The U.S. economy remains on solid ground, inflation is contained and the Federal Reserve has softened the threat of higher short-term rates. This has allowed mortgage rates to drift down to their lowest level in 10 months. This is great news for everyone looking for homes during the upcoming spring home buying season. Mortgage rates…
Millennials have become more positive when it comes to taking the plunge into home ownership and are primed to gain market share in the second half of the year, according to the results of realtor.com’s consumer behavior survey of more than 12,000 respondents conducted from January to June of this year. Jonathan Smoke, chief economist…
As 2014 approached, several industry experts predicted that rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages would climb into the five percent range by this time of the year. Their forecasts seemed logical since the Federal Reserve announced it would begin tapering its mortgage-backed securities buying program, eventually ending the program later in the year. However, according to…
According to the first quarter Zillow? Real Estate Market Reports, U.S. home values climbed 5.7 percent year-over year in the first quarter of 2014. Nationally, home values remain 13.5 percent below their 2007 peak, after falling 22.6 percent during the recession before bottoming in 2011. Among the more than 300 metro housing markets covered by…