AlpineVistas Community Blog

Here’s some interesting news from the Utah Association of Realtors regarding mortgage rates.  Nice to see a good low instead of many bad lows:

Weekly mortgage watch: Rates at record lows

Interest rates were at record lows this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at the lowest point in the history of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which dates back to 1970. Averaging 4.78 percent for the week ending today, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was lower than the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage and 1.6 percentage points below its recent peak in October 2008, a savings of more than $2,500 a year for a $200,000 loan. The 15-year fixed and 5-year ARM rates were at also at their lowest levels since Freddie Mac began tracking them.

“The housing market may be edging toward a bottom,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Existing home sales stayed near its four-month average in March while new home sales were stronger than the market consensus. More importantly, the inventory of unsold new homes fell to the lowest number since January 2002. And, the S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city composite index did not show a record year-over-year decline in February for the first time since December 2006. Finally, housing affordability hit record highs in the first quarter of this year, according to figures from the National Association of REALTORS®, which date back to January 1971.”

National Mortgage Averages - April 30, 2009
Source: Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey