Brought to you in part by
KIRO Radio's Tom Kelly digs deep into the Puget Sound real estate market
 Real Estate
Listen to the show
Hear Real Estate Today on KIRO Radio
Join Tom Kelly every Sunday at 9am on KIRO Radio to talk Puget Sound real estate.

Existing home sales leap; loan rates remain low

December 21, 2012 @ 12:32 pm

Average rates on fixed-rate mortgages rose this week but remained near record lows, a trend that is leading more Americans to buy homes or refinance their loans.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported that the average rate on a 30-year loan increased to 3.37 percent from 3.32 percent last week. That's just above the 3.31 percent rate of a month ago, the lowest on records dating to 1971.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 2.65 percent from 2.66 percent last week. The record low is 2.63 percent.

Low rates have spurred home sales and helped spark a modest housing recovery. They have also led more people to refinance, which typically lowers monthly mortgage payments and boosts consumer spending.

In a separate report, the National Association of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes jumped in November. Last month's sales were the highest since November 2009, when a federal tax credit that was soon to expire spurred purchases. Excluding that month, November's sales were the highest since July 2007.

Sales are up 14.5 percent from a year ago, though they remain below the roughly 5.5 million that are consistent with a healthy market.

Job growth and low home-loan rates have helped drive purchases. Home values are also rising, which encourages more potential buyers to come off the sidelines and purchase homes. More people may also put their homes on the market if they feel confident they can sell at a good price.

More Real Estate News

MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (3)


  • Add A Comment

  • rational wrote...
    Nice propaganda...do you have a degree in propaganda, aka journalism?
    December 21, 2012 10:45 pm
    Job growth and low home-loan rates have helped drive purchases.

    Really? Not according to the facts...

    Statewide unemployment fell sharply in November, but job seekers continue to leave the labor force, unable or too discouraged to find work, an economist said Wednesday.

    The jobless rate fell to 7.8 percent last month from 8.2 percent in October, according to state Employment Security Department data released Wednesday. It’s the first time the rate has dropped below 8 percent since January 2009.

    http://www.theolympian.com/2012/12/19/2359225/states-jobless-rate-down-but-reasons.html

    According to the Olympian just last week the change in jobless rate is attributable to folks losing hope and giving up bothering to look for work or register as unemployed. So is it your contention that these discouraged out of work folks are running out and buying houses now?

    Maybe they're buying houses with Obama-cash from his stash.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Realitycheck wrote...
    It is about time we wake up
    December 22, 2012 5:08 pm
    and hold the financial industry (banks) responsible.

    It is an outrage that a small country like Iceland needs to lead the way.

    Nobel prize winning economist Joe Stiglitz notes: What Iceland did was right. It would have been wrong to burden future generations with the mistakes of the financial system. Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman writes: What [Iceland's recovery] demonstrated was the … case for letting creditors of private banks gone wild eat the losses. Krugman also says: A funny thing happened on the way to economic Armageddon: Iceland’s very desperation made conventional behavior impossible, freeing the nation to break the rules. Where everyone else bailed out the bankers and made the public pay the price, Iceland let the banks go bust and actually expanded its social safety net. Where everyone else was fixated on trying to placate international investors, Iceland imposed temporary controls on the movement of capital to give itself room to maneuver. Krugman is right. Letting the banks go bust – instead of perpetually bailing them out – is the right way to go. We’ve previously noted: Iceland told the banks to pound sand. And Iceland’s economy is doing much better than virtually all of the countries which have let the banks push them around.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    A funny thing happened on the way to economic Armageddon: Iceland’s very desperation made conventional behavior impossible, freeing the nation to break the rules.
    December 22, 2012 7:58 pm
    That does seem to be the democrat plan...screw the US economy up so badly that the rules can be thrown out so they can remake society.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }