McLEAN, VA — Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.07 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 26, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 5.04 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.24 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.68 percent with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from last week when it averaged 4.68 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.72 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to Section 1031 (ten thirty one) tax-deferred real estate exchanges, investors are getting some decidedly mixed signals.

On the one hand, there have been a number of high-profile financial failures of exchange intermediary companies, the folks who hold your money while the exchange is underway, putting small investors at risk of losing some or all their cash.

On the other hand, smaller-scale, long-time exchange intermediaries insist their business models are safe for investors — they’re well insured and bonded and pose no risk of loss at all. Read the rest of this entry »

With more than 500,000 condominium units in Canada and one in four new homes built as condominiums, Canadian buyers need basic condominium buying skills to protect them in any market.

Too often, condominium buyers fall prey to the “do nothing, just play” sales pitches inherent in lifestyle campaigns presented by condominium developers. Although “condo living” may offer freedom from the physical tasks associated with home ownership, condominium owners are not free of the responsibilities of property ownership. In fact, they take on the added obligation of ensuring the condominium corporation manages their investment properly. Read the rest of this entry »

The success of home staging and other cosmetic make-overs, seems to indicate that buyers viewing a property may not know how to look beyond the surface to visualize their own lives and taste superimposed on someone else’s personal space. Buyers may benefit from making a conscious effort to strengthen their visioning ability since the acquired skill of productive home viewing forms the basis for the significant financial decision — to buy or not to buy. Read the rest of this entry »

Builders rushed into this one-time agricultural crossroads during the housing boom. They put up beige stucco houses on winding streets, with names like Heavenly Place and Good Vibrations Lane. They lured young people who couldn’t afford homes in nearby Phoenix or its costly suburbs. The population soared to 37,000 last year from 1,400 a decade ago, making Maricopa one of the nation’s fastest-growing towns.

A young man hired by a local real estate brokerage tries to lure buyers in Maricopa, where home prices have fallen an estimated 36% in the past year. Read the rest of this entry »

Pa.-Wyoming Valley Mall, an aging retail complex that sits off a busy interstate in this blue-collar city, is fighting to reinvent itself amid the toughest climate for retailers in decades.

Two years ago, its owner spent $8 million on a facelift for the 916,000-square-foot mall to brighten its dowdy central walkways and entrances. That helped lure new and more youth-oriented retailers, including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and a second American Eagle Outfitters Inc. store. Read the rest of this entry »

Congress is readying legislation designed to step up government efforts to stem the rise of home foreclosures. But a fight looms over a provision sought by President Barack Obama that would give bankruptcy judges new authority to reduce mortgage debts.

The measure would let judges set new repayment terms for mortgage holders in bankruptcy court, and is a key part of a broader plan unveiled by Mr. Obama last week to combat foreclosures. Supporters have long argued that this is essential to broader efforts to renegotiate millions of troubled mortgages that helped trigger the country’s current economic crisis. Read the rest of this entry »

Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages rose slightly this week amid sagging consumer confidence and lower sale prices for existing homes, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 5.07 percent this week from 5.04 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.24 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

Mortgage rates rose over the past week, as home prices and sales fell and the government issues massive amounts of debt to pay for federal spending.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 5.41% for the week ended Feb. 25 from 5.34% the week prior, according to Bankrate.com. The average jumbo 30-year fixed rate slipped to 6.87% from 6.92%.

It’s likely mortgage rates will remain at their historically low levels, as money is funneled into the perceived safety of Treasurys, driving down interest rates and keeping mortgage rates low, according to Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight. Read the rest of this entry »

For the second year in a row, a survey by the National Association of Realtors shows that people who did not use a professional real-estate agent actually sold their home faster and got closer to their asking price.

It took an average of nine weeks for agent-assisted deals to close last year versus six weeks on average in the case of for-sale-by-owner properties, according to the Realtors’ 2008 survey. And those for-sale-by-owner, or “FSBO,” transactions did not include any deals in which the seller knew the buyer — fast-track, friendly deals that could have skewed the numbers.

“This shows the value” of do-it-yourself sales, said Eric Mangan, a spokesman for ForSaleByOwner.com, the nation’s largest online residential matchmaker (and a unit of Chicago-based Tribune Co., which also owns the Orlando Sentinel). “It’s something the NAR doesn’t trumpet, but it’s from their own statistics.” Read the rest of this entry »