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First Rate Hike
In Five
Weeks
What's likely to spur more home
buying from rate-chasing buyers, mortgage
interest rates rose for the first time in five
weeks breaking the 6 percent barrier for only
the second time this year.
Fixed
interest rates had been falling from 6.32
percent on June 16 to 5.98 percent July 22,
before turning up July 29 to 6.08 percent on
30-year conforming loans, according to Freddie
Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The average
15-year fixed rate
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reported on July
29 was 5.49 percent, up from 5.39 percent a week
ago and 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable rate
mortgages averaged 4.17 percent, up from 4.12
percent, last week.
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Planning Your
Move
 Some people will move themselves.
Others will hire professionals, with mixed
results, depending on the reliability of the
moving company and the quality of the crew. In any
move, timing is essential. With so many people
moving in so short a time, moving companies can be
booked so far in advance that the best you can do,
might not do at all.
The experts suggests that four to six weeks in
advance of the move is a good time to begin
contacting companies for estimates.
First you should
decide what you will be moving. That is, you
should think about getting rid of the stuff you
don't need, as estimates are partly based on the
number of pounds they have to move. |
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Paint A Top Priority
For New
Owners
 Red is, well, it's red hot.
Espresso, mauve and chocolate are tops. And
wallpaper is making somewhat of a comeback.
These are the leading
edge color and home decorating trends in the
do-it-yourself painting business as seen last
month at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas.
Actually, painting is
one of the first things home buyers turn to after
they move into their new abodes. It is those who
buy existing houses who are more likely to paint
their places during the first year of ownership,
and for good reason. After all, there probably is
no better, less-expensive way to customize your
new digs than with a fresh coat of paint.
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Home
Sales Defy
Bubble Forecasts
Existing-home sales continued their record
pace in June, as new home sales just missed the record
pace set in May, but new home sales were well ahead of
last June's sales by double digits.
Existing-home sales rose to
a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.95 million up
more than 2 percent from 6.81 million units in May, and
17.4 percent above the 5.92-million unit pace in June
2003, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Sales of new single-family
homes hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.326
million units in June, compared to the record
1.337-million unit pace set in May. The June numbers
this year are 11.1 percent above sales in June 2003,
according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
Strong population and
household growth, improving economic and job conditions,
favorable financing terms and the continued investment
potential of new homes combined to keep home sales hot.
David Lereah, NAR's chief
economist, said last month's performance is close to the
peak for the housing market. "Although we've been
expecting sales to ease, it's clear the market has
tremendous momentum," he said. "The improving job market
and higher consumer confidence are feeding into a large
demographic demand for housing. Home sales remain very
healthy and are likely to stay quite strong."
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