Interest Rates
Wow! It was a bumpy ride for a few weeks. On April 4th the 30 year rate was 6.125%. By April 9th it was 6.875%. By April 15th it settled in at 6.625% and that is where it has stayed since. Stock market volatility and economic uncertainty were the catalysts for the volatility in the mortgage world.
Housing Market
The supply of homes in Bannock County is about the same as it was last year. It hovers between 200 and 250, depending on the day. As of today it is 215. The average days on market for a home that is about 90 days, which is an average number. We are also seeing prices of homes come down – not a lot, but they are coming down some. As we enter spring and summer, we should see a few more home listings and the days on market will go down a little. Our problem is still a low inventory of homes to buy.
Applications
We got pretty busy with new applications in March and the first couple weeks of April. That is a normal trend. Warm weather and spring typically get people off the fence that have been thinking of buying or building a home. Interest rates in the mid 6% range are not terrible. A lot of people have just decided to buy now since they think prices will go up in the future, and most likely rates will eventually go down and they can refinance. Refinance applications are still scarce.
