April Mortgage Newsletter

Rates Are Declining!
It is not uncommon for interest rates to decline when there is a slow down in the economy. Many are predicting the economy will lose momentum. So rates are now trending downward. That should result in an increase in property values. The lower interest rates should improve affordability.

Real Estate Analytics Company Corelogic is predicting a 5% annual increase in prices through 2020. Frank Nothaft Chief Economist at Corelogic, “During the first two months of the year, home-price growth continued to decelerate. This is the opposite of what we saw the last two years when price growth accelerated early. With the Federal Reserve’s announcement to keep short-term interest rates where they are for the rest of the year, we expect mortgage rates to remain low and be a boost for the spring buying season. A strong buying season could lead to a pickup in home-price growth later this year.”

Frank Martell, President and CEO of CoreLogic, “We expect the percentage to grow over the remainder of 2019. The cost of either buying or renting in expensive markets puts a significant strain on most consumers. Our research tells us that about 74 percent of millennials, the single largest cohort of homebuyers, now report having to cut back on other categories of spending to afford their housing costs.”

There is so much chatter regarding a significant slowdown in First Quarter of 2020. I have been writing this Newsletter pretty consistently during the past few years. It seems to me that the New Jersey Real Estate market has had a healthy and steady growth. I would be surprised if there was a bubble in NJ Real Estate. The appreciation has been approximately 3+/- percent per year and in some areas, even less.

Our 30 Year Fixed rate surprisingly hit 3.875% and this is a significant decrease during the last month.

Conventional 30 Year Fixed 4.0% APR

Conventional 15 Year Fixed 3.375% APR

FHA 30 Year Fixed 3.5%

10 Year ARM 4.125%

7 Year ARM 4.0%

Next month we will be provide numbers for the first quarter and we will also take a look at the Condo Market.

Vibha Singh

CEO

732-648-1748

NMLS ID 66034