Month: March 2013

This is a truly rare find! A one owner, one level, San Luis Obispo home on the lakefront, with its own dock! Update it to your own taste, and enjoy the wonderful views. The large deck is protected to enable outdoor living much of the year.

In the past two weeks, we have seen a large upward spike in mortgage rates and a corresponding downward correction. If you have followed our column, you know that the upward spike came after a prolonged run of stock gains and positive U.S. economic news, especially on the employment front. With the horizon relatively settled, investors turned to  higher-risk stocks rather than bonds, and when money leaves the bond market, mortgage rates tend to rise.

The calm horizon was unsettled by more European debt issues. As we wrote about last week, Cyprus needs a bailout, and as part of the plan, the country will be levying a tax on bank accounts above a minimum amount. European debt drama has spooked markets over the past several years, and pushed investors into the safety of the U.S. bond market – a move that results in downward pressure on mortgage rates.

To begin this week, rates are relatively unchanged after last week’s 1/2 point drop. We have revised the 15-year fixed rate up to 2.500 percent (2.667 percent APR) after an 1/8 point rise in cost. The FHA Manufactured rate was revised downward about 3/8 of a point in rate. Otherwise, the 30-year fixed, VA, USDA, and FHA mortgage rates were all unchanged. See the complete list of March 25 rates HERE.

Last week, it was announced that jobless claims reached a recovery-low level. The Federal Reserve announced its continued commitment to stimulus measures known as quantitative easing (as expected). Moving forward, this will be a busy week for economic statistics and indicators, which could have some effect on the market – and mortgage rates. Check in with the Central Coast Lending Newsroom for updates on the top real estate, mortgage, and economic news throughout the week:

• Durable Goods Orders – March 26
• New Home Sales – March 26
• Consumer Confidence – March 26
• S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index – March 26
• Mortgage Applications – March 27
• Pending Home Sales Index – March 27
• GDP Report – March 28
• Weekly Jobless Claims – March 28

Mortgage rates have taken a significant drop to begin the week, the “fastest pace” of downward movement since February 25th according to Mortgage News Daily. The drop three weeks ago occurred after the Italian election stalemate raised concerns about the Euro zones bailout plan.

Today, the drop came after more shaky news out of Europe. Cyprus needs a bailout and as part of the plan, the country is including a tax on individual’s bank accounts. Drama out of Europe tends to result in lower mortgage rates in the U.S., as investors move into the safety of the U.S. bond market. For our briefing on how to track rate movement, see HERE.

For now, we urge borrowers to take advantage of the rate improvements. Such downward movement is hard to predict, and barring another major drama on the international scene, we are unsure when rates might again reach these low prices.

The 30-year fixed dropped by a 1/2 a point and we have adjusted the rate down to 3.250% (3.382% APR) from 3.375%. The 15-year fixed was also revised downward to 2.375% (2.614% APR) down from 2.500%. For a complete list of rates, see HERE.

According to Leslie Appleton-Young, Vice President and Chief Economist for the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 30% of California’s mortgages are still “underwater” – a value that is below what is owed to the bank.  This explains the low home inventory and very competitive market we’re experiencing.  Hence the phrase, “love it or list it”.  Folks would like to sell their home but they’re not in a position to do so.  The good and bad news is home prices have increased.  If you’re not sure about your home’s value, please contact us to give you a formal market analysis.

The one- to two-week window of lower mortgage rate cost levels has closed, at least for now. On Friday, March 8, mortgage rates jumped by about a point in cost. The 10-year Treasury yield, which tracks the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, rose from 1.86% last Monday (3/4) to 2.06% on Friday (3/8). Remember, higher yields correlates to higher mortgage rates. To understand when (and why) mortgage rates move, read HERE.

So, what happened? The stock market is busy setting records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a record-high closing at each of the past three trading days, moving above 14,400. On Friday, the market was bolstered by an employment report that was better than expected. In February, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% and saw payrolls add 236,000 employees. This activity has helped to convince investors to jump on the stock train, moving from the safety of fixed-yield U.S Treasury bonds and into riskier equities.

We took an in-depth look at the rate movement in our Friday post “Positive Jobs Report, Record Stock Levels Influence Mortgage Rate Spike.” To begin the week, mortgage rates largely remained at spiked levels, although the 15-year fixed did drop a bit. We have the 30-year fixed at 3.375% (3.487% APR) and the 15-year fixed at 2.500% (2.751% APR). For the complete rate update, click HERE.

We have published our early-2013 real estate market overview of San Luis Obispo County. As local realtors know, the dominant storyline from the beginning of the year involves “low supply” and “high demand.” Prices are moving higher as multiple bids come in on properties.