Optima Properties

April
Mortgage Rates:
Week Ending: April 20th
	Average Rate	Average Points
30 year FRM	6.17	0.5
15 year FRM	5.89	0.5
5/1 ARM	5.92	0.6
1 year ARM	5.45	0.7

Market Trends:

30-Year Interest Rates Continue to Climb

After a monthlong downward trend, interest on long-term mortgages moved up for the second consecutive week. Freddie Mac puts the average 30-year fixed rate at 6.13 percent this week, up a notch from 6.12 percent last week. The 15-year fixed rate, which is popular among refinancing borrowers, also edged up to 5.89 percent from 5.86 percent.

Initial interest on five-year adjustable-rate loans increased as well, rising to 5.96 percent from 5.92 percent. One-year ARMs, however, fell slightly from 5.45 percent to 5.44 percent.

Overall, interest rates still remain low, says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist. "This could bode well for housing in the new year," Nothaft speculates. "Indeed we have seen a spike in refinancing activity over the past few weeks as rates have come down. Borrowers who have adjustable-rate mortgages that are scheduled for a rate adjustment in 2007 may want to consider refinancing those loans now."

Source: Contra Costa Times (Calif.), Jeannine Aversa (12/22/06)

This Month's Top Stories

Real Estate Rebound Expected in 2007

Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, expects the 30-year mortgage rate to hover around 6.5 percent for the remainder of the year, but climb to 6.8 percent by the end of 2008.

Duncan is "optimistic about a rebound" in the housing market next year, citing still-low long-term interest rates, robust capital expenditures, and rising equity prices, among other factors.

Meanwhile, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® expects existing-home sales to slip to just above 6.4 million in 2007 from an estimated 6.47 million this year. But a pullback in construction will spark an 8.7-percent decline in new-home sales to 975,000 from 1.07 million over the same time span.

The median resale price will likely edge up 1.7 percent to $227,500 next year, and the median new-home price is forecasted to climb 1.3 percent to $241,400.

Source: Inman News, Matt Carter (12/18/06)