Historically low mortgage rates are persisting in Florida.  This week sees the  (30 yr FRM) drop to  4.6o with an average 0.7  points,( down 0.1 from last week) according to the weekly  report by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending July 9th,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  4.57!

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rates & USA (09/07/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.60	4.57
*Fees & Points	0.8	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist in his weekly commentary discussed the impact these rates are having on the US economy...

1. Refinance activity has been strong over the past three months, according to The Bureau of Economic Analysis,  the effective mortgage rate of all loans outstanding was just below six percent in the first quarter of 2010 (the lowest since the series began in 1977).
2. Since the start of the second quarter, two out of three mortgage applications on average were for refinancing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
3. Household balance sheets  have also improved. The Federal Reserve reported household net worth rose by almost $1.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2010. 
4. The share of credit card loans that were 30-days or more past due fell to the lowest since first quarter of 2002, according to the American Bankers Association. 
5. The aggregate household debt burdens were at a level not seen since the third quarter of 2000, based on the Fed’s debt service ratio.

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 09/07/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.519	1.508

 

The  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

 US initial claims for unemployment benefits fell this week to 454,000 from 475,000 for the previous week. This was much better than anticipated and helped boost the US dollar. It also had an impact on US government bond yields, which rose (an indicator that investors are looking for riskier assets to invest in). Rounding up, Charles mentioned that  the US administration vowed to monitor the Chinese yuan exchange rate, to ensure that China is living up to its commitments to help rebalance the global economy.

 

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Record low mortgage rates are persisting in Florida.  This week sees the  (30 yr FRM) drop to  4.61 with an average 0.8  points, according to the weekly  report by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending July 02,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  4.58!

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rates & USA (2/07/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.61	4.58
*Fees & Points	0.8	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist in his weekly commentary spoke of this weeks  record lows manifesting in a period where the economy is struggling  to gain momentum and to boot  inflation remains very low. Nothaft then quoted some economic stats, 

1. Growth estimates for first quarter GDP were revised down by a half percentage point over the past two months to 2.7 percent.( Bureau of Economic Analysis)
2.  Annual inflation, as measured by the 12-month change in the core CPI, held at 0.9 percent in April and May, which is the slowest pace in over 44 years( Bureau of Labor Statistics )

Nothaft then rounded up by mentioning current home prices,

• House prices are improving due in part to the homebuyer tax credit. The S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city home price index grew 0.4 percent between March and April and was up 3.9 percent from April 2009(the largest annual gain since October 2006)
•  17 of the metropolitan areas experienced monthly gains in April, compared to 10 in March and six in February.

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 02/07/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.495	1.519

The  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

In the USA, , pending home sales dropped by 30% in May, following an expiry of tax credits for property buyers and the ISM manufacturing index fell from 59.7 to 56.2 – the biggest fall in activity since December 2009.

The main event of Friday was the US Non-Farm payroll data. Most experts were expecting a fall of over 100,000 jobs on the month and the actual figure came in slightly worse at 125,000.

The problem that the US needs to face head on, is the nations  huge debts. However there seems to be a lack of a plan to do this. Unlike the Europeans the only thought seems to be to throw more money at the economy in an attempt to keep it moving forward.

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Historically  low  Florida mortgage rates persist. This week sees the  (30 yr FRM)  hover at  4.74 with an average 0.7  points, according to the weekly  digest by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending June 19,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  4.75.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rates & USA (19/06/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.74	4.75
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist in his weekly brief stated,

The hovering mortgage rates this week in Florida and nationally were reported  amid preliminary signs that the expiration of the home-buyer tax credit in April may have led to a slowdown in new construction properties.

• Starts on single-family homes fell 17 % to an annualized pace of 468,000 units in May from April’s 20-month high.
• Permits on one-unit homes fell to the slowest pace since May 2009.
• According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index , builders expressed  more pessimism in their near-term outlook in June.

BUT...
Nothaft did mention that  household balance sheets have  improved over the past four quarters. On average,

1. Households gained $6.3 trillion in net worth in the first quarter from a year ago, as reported  by the Federal Reserve .
2. Homeowners have regained $1.1 trillion in home equity over the same time period.

