Tomball, Tx New Homes

Currently, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is 3.82 percent, which is up 13 basis points from 3.69 percent at this same time last week.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate remained between 3.7 and 3.8 percent for the majority of the week, increasing to the current rate early this morning.

Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, stated "The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose above 3.8 percent last week as more lenders increased their prices to cover a government-mandated fee on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. The new fee was voted on by Congress late last year to pay for the extension of a payroll tax deduction and federal unemployment benefits. Though the fee does not take effect until April 1, 2012, lenders already are incorporating it into their rates to cover for future closings."

Currently, the rate for a 15-year fixed home loan is 3.12 percent, while the rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage is 2.76 percent.

Source: yahoo.com

Just before announcing a large natural gas discovery off the coast of Mozambique, The Woodlands, Tx-based independent oil and gas firm apparently stated that it’s moving ahead with plans to construct a new office tower.

A source informed Swamplot that the second office tower would be constructed just west of its existing headquarters building in the The Woodlands Town Center.

Last fall, Anadarko stated it was considering another building on its 14.5-acre campus.

The company already occupies over 1 million square feet in two buildings there.

The new tower, which would break ground in a few weeks, would be 31 stories high and open in the spring of 2014, according to the source.

Source: chron.com

The average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 3.91% in the week ended January 5, which matches a record low, compared with 3.95% in the prior week, according to Freddie Mac.

The rate was at 4.77% a year ago.

In order to obtain the latest rate, payment of an average 0.8 point was required, according to Freddie Mac.

1% of the mortgage amount is a point, charged in prepaid interest.

"Fixed mortgage rates started the year a little lower this week just as recent data reports indicate the housing market and manufacturing industry are showing signs of improvement," stated Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.23% in the latest week from 3.24% in the prior week.

The average rate on the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage dropped to 2.86% from 2.88%.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM jumped to 2.80% from 2.78%.

Source: marketwatch.com

This week, fixed mortgage rates jumped from their record lows.

According to Freddie Mac, the average on the 30-year home loan gained 3.95 percent from 3.91 percent.

Dating to the 1950s, last week’s rate was the lowest average on records.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 3.24 percent.

That’s an increase from 3.21 percent, which is also a record low.

Rates have been under 5 percent for all but two weeks in 2011.

Source: builderonline.com

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped back down to 3.94 percent, the record low set earlier in the fall.

Low rates offer a historic chance for those who can afford to buy or refinance.

According to Freddie Mac, the rate on the 30-year home loan fell from 3.99 percent the previous week.

Dating to the 1950s, the 3.94 percent average is the lowest on record.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dropped to 3.21 percent from 3.27 percent.

That’s a record as well.

Rates have been under 5 percent for all but two weeks this year.

Source: sltrib.com

Nationwide, sales of new homes increased 1.3% on a monthly basis and up 8.9% year-over-year, reaching an annual rate of 307,000.

Should October’s increase in sales prove accurate, the gains will have come at the cost of prices.

Both average and median new-home sales prices were down on a monthly basis, with the median down $1,000 from September to $212,300 and the average down 2.5% to $242,300.

The average price was down 4.8% on an annual basis, but the median price was up 4.0%, a disparity David Goldberg, home building economist at New York-based UBS, attributes to skewed numbers due to last year’s tax credit, which pulled sales toward the first part of the year.

Also, a shift in demographics contributed, with a larger percentage of sales coming from the West while the South’s percentage is shrinking.

By sales price, home costing under $150,000 gained market share, increasing from 16% of sales in September to 24% in October.

Other price categories dropped with the exception of an increase at the high end of the market, with homes priced at over $750,000 increasing from 1% to 2% of sales.

The number of new homes for sale remained flat at 162,000, while completed homes for sale dropped by 1,000 to 60,000.

Total new-home inventory decreased to a 6.3-month supply.

Source: builderonline.com

According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, builder confidence increased in November.

Given that numbers were skewed by the home buyer tax credit, this month’s reading is the best the index has seen since April 2008, according to Patrick Newport, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.

While each of the index’s three components improved from October, the individual readings seemed contradictory.

While the component measuring future sales expectations reported the highest reading, jumping two points to 25, the component gauging prospective buyer traffic had the lowest reading, gaining one point to come in at 15.

The component gauging current sales conditions gained three points to a reading of 20.

The index requires a reading of over 50 to indicate that a majority of builders see conditions as good rather than poor.

David Crowe, NAHB’s chief economist, stated “I think what’s happening is the traffic that is coming in seems to be of a higher likelihood of buying,” he said on a call with Builder today. “The builders are starting to see more serious buyers.”

The trend has also shifted away from first-time buyers as builders are reporting more move-up customers, according to Crowe.

On a regional level, the index saw a three point gain to 17 in the Northeast, which is an eight point gain to 23 in the Midwest, a two point gain to 21 in the South, and a six point drop to 15 in the West.

Source: builderonline.com

Currently, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is 3.83 percent, which is up one basis point from 3.82 percent at this same time last week.

After falling to 3.77 percent on Thursday, the 30-year fixed mortgage rated remained between 3.87 and 3.9 percent for the rest week, slipping to the current rate.

Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, stated "The 30-year fixed mortgage rate remains historically low but continues to fluctuate in parallel with additional news of economic instability in Italy and Greece."

Currently, the rate for a 15-year fixed home loan is 3.2 percent, while the rate for a 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgage is 2.72 percent.

Source: yahoo.com

This week, mortgage rates continued to hold their ground, as housing market indicators showed consumer confidence is soft, housing prices are flat and new home sales rose from their very low levels, according to Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

For the week ending October 27, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.1%, which is down from 4.11% last week and 4.23% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.

Average rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged from last week, averaging 3.38%, but down from 3.66% a year ago.

There was more movement among adjustable-rate mortgages, with the rate on 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARMs averaging 3.08% this week, which is up from 3.01% last week.

A year ago, it averaged 3.41%.

1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 2.9%, which is down from 2.94% last week and 3.3% a year ago.

In order to obtain the rates, the 30-year mortgage required payment of an average 0.8 of a point, the 15-year mortgage required an average 0.7 point, the 5-year ARM required an average 0.5 point and the 1-year ARM required an average 0.6 point.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, stated “Fixed mortgage rates followed other long-term interest rates and showed little change, on average, from the prior week."

Source: marketwatch.com

In September, Houston, Tx’s housing market grew as home sales spiked, prices increased and inventory decreased, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.

Last month, realtors sold 4,635 single-family homes, which is up 17 percent over September 2010 and the fourth consecutive monthly increase.

Sales were up 3.2 percent, year-to-date.

The September single-family home median price, which is the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less, hit a September high, growing 1.6 percent to $157,500.

It’s likely the increasing sales trend may continue.

For September, month-end pending sales was up 3.2 percent compared to a year ago.

Source: chron.com