Flagstaff home lenders are seeing rates edge up this week, they tell me. Meanwhile, Freddie Mac announced its weekly survey of mortgage rates for the last week and for yet another week, rates reached a record low. This could be the bottom on the mortgage rates.

The difference between what rates were in April and what they are now is nearly three times the value of the now expired homebuyer tax credit, according to a story I heard on Flagstaff's NPR station today. (That's over the life of the loan -- so you're not likely to own your Flagstaff home that long, but it's still a significant deal!)

To see all the Freddie Mac mortgage rate charts for the week, click here.

For a list of Flagstaff mortgage brokers to consult as you plan your Flagstaff home purchase, click here.

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, please contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

The latest national mortgage rate survey showed the average 30-year mortgage rate .02% lower than the prior week. The rate continued below 4.5% when seven/tenths of a point was paid at closing to obtain the rate.

"Investors in long-term bonds appear very confident that inflation will remain in check, and as a result long-term fixed mortgage rates have continued to fall,” said Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac. Last week marked the ninth straight week in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® that 30-year-fixed mortgage rates have met or set a new record low.

Here are the numbers from Freddie Mac’s press release of August 19:

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, please contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

Home loan rates continue to be one big incentive for home buyers (in addition to lower prices) – but homebuyers don’t seem to be taking the bait. Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market rate survey showed rates hitting another forty-year record low. Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association showed applications for home loans barely budged, and refinancing applications took up a larger share of the total number of applications. 30-year fixed rates continued to come in well-below 5% for homebuyers in Flagstaff this week as well as across the country.

See Freddie Mac charts of weekly home loan rates here. (I’m on vacation, so am not spending the time to download and republish the charts this week.)

Jobs numbers (the all critical key to improvement in the housing market) did not come in as well for the week as economists had hoped, but private sector employment was up – no matter how dismal the headlines may have seemed yesterday.

One Federal Reserve governor registered a strong dissent from the continued low rate posture the Federal Reserve continued to take this week. While Federal Reserve rates do not directly relate to mortgage rates, what the Federal Reserve is thinking about the economy does provide clues as to where the housing market is headed. Governor Hoenig said, “Job growth may be less than hoped for but is positive nonetheless. While we are not where we want to be, the economy is recovering, and, barring specific shocks and bad policy, it should continue to grow over the next several quarters."  If that’s true, mortgage rates may be as low as we’ll ever see them.

Hoenig, who is president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve, is worried about the flat-lined CPI number pictured here. He doesn’t want it to sky-rocket as we come out of recession, forcing interest rates higher on recession fears and potentially suppressing the recovery. Most economists believe inflation fears should currently be the least of our worries. We’ll see.

Mortgage rates hit new record lows this week, according to the weekly survey most followed in the industry. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® showed 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages reaching new interest rate lows. (The 30-year fixed-rate survey began in 1971, and the 15-year began in 1991.)

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.49% with an average 0.7 point given to obtain that rate for the week ending August 5, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.54% percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 5.22%.

One local Flagstaff mortgage lender quoted 4.25% with zero points on Friday.

Poor economic news is good news for rates. Bad economic news came in waves this week. On Thursday, Gross Domestic Product statistical adjustments showed the economy grew more slowly in 2009 than previously reported. On Friday, unemployment news was worse than expected, with private sector jobs growing – but growing more slowly than anticipated by economist. Also, the census work this year was so much more efficient than usual that government census workers were laid off earlier than in past census years.

This mean there is not much likelihood of inflation which will relieve the pressure on long-term bond rates. That helps mortgage rates. The Federal Reserve may take action to stimulate the economy next week, but it’s unlikely the Fed will change its rates.

Here are the numbers from Freddie Mac’s mortgage rate survey for the week ending August 5, 2010:

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, please contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

If you are short on cash and just cannot make all of your Flagstaff home loan payments in one month, make the right choice. Your “second mortgage” is called that for a reason – it’s second in line. Whether this was a second mortgage put on the property at the time you purchased your Flagstaff home or a home equity line of credit (“HELOC”) doesn’t matter. If you are making tough choices, choose to pay the first mortgage loan payment in full and skip the second.

Your second mortgage lender is unlikely to foreclose in this real estate market. According to Chris Combs, lawyer for the Arizona Association of Realtors^®, “the reasons are: one, the second mortgage lender may then have to pay the first mortgage loan or lose the property to foreclosure; two, there is generally no equity in most homes subject to foreclosure; and, three, the second mortgage lender would not be able to pursue any deficiency claim against the owner of the home after the foreclosure.” Arizona is an “anti-deficiency” state, which means that lenders cannot pursue collection claims after foreclosure if the home was a single-family-residence actually used as a home (whether by the owner or a renter). This doesn’t mean you are protected from attempts to collect on the loan – it just means the legal process of foreclosure is unlikely to be invoked by the second lender.

If you can’t keep up your Flagstaff home loan payments, the best thing to do is consider whether you are eligible to refinance or restructure your loans, or whether you are eligible to sell short. If you want to stay in the home, the first option is one you should pursue with your current first lender. If you need to move, give me a call to consult about the short sale option. Stop losing sleep over foreclosure!

The above is for informational purposes only and is not intended as definitive legal or tax advice. You should not act upon this information without seeking independent legal counsel. If you desire legal, tax or other professional advice, please contact your attorney, tax advisor or other professional consultant. These issues are not “black and white,” so experienced attorneys and brokers may disagree.

My phone: 928-714-0001

My website: www.BestFlagstaffHomes.com

The Freddie Mac weekly mortgage market survey has been in existence since 1971. Last week, both 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgage prices reached record lows. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.54% with an average 0.7 point given to obtain that rate.

On any given day, rates may be different from the average and if you are obtaining a “no points” mortgage, your rate is likely to be slightly higher than the average here (with its .7 point cost).

This is the sixth week in a row that home loan rates have fallen. Here are the numbers:

You cannot lock these historic rates until you have a contract to purchase a home! Get qualified today with one of Flagstaff's mortgage brokers and then call to start your Flagstaff home search: 928-714-0001.

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, please contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.

The Freddie Mac weekly mortgage market survey has been in existence since 1971. Last week, both 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgage prices reached record lows. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.54% with an average 0.7 point given to obtain that rate.

On any given day, rates may be different from the average and if you are obtaining a “no points” mortgage, your rate is likely to be slightly higher than the average here (with its .7 point cost).

This is the sixth week in a row that home loan rates have fallen. Here are the numbers:

You cannot lock these historic rates until you have a contract to purchase a home! Get qualified today with one of Flagstaff's mortgage brokers and then call to start your Flagstaff home search: 928-714-0001.

To buy or sell any Flagstaff home, please contact me: Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties.

To search the Flagstaff MLS, click here!

Click here to see my featured Flagstaff home listings.