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 19/06/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.459	1.481

 The  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

The USA, monthly inflation data came in as anticipated but unemployment claims rose by 12,000. This saw some US dollar strength initially, but as investors took in data elsewhere, risk appetite returned and the US dollar weakened as funds flowed into riskier assets.

However one good week doesn’t necessarily mean the downward trend for sterling against the US$ has been broken and the market still expects the US$ to make further gains.

 

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Historically  low  Florida mortgage rates persist. This week sees the  (30 yr FRM)  slide to  4.73 with an average 0.7  points, according to the weekly  digest by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending June 11,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  4.72.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rates & USA (11/06/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.73	4.72
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist in his weekly brief stated that this week saw a relatively weak employment report, bond yields fell during the week and mortgage rates followed.

The Lowdown...

• Private payrolls rose by 41,000 jobs in May, less than a quarter of the market forecast consensus of an 180,000 gain.
• Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgage hovered  near the record low set on December 3, 2009 in the Primary Mortgage Market Survey which  began in April 1971. 

Notthaft concluded by stating that  overall, the economy did show signs of improvement.

1. The Federal Reserve reported in its June 9th regional economic review that the economy strengthened in all 12 of its Districts over April and May.
2.  It also noted that loan quality was stable or improving in most Districts, but remained an issue for banks with large exposure to real estate."

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The low  mortgage rates persist in Florida. This week sees the  (30 yr FRM)  dip to  4.77  with an average 0.7  points, according to the weekly  release by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending May 28,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  4.78.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rates & USA (28/05/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.77	4.78
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist stated in the weekly brief that the prevailing low rates are helping to boost home-buyer affordability and soften the effects of the departure of the home-buyer tax credit. It has been widely reported that the credit substantially boosted  home sales, as echoed in the strength of the April existing and new home sales,

1. Existing  Home Sales - Up 7.6 percent.
2. New Home Sales - Up 14.8 percent.

The current figures from Freddie Mac’s repeat-transactions home-price indexes also indicate that  the sharp downturn in national indexes since 2006 may be nearing an end with national metrics either slowing their descent or showing a modest rise.

• The S&P/Case-Shiller Index ® for the United States was up 2.0 percent year-over-year,
•  FHFA Purchase-Only Index and Freddie Mac's Conventional Mortgage Purchase-Only indexes showed declines of 3.1 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, from first quarter of 2009 to first quarter of 2010,  BUT the FHFA's monthly U.S. index showed a pickup in values from February to March.

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 28/05/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.4434	1.455

 The  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

The US$ continues to  convince the market it is a safe haven asset.  Sterling  has gained some ground on increased risk appetite,  pulling back to over US$1.45/£1 but the market is still anticipating that sterling will weaken further. The US does seem to be ahead of the curve with economic data being broadly positive.

 

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The (30 yr FRM) Florida  mortgage rate  has dropped again for the second week running  to 4.83, with an average 0.7  points, according to this weeks  release by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending May 22,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  4.84.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rates & USA (22/05/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.83	4.84
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist gave his weekly summary on the figures.  He commented that mortgage rates eased  again this week to the lowest level of the year.  Nothaft claims that low mortgage rates in conjunction  with the homebuyer tax credit, helped strengthen the housing market in the first four months of the year.

Quick Glimpse At The Market

• New construction on one-family homes rose for the fourth consecutive month in April to an annualized rate of nearly 0.6 million units  representing the strongest pace since August 2008.
• Three of the four Census regions showed increases, led by a 14.8 percent jump in the South.
• Home-builder confidence has risen  for the second straight month in May to the highest level since August 2007, according the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index .

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 22/05/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.458	1.440

 The  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

The US$ remains  the main beneficiary of risk aversion given its safe haven status. Even countries who had anticipated  reducing their holdings of US$ and to diversify their risk have been increasing their holding of US$’s. This includes the Russian and the Chinese. US manufacturing data showed a mild decline which was a little disappointing given previous industrial production data. Although the pound is still hovering around the 13 month low, there is still room for it to fall even further.

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The (30 yr FRM) Florida  mortgage rates  has dipped  to 4.91, with an average 0.7  points, according to this weeks  release by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending May 15,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  4.93.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rates & USA (15/05/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.91	4.93
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist stated that Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgage have  declined for the 5th straight week. he mentioned that The National Association of Realtors® reported  median house prices as recovering in more local areas in the latest quarter.

