April 2009

There are 2 blog entries for April 2009.

Opportunity of a Lifetime?

Phil Boren

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 11:31pm. 74 Views, 0 Comments.

Can you recognize and act on opportunity? How about an opportunity to capitalize on a market that hasn't presented itself like this in over 30 years? As the chart below indicates (Source: NAR, via Haver), that's what we may have in the current real estate market. The Housing Affordability Index (AHI), is basically a measure of how many people can afford to buy a median-priced home at any given time. The recent index value of 160 is the highest it's been since 1970! This is a combination of many things that may indicate a buying opportunity. It's a fundamentally sound number and also tends to be a leading indicator of the market. This is not to say that all homes in all markets are more affordable now; real estate is still an intensly local market…

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Mortgage Rates Dip

Phil Boren

Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 4:56pm. 69 Views, 0 Comments.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey today, showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged just 4.78%, with an average of 0.7 points for the week ending April 2, 2009. Last week the rate was at 4.85%. Last year at this time, the 30-year averaged 5.88%. The 30-year loan rate has not been lower in the life of Freddie Mac’s weekly survey, which dates back to 1971 for the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. What does all this mean for you? Buy a house. A year from now you will wish you started this process today!

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