine. March 21, 2012
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new residential construction statistics for February show housing starts down 1.1 percent from January but still nearly 35 percent above the year before. Despite the slight dip in new construction, building permits for future construction rose to their highest level since October 2008. Permits to build privately-owned housing units jumped 5.1 percent over January’s revised rate and are 34.3 percent above the February 2011 estimate. Single-family authorizations climbed 4.9 percent to a rate if 472,000, up from January’s figure of 450,000. More here. ...read more
By Reliant Mortgage Company - Auburn, Maine. March 20, 2012
When the economy tanked in the early 2000s most people began to worry about the state of their bank's health. At the present time, however, banks are beginning to stabilize and hire more workers as they iron out the remaining wrinkles in their business. Those interested in banking should have a wide r... ...read more
Banks and credit unions have been in the news a lot lately for many reasons. This has led many people to wonder if there are any difference between a bank and a credit union and have started to compare banks with credit unions. The two has similarities, but then they also have many differences as well... ...read more