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 10/04/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.469	1.458

 The  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

Unemployment claims in the US  fell by 4,000 last month, however this fell short of the expected 8,000 drop. Import prices produced a mild improvement on the month. One analyst has made the bold prediction that the USD will strengthen against the euro and reach or go beyond the 1999 entry rate of $1.18/ €1 as European countries are not adhering to budget deficit rules laid down by the Maastricht treaty. The euro’s status as an alternative to the US dollar is in doubt as a result.

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The (30 yr FRM) Florida  mortgage rate  has dropped to 4.97, with an average 0.7  points, according to this weeks  release by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending May 7,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  5.00.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rate & USA (07/05/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	4.97	5.00
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist commented in his weekly brief  that, rates for both the 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were at their  lowest in six weeks.

Nothaft spoke of  the homebuyer tax credit bolstering home sales in March, and informal reports are pointing to strong April sales as well...

1. Pending existing home sales rose for the second consecutive month in March to the strongest level since October 2009,  based on figures published by the National Association of Realtors® .
2. Three of the four Census regions showed an up tick in sales, led by the South with a 12.7 percent gain, while sales in the Northeast fell 3.3 percent.

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 10/04/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.526	1.469

 The  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

The Dow Jones recovered slightly after posting a 1,000 point drop on Thursday and the VIX (a measure of volatility in global financial markets) climbed above 40 (the first time since autumn 2008). This shows the severity of the current situation, as apprehension over Greece and worry over the UK’s political situation saw investors flock to US government bonds (which benefits the US$)which also saw interest rates paid plunge, as demand for the ‘safe’ assets buckled.

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The (30 yr FRM) Florida  mortgage rate  has stayed much the same as last week  5.00, with an average 0.7  points, according to this weeks  release by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending April 30th,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is  5.06, down 0.1 from last week.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rate & USA (30/04/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	5.00	5.06
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist stated in his weekly brief that, 30-year fixed loans mortgage rates  have averaged about 5 percent over the first four months of 2010, staying within a band of roughly a quarter percentage point and virtually matching 2009’s annual average. He proposed that the low  mortgage rates have  helped to moderate house price declines over the course of the year.

Nothaft also mentioned that,

1. Prices on existing homes reported a 12-month increase of 0.7 percent in February,(the first annual increase since December 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city composite index .
2.  9 cities experienced positive growth, matching the number in January.
3. The Census Bureau’s Constant Quality price index showed that new home prices rose 2.5 percent in the first quarter on an annual basis.

US Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 10/04/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.538	1.526

 Here this weeks  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

Unemployment claims for the month of May grew by 6,000 more than expected and GDP figures for the first quarter came in worse than expected at 3.1%. The Federal Reserve have kept interest rates on hold. The US is recovering and strongly when compared to the UK but the recovery route will be long and hard.   Volatility in the market persists.

 

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The Florida  mortgage rate(30 yr FRM)  has stayed much the same as last week  5.03, with an average 0.7  points, according to the  release by Freddie Mac, for the   week ending April 23rd,  2010. The national mortgage  rate is unchanged  at  at 5.07.

30-Year Fixed Rate Florida Mortgage Rate & USA (23/04/10)

/01/10)

	FLORIDA	USA
Average	5.03	5.07
*Fees & Points	0.7	0.7

 *Fees and Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist in his brief on these figures said that the low mortgage rates are energising the home construction industry. Evident by the fact that, although new building of one-family homes slowed slightly between February and March by an annualized rate of 0.9 percent, this was primarily due to a 33.7 percent drop in the Midwest. The other three regions (Northeast, South and West)  rose to their strongest pace since the second half of 2008.

Last Nothaft touched on builder stats.

• Builder confidence rose more than the market consensus in April to the highest level since September 2009, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index . 
• The  very same month, the builder gauge of current home sales increased to its highest since March 2008.

S Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 10/04/ 2009

Currency Rate	Last Week	This Week
US$	1.543	1.538

 Here this weeks  summary from our currency expert Charles Purdy on how the US dollar fared this week...

Economic data in the USA continues to be in line with expectations. For example, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits dropped by 24,000 – about 4,000 short of what was anticipated.  The US economy continues to claw its way out of recession into, what is hoped will be, a steady and long recovery phase.

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