4/30/10 Mortgage Market Week-in-Review
May 04, 2010
What Did Interest Rates Do Last Week?
** based on Freddie Mac weekly average survey **
30-yr Fixed - Slightly Lower
Last Week: 5.06%
Previous Week: 5.07%
1yr Ago: 4.78%
15-yr Fixed - Unchanged
Last Week: 4.39%
Previous Week: 4.39%
1yr Ago: 4.48%
Jumbo Fixed (Average 30-yr Fixed)
Last Week: 5.50%
Previous Week: 5.50%
Highlight of Last Week's Major Economic Reports
With the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit and interest rates uncontrolled by the Fed, the housing market is now back to being fully on its own. We won't know for awhile what impact the tax credit had on sales, so it's hard to gauge what impact its expiration will have on the rest of the spring-buying season, but we can at least take comfort in the rest of the economy starting to gain much-needed steam, which will inevitably help home sales.
The Fed gathered for its monthly meeting last week and voted to keep short-term interest rates unchanged. Furthermore, they indicated that rates will "remain exceptionally low" for "an extended period of time" despite the fact that "economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the labor market is beginning to improve."
To support the brighter economic outlook, the latest GDP reading to show the economy's growth in the 1st quarter of 2010 revealed the nation's third consecutive quarter of positive growth with 3.2%.
What to Look for This Week
The all-important employment report will take center stage to give us an updated peek at the state of the labor market. The pace of the economic recovery will likely remain "moderate" until the jobs start coming back.
Short-Term Rate Outlook
Possibly Slightly Higher
Stay Informed: What's in the News
"End of Home Buyer Tax Credit Unlikely to Deter Most Real Estate Buyers" from Ris Media
The expiration of the 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credits on April 30 is unlikely to put off Americans looking to purchase homes who believe now is a good time to buy and are confident that home prices will rise according to a survey released by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc., a Prudential Financial, Inc. company. The survey of 1,000 Americans between the ages of 25-64 with at least $35,000 household income was conducted during April 15-20, 2010. More than 90% of consumers believe that the home buyer tax credits have helped both first-time home buyers and the U.S. housing market overall.
"Texas Cities Best Places for Jobs" from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
For the second year in a row, Texas cities took half of the top ten spots in Newgeography.com's annual ranking of the best cities in the nation in which to find a job.
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos ranked first, San Antonio-New Braunfels second, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown third, Dallas-Plano-Irving fifth and Fort Worth-Arlington seventh.
Among the medium-sized cities that Newgeography.com ranked, El Paso was fifth, McAllen-Mission-Edinburg was sixth and Corpus Christi was seventh.
College Station-Bryan was the third best smallest city in which to find a job. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood was fourth.
The rankings are based on three-month rolling averages of monthly employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from November 1999 to January 2010.
"Austin Ranked Among Cleanest Air Cities" from Austin Business Journal
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/04/26/daily45.html
"Foreclosures Increase 27% in Q1" from Austin Business Journal
Austin-Round Rock area home foreclosures increased 27 percent in the first quarter compared with the same three months last year, according to a RealtyTrac Inc. report released today.
About 1 in every 226 houses foreclosed, which ranked the city low among other metros, taking the No. 116 spot of 203. Just 0.44 percent of all housing units foreclosed in the first quarter in the area compared with 3.51 percent in Las Vegas, which was the worst hit, according to the report.
The number of homes foreclosed in Austin last quarter was also about 20 percent higher than the fourth quarter 2009, increasing from 0.38 percent of homes to 0.44 percent. A total 2,908 Central Texas homeowners filed last quarter.
"Texas Existing Home Sales, Prices Up in March" from Texas A&M Real Estate Center
A total of 19,330 existing single-family homes were sold in Texas last month, up 16 percent from March 2009, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Austin
Sales - 1,999 (up 33% from last year)
Median Price - $178,600 (no change from last year)
Months' Inventory - 6.6
"Risk of Major Home Price Decline Low in Texas" from Texas A&M Real Estate Center
http://recenter.tamu.edu/news/NewsRel19-0410.pdf
"Translating What the Fed Said" from Bankrate.com
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/federal-reserve/translating-what-the-fed-said-april-28-2010.aspx
"Texas 12th Most Affordable Home Care in U.S." from Austin Business Journal
Home health and other long-term care services in Texas are among the cheapest in the United states, according to Genworth’s 2010 Cost of Care Survey released Tuesday.
Texas users pay a median $41,070 annually, 6 percent lower than the national $43,472 average, ranking Texas 12th most affordable in the U.S.
