Posts from January 2025

With mortgage rates and home prices climbing if you're looking for housing and trying to determine if buying or renting is right for you here are a few things to consider:

1. Do you have enough for a down payment and to cover closing costs?  To adequately determine the answer to that question you would need to first speak with a mortgage lender.  This is often a free consultation, and I can certainly help you connect with someone.
2. How committed are you to the geographic area you are currently living in? Is your job stable and something you enjoy?  Do you like the school district?  If you feel your situation is more temporary certainly renting is best.
3. Am I able to set money aside to complete the necessary maintenance and repair of home ownership?
4. Are you willing to do the work of maintenance on the home? Weekend warrior duty isn't necessarily for everyone.
5. What is most cost effective? This question takes more careful thought to...

Click Here to Read More...

Happy New Year everyone!  As of January 2, 2025 mortgage rates have climbed to a little more than 7.1%.

As we look back over the last 3 years, we are all tempted to let out a YIKES!!

And there is absolutely no denying that home buyers who purchased a home in the early months of 2022 while the rates were as low as 2.7% were able to get a great bargain.  The questions remain:  Was this low rate normal?  Was it something we can expect to see again?

To answer that let's take a very brief look at mortgage rates over the last 20 years.

In January of 2005 we saw rates around 5.7%.  by August of 2007 they had reached numbers close to 6.9%. 

With the 2008 housing crash and recession, the Fed stepped in and bought up mortgage bonds to lower rates.  This helped and by 2009 rates were down below 5.5% once again.  They continued a steady decrease through the 2010's, hovering in the high 4% range.

Then 2020 and Covid hit.  The housing marke...

Click Here to Read More...