With the first-time home buyer tax credit ending last month, information on the condition of mortgage rates has become a popular topic. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, following the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, stated in a recent press release, “While bank lending continues to contract, financial market conditions remain supportive of economic growth.”
The Committee also reported, “[they] will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.”
Realtor®Mag published news, by Freddie Mac, reporting the average interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages at 5 percent last week, down from 5.06 the previous week. For a 15-year fixed loan the average was 4.36 percent, down from 4.39 percent. Five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages and one-year ARMs also were down.
Locally, Homestar Mortgage was recognized in an article by Providence Business News as a top partner lender of Rhode Island Housing for 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. Homestar Mortgage was at the top of a list of 37 partner lenders and brokers who offer Rhode Island Housing’s low-interest FirstHomes100 mortgages. Homestar Mortgage is a preferred mortgage partner of Residential Properties.
What does this mean for you? Well, simply stated, mortgage rates remain at a historically low percentage.
As I posted in the past, we hold a seasonal photo contest. It’s a great opportunity for our agents and staff to grab their cameras and unleash some creativity! The winning photos are added to the slide show on our home page. It’s always a difficult decision choosing the winning photographs and this spring was no exception.
I am excited to say that first time participant and sales manager of our Providence Office, Ed Hardie submitted this years winning photo. Ed snapped a terrific photo of the Rose Island Lighthouse in Newport, Rhode Island. Congratulations Ed!
An honorable mention to Nancy Weaver, sales manager of our Barrington Office and a terrific photographer. Nancy captured a fabulous shot of a dock on South Meadow in Barrington. Also, thanks to our corporate office for submitting a few as well.
We reside in the Ocean State. We should know about the America’s Cup race, since for so many year’s it was contested in the waters off our shores. Our Providence Manager, Ed Hardie, told me about the first race of this year’s America’s Cup over a month ago. But just last night, my spouse informed me that the America’s Cup race is OVER – three weeks ago! She heard that at a luncheon meeting.
What happened, where were we, this is the event that anointed Newport as the sailing capital of the world for years!
The good news is a United States team won. It is the first time since 1992 that America’s Cup is back in the US.
The website for the 33rd contest in Valencia, Spain will impress you with the size of the competing crafts. The winning boat is a massive trimaran with airplane wing-like “sails” and was sponsored by Larry Ellison of Oracle fame and BMW. They sail out of the San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club.
Here’s the question Rhode Islander’s – can we get them to bring the race back to Newport? The word is that the race might be held in San Francisco, San Diego, Newport, or even back in Valencia Spain. There is a Rhode Island group petitioning to get the cup race back to Newport.
We are finally getting the statistics showing what I have been witnessing in our offices – activity in the last couple of months has been higher than the recent past. Just this morning, Clear Capital reported that the Providence Metropolitan Area had the highest rate of growth in housing prices in the nation at 6.1% for the latest rolling quarter ending in February.
In more positive news, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported 395 sales in January, a 9% increase from January 2009. The median price rose 14% to $200,000, and days on the market fell 24% to 83. Condo sales rose 28%, prices remained virtually the same, and days on the market rose 2 percent. Multi-unit sales fell 21 percent, while price increased 21 percent and days on the market fell 36%. While January is typically the slowest month for home sales, weather has been on our side unlike other parts of the country that have been paralyzed by record snow this season.
However, the housing market remains vulnerable with unemployment at high levels and consumer confidence lagging. When looking across the country, the housing market is flat. We also have a long way to go to recover to the home values of 2006. So, we are not out of the woods just yet, but clear fields are getting closer.
And if the trend is your friend, moving upward or even sideways is better than having a further contraction. Getting back to the activity level, our offices are operating at high levels in this traditionally slow time of year. Maybe it is all the rain we’ve been getting instead of snow. Hopefully, this will continue into the spring market.
As you may already know, we hold a seasonal photo contest where our agents and staff grab their cameras and unleash their creativity! The winning photos are always displayed on the home page slide show. This year we had our first ever tie!
Winning Photos – Nancy Weaver: Photo – Tyler Point Barrington, RI and Holly Applegate: Photo – John Jenckes House, Benefit Street Providence
The website for the 