The 30 year rate fell from 5.07 to 5.06 this week. This is the 3rd week in a row where interest rates have either fallen or stayed flat.



The 15 year rate stayed flat at 4.39. The 5 and 1 year arms were mixed with the 5 year arm falling slightly from 4.03 to 4.00 and the 1 year arm rose from 4.22 to 4.25. Below are rates from the weeks from Apr 01, 2010 to Apr 29, 2010 and rates from October 15th (6 months ago).



Apr 29, 2010

30-fixed 5.06 15-fixed 4.39 5 ARM 4.00 1 ARM 4.25



Apr 22, 2010

30-fixed 5.07 15-fixed 4.39 5 ARM 4.03 1 ARM 4.22



Apr 15, 2010

30-fixed 5.07 15-fixed 4.40 5 ARM 4.08 1 ARM 4.13



Apr 08, 2010

30-fixed 5.21 15-fixed 4.52 5 ARM 4.25 1 ARM 4.14



Apr 01, 2010

30-fixed 5.08 15-fixed 4.39 5 ARM 4.10 1 ARM 4.05



Oct 15, 2009

30-fixed 4.92 15-fixed 4.37 5 ARM 4.38 1 ARM 4.60





So the market has made me a liar. I thought we were going to see some volatility in interest rates over the month of April. Instead rates have stayed remarkably flat. Besides the week of April 8th mortgage rates stayed between 5.06 and 5.08. At 5.06 we are also near 4.93 which is the lowest mortgage rate seen thus far in 2010. This is kind of surprising since we have been expecting to see rates increase over the last month.



So rates are one thing but it’s also informative to see actual mortgage payments. We took today’s rates and using our mortgage calculator we determined the rate for a 200k mortgage. We also did the same thing with rates from April, 15 2010 and rates from October, 15 2009.



Apr 29

30-year $1080.98

15-year $1518.76

5-year ARM $954.83

1-year ARM $983.87



Apr 15

30-year $1082.21

15-year $1519.78

5-year ARM $964.07

1-year ARM $969.88



Oct 15

30-year $1063.88

15-year $1516.73

5-year ARM $999.16

1-year ARM $1025.28



So as we can a mortgage payment today is pretty similar to what we saw 2 weeks ago. In fact mortgage payments only decreased by 11/100 of one percent.



So what is going to happen moving forward? It’s hard to tell. The predications that the government not putting resources into buying mortgage backed securities could steal lead to more up and down fluctuations in mortgage rates but we have certainly not seen that this month.



Overall I think that rates are either going to stay roughly flat or rise drastically. There is simply not that much room for them to fall. Rates are currently 5.06. The lowest they have even been is 4.71 (which we saw in 2009) and the highest was above 15 percent. So what is our advice? Basically if you are planning on getting a loan I would do it sooner rather than later. Also I would lean for a 30 year rate instead of an arm because we expect rates to be higher in 1 to 5 years than they are today.

Kim is a real estate broker operating in the Austin Texas real estate market. His site is full of mortgage tools including a mortgage widget and a few free mortgage calculators.

Have home prices hit rock bottom? Probably not in some areas and maybe not as a whole. Nonetheless, now could be the best time to buy a house. Even with the homebuyer’s tax credit due to expire at the end of the month, there are compelling reasons to buy a house in the current economy.



This recession made a good case for the renting over buying argument. But as the country tentatively enters the recovery phase, buying a house makes sense in many circumstances. The rent versus buy analysis has many considerations, including home prices, how long you planning on staying, the down payment, interest rates, and the future rise or fall of home values. Some of these are easy to evaluate and for others it would be nice to own a crystal ball.



According to a recent The New York Times articles, the consideration really is how are current home prices relative to pre-bubble prices. “(T)he situation is getting more complicated because the housing bust has been playing out unevenly across the country.” Some places, like San Francisco, home prices are still higher than they were before the housing bubble. Other places, like Las Vegas, prices are comparable to those of pre-boom years.



However, the purveyors of doom are warning that house prices are still falling. According to a recent Associated Press article, the government index of home prices shows a 0.2 percent decline in February, continuing a three month trend. That coupled with a stagnant national median home sales price is cause for concern. Some economists speculate that home prices could fall as much as another 20 percent.



Even with the bad numbers, home sales nationally are up 18 percent from the lowest point during the recession (AP). Home sales across the country rose in all regions, including 6 percent in the Northeast. For sale signs are coming up like spring flowers in neighborhoods across the country, which is a reassuring sight.



Short of owning that crystal ball, timing the housing market perfectly is part luck and part research. Knowing the local market and using an experienced real estate agent are the best ways to navigate the buying versus renting conundrum. Are home prices holding steady or rising? How are prices compared to five years ago? Two years ago? Fortunately, the Internet and real estate agents have a wealth of price information to evaluate.



Then there are the personal factors: How long do you plan to stay in the area? Can you afford to own a house in the neighborhood where you are renting? Do you like the rental enough to stay awhile longer? There is no crystal ball and there is probably not a “perfect” time to buy. The best a person can do is crunch the numbers and be realistic about both the hard numbers and the softer realities.



Escapeso real estate operates in the Austin Texas real estate market. Their site also buyers to look for Austin homes online and provides average values of neighborhoods in the Austin market. They also have a blog with updated statistics covering Austin real estate.