Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Valley housing increase continues unabated
Valley housing permits continue rapid increase - 2004-11-30 - The Business Journal of Phoenix
Housing permits and sales for existing homes in 2004 are up considerably from 2003. According to the article in the link above from The Business Journal, housing permits are up 29% from this time last year and home resales are up 26%. Also of note, the average price of a new home in Metro Phoenix is $238,651, up from $213,478 last year at the same time. That's a 12% increase in 12 months! The difference in resale of homes from 2003 to 2004 was even higher, up 18% to $174,000.
Those numbers are staggering and the outlook continues to be positive with California housing prices rising and more and more people finding the sun and relatively lower prices of Phoenix inviting.
Housing permits and sales for existing homes in 2004 are up considerably from 2003. According to the article in the link above from The Business Journal, housing permits are up 29% from this time last year and home resales are up 26%. Also of note, the average price of a new home in Metro Phoenix is $238,651, up from $213,478 last year at the same time. That's a 12% increase in 12 months! The difference in resale of homes from 2003 to 2004 was even higher, up 18% to $174,000.
Those numbers are staggering and the outlook continues to be positive with California housing prices rising and more and more people finding the sun and relatively lower prices of Phoenix inviting.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
A Short Guide to Shopping Interest Rates Online
Many of you may or may not have some experience with comparing interest rates and brokers online. A few words of caution when doing this.
1. Make sure that any lenders you receive rate and fee quotes from are basing their loan quotes on the same loan amount and/or situation. To get the most accurate quote, you should really make a couple of calls.
2. Rates can change by the hour, so if you are comparing a quote from one site on Monday to a quote from another site on Friday, you are comparing apples to oranges. Try to set aside a block of time one day to do some rate shopping for the most accurate results.
3. If you do receive a Good Faith Estimate, be sure to ignore the insurance and tax figures because these factors are not dependent on the financing you choose (i.e. your property taxes are x amount no matter who your mortgage company is and your homeowner's insurance is determined by you).
4. On a purchase you should also ignore the title figures because these are determined by the title company that was most likely chosen by the seller (not always the case, but definitely the norm). If you have title, insurance, and tax figures on a Good Faith Estimate, they are simply for you to get a rough estimate of your closing figures, not for comparison purposes.
To summarize: In order to the best results when interest rate shopping, obtain Good Faith Estimates for your unique situation from a number of different lenders (on the same day) and then compare only the lender charges (section 800) and the rates. If you are planning to be in your home long term, you are looking for the lowest rate. If you are planning on being in your home short term, you are looking for the lowest upfront fees.
Arizona Mortgage Rates
1. Make sure that any lenders you receive rate and fee quotes from are basing their loan quotes on the same loan amount and/or situation. To get the most accurate quote, you should really make a couple of calls.
2. Rates can change by the hour, so if you are comparing a quote from one site on Monday to a quote from another site on Friday, you are comparing apples to oranges. Try to set aside a block of time one day to do some rate shopping for the most accurate results.
3. If you do receive a Good Faith Estimate, be sure to ignore the insurance and tax figures because these factors are not dependent on the financing you choose (i.e. your property taxes are x amount no matter who your mortgage company is and your homeowner's insurance is determined by you).
4. On a purchase you should also ignore the title figures because these are determined by the title company that was most likely chosen by the seller (not always the case, but definitely the norm). If you have title, insurance, and tax figures on a Good Faith Estimate, they are simply for you to get a rough estimate of your closing figures, not for comparison purposes.
To summarize: In order to the best results when interest rate shopping, obtain Good Faith Estimates for your unique situation from a number of different lenders (on the same day) and then compare only the lender charges (section 800) and the rates. If you are planning to be in your home long term, you are looking for the lowest rate. If you are planning on being in your home short term, you are looking for the lowest upfront fees.
Arizona Mortgage Rates
Monday, December 20, 2004
Recent rate and loan limit changes
Conforming loan limits have just recently been moved up to $359,650. The limit will be in effect for any loans funded after Jan. 1, 2004. Up until then, the limit is $333,700. Conforming loans are those that are bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They are generally the lowest interest rates for 30 year Fixed, 15 year Fixed, and 3, 5 or 7 Year ARMs.
Also, the Prime rate recently rose to 5.25%, up from 5.00%. The Prime Rate is published in the Wall Street Journal and is the basis for many consumer and business loans, especially Home Equity Lines of Credit.
Arizona Mortgage Pro
Also, the Prime rate recently rose to 5.25%, up from 5.00%. The Prime Rate is published in the Wall Street Journal and is the basis for many consumer and business loans, especially Home Equity Lines of Credit.
Arizona Mortgage Pro
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the Arizona Mortgage Pro blog. From time to time I will be posting information and thoughts from the perspective of a loan officer on the lending industry in general and specifically home mortgages in Arizona. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments and I will do my best to respond.
Some quick information about my background. I attended the University of Wisconsin for my education and soon found that my International Relations degree wasn't very helpful in the real world. Shortly thereafter, I moved to New York, NY and began my real estate career. After spending some time in that market, I moved to Chicago, IL for a change of pace and a cost of living decrease (anyone who lives/has lived in Manhattan can sympathize with my decision). While I enjoyed living there and still love Chicago, I really wanted to move somewhere that had a bit more of a resort/vacation feel to it and I knew how hot the real estate market was in Arizona, so I eventually moved here to Scottsdale, AZ. The weather is terrific and I was right about the real estate.
If you have any questions about mortgages or real estate in Arizona, I would be happy to answer them. Here's my contact info:
John Moran
President/Owner
RateChase Mortgage
6615 E Kelton Ln
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Direct: 602-476-7323
www.azmortgagepro.com
Thanks and I hope you enjoy my blog and find it informative.
Some quick information about my background. I attended the University of Wisconsin for my education and soon found that my International Relations degree wasn't very helpful in the real world. Shortly thereafter, I moved to New York, NY and began my real estate career. After spending some time in that market, I moved to Chicago, IL for a change of pace and a cost of living decrease (anyone who lives/has lived in Manhattan can sympathize with my decision). While I enjoyed living there and still love Chicago, I really wanted to move somewhere that had a bit more of a resort/vacation feel to it and I knew how hot the real estate market was in Arizona, so I eventually moved here to Scottsdale, AZ. The weather is terrific and I was right about the real estate.
If you have any questions about mortgages or real estate in Arizona, I would be happy to answer them. Here's my contact info:
John Moran
President/Owner
RateChase Mortgage
6615 E Kelton Ln
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Direct: 602-476-7323
www.azmortgagepro.com
Thanks and I hope you enjoy my blog and find it informative.
