(MoneyWatch) Fixed mortgage rates remain at record lows, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), released Thursday. This marks the second week in a row that 15- and 30-year fixed rates have fallen. Buying a home: Facts and fictions about investing The rates for the week ending May 24, 2012 are as follows: The 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.78 percent, down slightly from last week's average of 3.79 percent. One year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.6 percent. Interest rates on a 15-year FRM averaged 3.04 percent, unchanged from last week's average. At this time last year, a 15-year FRM averaged 3.78 percent. A 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.83 percent this week, also unchanged from last week. ... Continue reading →
When buying or selling a home, finding the best Realtor or real estate agent that knows the housing market, listens to you and fits your personality is a must. Q: We are selling our home possibly next year and would like to know how to find the right agent to represent us. We will obviously choose a few to talk to initially and see which one impresses us the most. We are in Hoschton, Ga. and would like to know if there is any way to find the agent in our general area that has the best sales record over the last 12 months and any other criteria you may feel we should look for in an agent. Any help you can give us would ... Continue reading →
Q: I have a possible buyer for my home and am selling it by myself. There is no agent involved on either side of the transaction. What are my responsibilities as a home seller? Are there any disclosures I have to make? There is no mortgage on the house. A: How fortunate you are to have a buyer for your home and no real estate commission to pay. That’s a pretty good deal (providing you haven’t way underpriced the house). We have found that there are times that home sellers that sell on their own make mistakes in pricing their home that can result in the home lingering on the market. Likewise, we have found that buyers looking at homes that are for sale by ... Continue reading →
(MoneyWatch) Fixed mortgage rates remain at record lows, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), released Thursday. This marks the second week in a row that 15- and 30-year fixed rates have fallen. Buying a home: Facts and fictions about investing The rates for the week ending May 24, 2012 are as follows: The 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.78 percent, down slightly from last week's average of 3.79 percent. One year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.6 percent. Interest rates on a 15-year FRM averaged 3.04 percent, unchanged from last week's average. At this time last year, a 15-year FRM averaged 3.78 percent. A 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.83 percent this week, also unchanged from last week. ... Continue reading →
What is the economic and political impact of President Obama's State of the Union speech? MoneyWatch editors Jill Schlesinger and Jack Otter are joined by economist and MoneyWatch blogger Mark Thoma, and CBSNews.com senior political reporter Brian Montopoli. Have a question for the team? E-mail AskTheExperts@moneywatch. Or, use the chat feature to join the conversation. Continue reading →
(MoneyWatch) It seems the housing market could be on its way to a real recovery. Home sales rose annually in April, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Prices also continued their upward trend, further evidence the housing market could be starting to normalize. Total existing-home sales -- completed transactions of single family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops -- rose nationally to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in April, a 3.4 percent increase from the previous month. Annually, existing home sales rose 10 percent. The national median existing-home prices also increased in April, up 10.1 percent from the previous year to $177,400. That's the second consecutive month of increases since June and July of 2010, according to ... Continue reading →
