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By Virginia

Does this look like you?

Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko has got an interesting take on what will happen to the housing market this year – he says, first, that the price increases will slow down a little bit (nationally) but that there will still be lots of buyers. Interest rates will go up a little – the photo below shows what 2 national organizations speculate – but there will be more inventory, more to choose from.

Investors will back off, because prices have gone up too much to be a big bargain right now. First time buyers may have more trouble buying (saving for a down payment and having a stable job remain significant burdens) so who will be buying the houses?

Repeat buyers! They’ve got cash – equity in their current homes, built up over time and increasing more since prices have gone up again – and they’re ready for a change. Smaller, larger, over there, or even a second home.

Click here to read Mr. Kolko’s complete article.

Love the takeaway:

“If prices are slowing for the right reasons, great: growing inventory, fading investor activity, and rising mortgage rates are all natural price-slowing changes to expect at this stage of the recovery. But prices could slow for unhealthy reasons, too: if we have another government shutdown or more debt-ceiling brinksmanship, a drop in consumer confidence could hurt housing demand and home prices.”

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By Virginia

Interest Rates Up – Is the Wolf at the Door?

Interest rates for home mortgages bounced up last week, to the highest level they’ve been at since May 2012.

While it has many would-be buyers wringing their hands – as they get shut out in multiple offer purchases, and many other would-be re-financers kicking themselves for not having already refinanced a few months ago, it’s important to keep it in perspective:

On a 30-year fixed rate loan of $300,000 the change of a quarter percent in the interest rate results in a change in monthly payment of about $43.00.

According to AOL real estate news posted May 29, in the previous week refinance applications were down 8% (that’s us owners, kicking ourselves) but home purchase applications were up 2.6%.

AOL real estate news says rates have increased by 31 basis points since the beginning of May; 12 points just in the week ending May 24. That put the rates at their highest level in a year, with the national average for a 30-year fixed rate loan at 3.90 percent. (12 basis points is just under one-eighth of a percent) 

JT Kennedy, senior loan officer at M&T Bank, forwarded me this chart, showing U.S. interest rates for home mortgages all the way back to 1976. Seriously, rates are up which means your payments on a new loan would be up, but still the rates are at a fraction of what they used to be! JT is your man for refinance (he works out of Portland, but the bank does business in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona). Shoot him an email for more info and awesome testimonials from his clients. Of course he also does purchase loans.

Does this look like you?
Interest Rates Up – Is the Wolf at the Door?