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Mortgage Rates
Slide
The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.65 percent for the week ending
May 26, 2005 and the average for the 15-year FRM
was 5.21 percent, both down from the previous
week and the lowest level since February 24th.
Expect more of the same.
"As long as
inflation is held in check, there is little or
no pressure to push mortgage rates higher. And
at the moment, core inflation does indeed seem
to be a non-event.
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Continuing low
rates will keep the housing industry abuzz,"
said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief
economist at Freddie Mac.
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Homebuyers Pick
Amenities Over
Space
 According to a recent survey by the
National Association of Home Builders, 69 percent
of buyers would rather have more amenities than
additional space.
Even so, the average home size has risen more than
50 percent to 2,340 square feet over the past 35
years.
The survey
found that buyers prefer walk-in pantries, kitchen
islands, and bathroom linen closets. Additionally,
brick exteriors are popular with nearly 45 percent
of respondents.
The
National Association of Home Builder also reported
an increase in the standard ceiling height to 9
feet from 8 feet, which makes homes appear more
spacious. |
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Housing Market Defies Bubble
Talk
 Home prices continued to soar in
April, up to a median $203,800, 15.1 percent
higher than they were a year ago. Meanwhile, low
mortgage rates fueled record sales.
The National
Association of Realtors put the seasonally
adjusted annual rate of single-family detached
home sales at a new record 6.28 million, a 4.5
percent increase in sales from just a month
earlier when the annual rate was 6.01 million.
Sales activity was 5.0 percent above the pace for
April 2004, 5.98 million units a year.
"A new record is a
bit unexpected, but so is the performance of
mortgage interest rates which have been lower than
forecast," said David Lereah, NAR's chief
economist. | |
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Percentage of Million Dollar Homes
Double
What's the fastest-growing segment of the
home real estate market nationwide? Think luxury. Think
big.
Million dollar homes
have exploded in numbers by 150-180 percent in the past
10 years, more than seven times the growth rate of
housing units in the rest of the marketplace. It used to
be that a million-dollar home was a big deal, the
biggest place in town. But now, million-dollar homes are
barely included in the "upper-brackets."
The percentage of homes
valued at $1 million or more is moving faster than the
rise in home prices, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau. It says while home prices are up 16 percent in
the last three years, the percentage of million dollar
homes has nearly doubled from 0.5% to 1.0% during the
same period. Not surprisingly, the Golden State,
California had the highest percentage of million-dollar
homes (4.1%).
High
concentrations of million-dollar homes were also found
in Connecticut (3.3%), the District of Columbia (3.3%),
Massachusetts (2.2%) and New York (2.1%).
Of the 231 counties with
populations of 250,000 or more, San Mateo ($644,300),
San Francisco ($607,000), Santa Clara ($553,500) and
Santa Cruz ($553,000) -- all in California -- had the
highest median home values. |
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