** based on Freddie Mac weekly average survey **
30-yr Fixed - Slightly Lower
Last Week: 5.06%
Previous Week: 5.07%
1yr Ago: 4.78%
15-yr Fixed - Unchanged
Last Week: 4.39%
Previous Week: 4.39%
1yr Ago: 4.48%
Jumbo Fixed (Average 30-yr Fixed)
Last Week: 5.50%
Previous Week: 5.50%
Highlight of Last Week's Major Economic Reports
With the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit and interest rates uncontrolled by the Fed, the housing market is now back to being fully on its own. We won't know for awhile what impact the tax credit had on sales, so it's hard to gauge what impact its expiration will have on the rest of the spring-buying season, but we can at least take comfort in the rest of the economy starting to gain much-needed steam, which will inevitably help home sales.
The Fed gathered for its monthly meeting last week and voted to keep short-term interest rates unchanged. Furthermore, they indicated that rates will "remain exceptionally low" for "an extended period of time" despite the fact that "economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the labor market is beginning to improve."
To support the brighter economic outlook, the latest GDP reading to show the economy's growth in the 1st quarter of 2010 revealed the nation's third consecutive quarter of positive growth with 3.2%.
What to Look for This Week
The all-important employment report will take center stage to give us an updated peek at the state of the labor market. The pace of the economic recovery will likely remain "moderate" until the jobs start coming back.
Short-Term Rate Outlook
Possibly Slightly Higher
Stay Informed: What's in the News
"End of Home Buyer Tax Credit Unlikely to Deter Most Real Estate Buyers" from Ris Media
The expiration of the 2010 Home Buyer Tax Credits on April 30 is unlikely to put off Americans looking to purchase homes who believe now is a good time to buy and are confident that home prices will rise according to a survey released by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc., a Prudential Financial, Inc. company. The survey of 1,000 Americans between the ages of 25-64 with at least $35,000 household income was conducted during April 15-20, 2010. More than 90% of consumers believe that the home buyer tax credits have helped both first-time home buyers and the U.S. housing market overall.
"Texas Cities Best Places for Jobs" from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
For the second year in a row, Texas cities took half of the top ten spots in Newgeography.com's annual ranking of the best cities in the nation in which to find a job.
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos ranked first, San Antonio-New Braunfels second, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown third, Dallas-Plano-Irving fifth and Fort Worth-Arlington seventh.
Among the medium-sized cities that Newgeography.com ranked, El Paso was fifth, McAllen-Mission-Edinburg was sixth and Corpus Christi was seventh.
College Station-Bryan was the third best smallest city in which to find a job. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood was fourth.
The rankings are based on three-month rolling averages of monthly employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from November 1999 to January 2010.
"Austin Ranked Among Cleanest Air Cities" from Austin Business Journal
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/04/26/daily45.html
"Foreclosures Increase 27% in Q1" from Austin Business Journal
Austin-Round Rock area home foreclosures increased 27 percent in the first quarter compared with the same three months last year, according to a RealtyTrac Inc. report released today.
About 1 in every 226 houses foreclosed, which ranked the city low among other metros, taking the No. 116 spot of 203. Just 0.44 percent of all housing units foreclosed in the first quarter in the area compared with 3.51 percent in Las Vegas, which was the worst hit, according to the report.
The number of homes foreclosed in Austin last quarter was also about 20 percent higher than the fourth quarter 2009, increasing from 0.38 percent of homes to 0.44 percent. A total 2,908 Central Texas homeowners filed last quarter.
"Texas Existing Home Sales, Prices Up in March" from Texas A&M Real Estate Center
A total of 19,330 existing single-family homes were sold in Texas last month, up 16 percent from March 2009, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Austin
Sales - 1,999 (up 33% from last year)
Median Price - $178,600 (no change from last year)
Months' Inventory - 6.6
"Risk of Major Home Price Decline Low in Texas" from Texas A&M Real Estate Center
http://recenter.tamu.edu/news/NewsRel19-0410.pdf
"Translating What the Fed Said" from Bankrate.com
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/federal-reserve/translating-what-the-fed-said-april-28-2010.aspx
"Texas 12th Most Affordable Home Care in U.S." from Austin Business Journal
Home health and other long-term care services in Texas are among the cheapest in the United states, according to Genworth’s 2010 Cost of Care Survey released Tuesday.
Texas users pay a median $41,070 annually, 6 percent lower than the national $43,472 average, ranking Texas 12th most affordable in the U.S.