One reason mortgage rates won’t go up this week
With the near certainty that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will vote to increase interest rates this week, many people assume that mortgage rates will automatically follow. Not so. At least not directly. The Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates will have no direct impact on fixed rate mortgage rates.
The last time the Fed raised interest rates was just a year ago and at that time I wrote What the Fed’s rate increase means for mortgage rates.
I will update the report after the Fed’s decision on Wednesday. (more…)
Solar roof tiles 2.0 – a major improvement
Just over a year ago I published Solar panels – are they right for you?, with a not very positive comment based largely upon their appearance.
As with many products, however, dramatic improvements seem to have been made and a recent Bloomberg video
No one saw Tesla’s solar roof coming shows just how much. When Elon Musk of Tesla presented recently, the audience members were unaware that the homes showed had solar roofs. “The interesting thing is that the houses you see around you are all solar houses,” Musk said. “Did you notice?”
Open Houses Sunday December 11
A chilly start to the day but it will be sunny with no wind so get out and visit these Open Houses: (more…)
Why the Election drove Mortgage Rates up
30 year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRN) rates are tied to the yield on the US Treasury 10 year note (10T). The spread – the difference between the two rates – has averaged 1.71% since the beginning of 2013, as shown in this chart (the sharp drop at the end reflects the first couple of days after the Election):
Source:US Treasury, Freddie Mac
Now let’s look at what has happened in the month since the Election – after the initial drop the spread has returned to its 4 year average: (more…)
New Listings week of December 9
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in the real estate market, as new listings drop with the temperature: (more…)
Open Houses December 4
It may be December, but it is a glorious day today, perfect for visiting these Open Houses: (more…)
Marblehead Christmas Walk: Festival Chorus Concerts
This weekend sees the Marblehead Christmas Walk; click here to see the brochure.
One of the highlights is the Old North Festival Chorus Concerts now in their 36th year. (more…)
Housing Inventory continues to decline
The number of Single Family Homes (SFH) for sale at the beginning of December in both Essex County and Massachusetts has fallen by nearly a quarter over the last two years, with most of that decline coming in the last year, as shown in the charts below: (more…)
New Listings week of December 2
A very quiet week for new listings: (more…)
Open Houses Sunday November 27
Today sees the first Open Houses since the Huge jump in mortgage lending limits was announced, so if you are not travelling enjoy these Open Houses on a sunny Sunday: (more…)
Huge jump in Mortgage Loan Limits
Home buyers in Essex County and Suffolk County received a major boost this week with the announcement that the limit for conforming mortgages was being increased by 18% from $523,250 to $598,000.
For a buyer putting down 20% the price of a home that can be financed conventionally – meaning that it can be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – jumps by almost $100,000, from $654,063 to $747,500.
This table shows the trend in the last few years: (more…)
Q3 Housing Market video report
According to the FHFA housing prices in Q3 2016 were up 6.1% compared with a year ago.
Click on this FHFA Q3 report video for a short video update on the housing market. (more…)
New Listings week of November 25
With most people’s focus this week being travel, family and turkey, new listings were predictably minimal: (more…)
Marblehead sets tax rate for 2017
The 2017 tax rate for Marblehead has been set at $11.01, down from $11.10 in FY2016. Before you get too excited, bear in mind that the reason the tax rate went down is that assessed values, reflecting rising prices, went up – which means that tax bills will also be going up. (more…)
Life’s a beach: in Marblehead
According to the Travel Channel: “So many people work year in year out for those brief vacations, dreaming of escaping permanently to our own slice of heaven. Life’s a Beach celebrates the real stories of people who went for it-leaving their normal lives behind to pursue an everlasting beach paradise.”
Well, you don’t have to move far away to enjoy a beach paradise: there is one right here in Marblehead with an Open House today 12:30-2:00.
Click on 46 Gallison Avenue for photographs and a short video.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com.
Read http://wp.me/p2SYWq-1Az Which broker should list my house for sale?
Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
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