Mortgage rates have been on the decline for the past few months and last week was no exception.  Last week long term mortgage rates were an average of 4.8% for a 30 year fixed rate last week and 4.48% for a 15 year fixed rate.  Surprisingly the long term mortgage rates are lower than short term, the 5 year arm interest rate is currently averaging 4.85.  Short term mortgage rates and adjustable rate mortgages have been consistently lower than long term rates for years. In a recent Realty Times article Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft was quoted as saying, “although long-term mortgage rates eased slightly this week, ARM rates remain elevated relative to those fixed-rate mortgages.  For instance, interest rates for 1-year ARMs exceeded those for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages over the last two weeks; this is the first time this has happened since Freddie Mac began collecting data for ARMs in January 1984.”  These are historic times and the housing market continues to get aggressive in order to improve itself.  Signs of improvement are indeed occurring.  The same Realty Times article continues to quote Nothaft, “The housing market is showing further signs of possible improvement. House prices rose for the second consecutive month in February, the first back-to-back increase since April 2007, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Among the nine Census divisions, six experienced positive gains in February, led by a monthly increase of 3.8 percent in the Pacific Division.”  The decrease in mortgage rates appears to be functioning the way it is meant to, enticing real estate buyers off of the sidelines.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

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