3 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Home

by The KCM Crew on January 20, 2015

 

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. Though your friends and family have your best interests at heart, they may not be fully aware of your needs and what is currently happening in real estate. Let’s look at whether or not now is actually a good time for you to buy a home.

 

There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

 

1. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

 

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. A study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University reveals that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
• A place where you and your family feel safe
• More space for you and your family
• Control of the space

 

What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the biggest reason you decide to purchase or not.

 

2. Where are home values headed?

 

When looking at future housing values, Home Price Expectation Survey provides a fair assessment. Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years.

 

They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.

 

Here is what the experts projected in the latest survey:

• Home values will appreciate by 4% in 2015.
• The cumulative appreciation will be 23.5% by 2019.
• Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of over 15.1% by 2019.

 

3. Where are mortgage interest rates headed?

 

A buyer must be concerned about more than just prices. The ‘long term cost’ of a home can be dramatically impacted by an increase in mortgage rates.

 

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the National Association of Realtors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have all projected that mortgage interest rates will increase by approximately one full percentage over the next twelve months.

 

Bottom Line

 

Only you and your family can know for certain the right time to purchase a home. Answering these questions will help you make that decision.

Home Mortgage Rates: Where are They Headed?

by The KCM Crew on July 15, 2014 in Interest Rates

Many of our readers ask us where interest rates are headed over the next several months. While no one has a crystal ball, we did want to share what some experts are saying on the subject.

HSH.com

 

“For now, and likely through the summer, we may see data-driven bumps and dips in rates. Although we managed a slight dip presently, a bump is in order before long.”

Freddie Mac

 

“In the next few months, mortgage rates are likely to remain at their current, low level, but will not remain there for long. As the Federal Reserve is expected to ‘taper’ its purchases of long-term Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, and as economic growth picks up, long-term yields will gradually rise. Fixed-rate mortgages are expected to be higher in six months, and may even approach 5 percent a year from now.”

National Association of Realtors

 

“Mortgage rates could move suddenly higher in anticipation of rate increases, much as they did last summer when refinance and transaction activity was high. Steady purchase transaction volume and lower refinance volume could mean that mortgages rates may adjust in a more gradual fashion. In either case, as the economy improves—and today’s data clearly suggests it is improving—the overall trend for mortgage rates is up, not down.” 

Fannie Mae

 

Projects the 30 year fixed mortgage rate to be 4.3% by the end of the year.

Mortgage Bankers Association

 

Projects the 30 year fixed mortgage rate to be 4.7% by the end of the year.

If you are ready to buy or sell and take advantage of the still lower rates, call us and let's get the process in motion.

Noemi Cardoso
William Raveis Real Estate
 Cell: 508-558-1945
www.DistinctiveHomes-NE.com

Should I Wait for a interest Rates to Come Back Down?

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Should I Wait for Interest Rates to Come Back Down? Posted: 03 Sep 2013    Above is a graph of the movement of the 30 year fixed mortgage rate since the beginning of 2012. Some buyers are waiting to see if interest rates will come back down before making a decision about buying a home. Though no one can guarantee where rates will be in a few months, we don’t believe waiting is a good strategy. Most experts believe rates may actually move higher. The Mortgage Bankers Association,Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the National Association of Realtors are in unison projecting that rates will continue to climb. With home prices increasing and interest rates projected to also increase, the cost of buying a house could quickly increase rather dramatically.

Fannie: Housing to See 'Sustained Growth'

Daily Real Estate News - February  2013

  

The housing market is “on a sustained growth path,” according to the latest economic outlook by Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group.

"One of the key developments for the housing market last year was the general consensus that home prices, on a national basis, bottomed earlier in the year and continued to build momentum, exhibiting robust year-over-year gains unseen since the housing boom," according to the report.

Housing inventories are at the lowest since December 1994 and fewer distressed homes have helped to lift home prices, according to Fannie Mae economists.

Among some of Fannie Mae economists projections for this year:

• Home prices: Fannie Mae economists predict that the median price of existing homes will increase 2.3 percent on an annual basis this year, reaching $181,000. The median price of a new home will likely increase 1.6 percent to $248,000. For 2014, economists predict that home prices will increase an extra 2.8 percent.
• Home sales: Existing-home sales will likely rise 11.5 percent in 2013, and new-home sales will rise 12.5 percent, economists predict.
• Mortgage rates: Rates will likely edge up slightly this year with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages projected to average 3.8 percent this year and rise to 4.4 percent in 2014.

Source: “Fannie Mae: Housing Is 'on a Sustained Growth Path',” Inman News (Feb. 21, 2013)
Read More Fannie: Housing Shows Signs of 'Durable, Long-Term Recovery'

If you are thinking of buying a home in Westport or surrounding areas please visit www.DistinctiveHomes-NE.com for a free list of homes for sale in Westport and Bristol County MA and RI.

If you are thinking of selling your home contact me for a FREE Current Market Analysis and to learn about our Market Plan to get your home SOLD!

We work with one going in mind, YOURS!

Noemi Cardoso
Local Office. Local Agents. Local Knowledge.
William Raveis Real Estate
911 Main Rd - Westport MA 02790
Cell: 508-558-1945
www.DistinctiveHomes-NE.com
noemi@DistinctiveHomes-NE.com