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U.S. mortgage applications rose 7.5 percent compared to the previous week, Reuters reported January 30, 2008.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) provided the data.
The MBA seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications soared 22.1 percent, the highest since July 2003, and the index measuring applications for home purchases declined 17.7 percent.
The so-called "standard" purchase and sale agreement isn't very standard, unless you're the seller.
Read the guest post I wrote for the Boston Condos Blog about just some of the changes an attorney should make to the purchase and sale agreement on behalf of home buyers.
An article by Inman News, a real estate industry publisher, on Boston.com discusses tips to increase your credit score.
The article talks about some basic and easy-to-do things, but it's worth reading if you're in the market for a home loan and want to boost your credit score over the next few months.
I wrote a post last week about the formula for calculating a credit score changing.
No matter what methodology you use to calculate home sales in December, Massachusetts home sales were down significantly.
According to data released by The Warren Group, which bases its numbers on information from the state's registries of deeds, single-family home sales declined 23.3 percent in December compared to December 2006.
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR), which bases it's numbers on the various state multiple listing services (MLS), reported a 20 percent decrease in December sales.
For the year, The Warren Group reported an 8.4 percent decline in single-family homes, compared with 2006. The sale total was 50,435, the lowest since 1992. The median price dropped 4.6 percent for the year.
The MAR had single-family sales declining 4.3 percent in 2007 and median prices off 1.3 percent. Condo sales declined 4.4 percent, but median prices increased 2.5 percent, according to the MAR.
For data on any particular Massachusetts or New Hampshire community, please do not hesitate to contact me. To receive the latest home listings visit Buyers Brokers Only, LLC. For foreclosure listings by email, visit MassForeclosed.com.
Read The Boston Globe Article
Read The Boston Herald Article
Read The MAR Press Release
The William Raveis Web site provides a useful tool for obtaining local housing market data in Massachusetts.
Average rates for U.S. 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage interest rates declined to 5.48 percent compared to 5.69 percent the previous week, the Associated Press reported January 24, 2008.
"It was the fourth consecutive decline and the third straight week that rates have been below the 6 percent level. The new rate marked the lowest point for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 5.40 percent the week of March 25, 2004."
Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate loan, a popular choice for home owners who want to refinance, dropped to 4.95 percent, down from 5.21 percent the previous week.
Open space in Andover, Massachusetts, a city of more than 33,000 people, surprisingly comprises nearly one-third of its area.
Besides open space, Andover residents also are passionate about public education, which consumes 49 percent of it taxes, according to a January 6, 2008 Boston Globe article.
Among 293 school systems in the Commonwealth, Andover 10th-graders ranked 37 in English and 16 in math, according to a Boston Globe analysis of 2007 MCAS results.
Sixth-graders ranked 24 out of 309 systems in English and 24 in math, according to a Boston Globe analysis of 2006 MCAS results. Third-graders ranked 59 out of 299 school systems in reading and 71 in math.
Just 22 miles from Boston, Andover was settled in 1636 and incorporated in 1646.
Search for single-family homes in Andover, MA
Search for condos in Andover, MA
View 2007 single-family housing market data for Andover, MA Source: MLSPIN
An interesting post on The Boston Globe's real estate blog discussed how some home owners who can pay their bills have just decided to stop paying their mortgage because they feel they have lost all the equity in their home.
The theory, apparently, is that it'll take a year or so for the lender to kick them out, and they can save a dozen or so mortgage payments while living rent free.
They then simply mail in the house keys.
There always will be people who go through life looking for some "angle" to get ahead with, but they never do get ahead.
Just doing the right thing day in and day out seems like a much better long-term plan.
U.S. mortgage applications rose 8.3 percent compared to the previous week, CNN Money reported January 23, 2008.
"Refinance volume spurred the growth, increasing 16.9 percent. Purchase volume fell 4.6 percent during the week ending Jan. 18. Refinance volume accounted for 66 percent of all applications."
U.S. home sales fell 13 percent in 2007, the biggest drop in 25 years, and home prices fell 1.8 percent, the first annual price decline since the Great Depression, The Boston Globe reported January 25, 2008.
The number of existing home sales declined 2.2 percent in December to an annual rate of 4.89 million, according to data released by the National Association of REALTORS®. Despite the decline, sales were the fifth highest on record.
Sales of existing homes fell in all four regions of the country led by a 4.6 percent decline in the Northeast.
"The number of homes for sale at the end of December fell 7.4 percent to 3.91 million. At the current sales pace, that represented 9.6 months' supply, down from 10.1 months in November."
I am a Massachusetts lawyer and real estate broker and co-founder/owner of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC. I am also a partner in the law firm of Rosa & Kres, LLP.
If you have a question for me about any aspect of the home-buying process (i.e., house hunting, mortgages, negotiations, buyer agency, purchase and sale, etc.), please don't hesitate to send me an email. I'm happy to try to answer your question.
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