Mortgage Rates Fall to 7-Month Low

Fixed-rate mortgages moved lower this week, reaching new lows for the year, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. It is the fourth consecutive week that mortgage rates have dropped. According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates reached the following national average for the week ending May 22:
30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.14 percent, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 4.20 percent. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.59 percent.
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Resource: realtormag.realtor.com - Daily Real Estate News | Friday, May 23, 2014

MORE GOOD NEWS ABOUT LENDERS...

Lenders are reportedly easing credit standards. Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, recently announced it has cut its minimum credit score for borrowers of Fannie Mae and Freddie-backed loans from 660 to 620.Borrowers with lower credit scores must prove their ability to sustain home ownership, however, says Frank Codel, head of production for Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is looking for “compensating factors” to close the loan, such as requesting an explanation of a credit history event, reviewing the strength of income and stability of employment. But some borrowers are also have an easier time including gifts from relatives as part of a down payment. And in January, the bank began accepting borrowers with credit scores of 600—down from 640—for FHA loans. Read more....

Resource: realtormag.realtor.com May 5, 2014
 

MORTGAGES MAY BE EASIER TO GET THAN POTENTIAL HOME BUYERS BELIEVE

Are you on the home-buying sidelines this spring because you think you won't be able to qualify for a mortgage? Do you know what sort of FICO credit scores are being accepted by lenders at the moment — they're lower than they were a year ago — and whether yours could now be good enough?
You may be part of the surprisingly large crowd of folks who fear the home-loan unknown. A new national consumer survey found that 56% of potential purchasers of homes say they're out of the market because they don't want to face the possibility of rejection by lenders. Even 30% of current homeowners believe that they wouldn't pass muster today. Read more....

Resource: latimes.com April 27, 2014

WINDERMERE - Development designed to evoke English Lake District

FIVE HOMES ALREADY SOLD......

There’s a theme to Millfield Construction Co.’s new Windermere upscale duplex and townhouse community.

“The exterior design is built to emulate the English Lake District,” said co-listing agent Rosemary Manni, of Brownstone Real Estate Co.’s Hershey office.
The 66-home subdivision, in South Londonderry Township, Lebanon County, is being developed by River Bend Limited Partnership. Five of the townhouses are sold, Manni said, and three spec homes are drywalled, ready for any buyers to add personal touches. Millfield Construction also has a furnished model Read more....

Resource: Lancaster Online - May 15,  2014

Real Estate Is Fastest-Growing Industry

Survey: Real Estate Is Fastest-Growing Industry

Twelve of the 20 fastest-growing industries in the U.S. over the past year are related to real estate and construction, according to data from Sageworks, a financial information company. What’s more, all of the industries on the list that are related to construction saw sales growth at 2 percentage points to 15 percentage points above the average sales growth of all other privately held companies in Sageworks’ database. READ MORE....


Resource: Realtormag.realtor.org
Real Estate News | Tuesday, April 29, 2014