San Jose, CA (PRWEB) October 17, 2011

With the economy bumping along the bottom, and stalemates in Washington preventing any legislative action, many people are starting to talk about a double-dip recession. But AccessBanc Mortgage, a Bay Area mortgage broker, says there is one group benefiting from the bad economy: borrowers. Mortgage-backed securities have recently hit all-time lows, which means interest rates on home loans are at ridiculously low rates, making it an excellent time to refinance a mortgage.

“Right now is an incredible opportunity to get historically low interest rates on a mortgage,” says Greg Erny, a Principal at AccessBanc Mortgage. “If you have been considering taking out or refinancing a mortgage loan, you won’t find a better time to apply. Even if you obtained a loan within the last year, interest rates have probably gone down low enough to refinance again.”

In an attempt to boost the slower-than-expected economic recovery, the Federal Reserve recently began purchasing more long-term bonds and mortgage-backed securities, which has the effect of pushing down long-term interest rates. This year, interest rates on the 30-year Treasury Bond had already hit a 60-year low, and this move by the Fed will most likely push them even lower.

For those looking to purchase a new home, this is great news. Home prices are currently low, and with interest rates at unheard-of lows, people may be surprised to discover the kind of home they can now afford.

For current homeowners, refinancing has never looked better. “If you thought your current mortgage rate was low, you’d better check again. Given these ridiculously low rates, it’s time to call AccessBanc Mortgage to determine whether it is time for you to refinance again,” says Erny.

For more information about historically low interest rates or any of AccessBanc’s products or services, call them at (408) 514-5312 or visit www.accessbanc.com.

About AccessBanc

AccessBanc is a San Francisco Bay Area mortgage broker committed to offering the most seasoned, professional, and competent loan consulting talent available. Because their Loan Consultants enjoy favorable lender terms, use state of the art technology, and apply innovative solutions to knowledgeably work the market, they can offer prospective borrowers extremely competitive mortgage rates and great service.

Their services include: refinance, home purchase, first-time homebuyers, conventional conforming loans, jumbo loans, second/vacation homes, investment/rental properties, pre-qualification and pre-approved letters, and home equity loans / lines of credit. From home finance in Marin to first-time homebuyers in San Jose, AccessBanc’s carefully selected Loan Consultant Team can help Bay Area borrowers find the right loan.

AccessBanc Mortgage is a Real Estate Broker licensed by the California Department of Real Estate, License #00892684. NMLS #311147.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebbay-area-mortgage-broker/san-francisco/prweb8881754.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/10/17/prweb8881754.DTL

I realize everyone is glued to the stock ticker today, watching their personal net worth fall yet again; I know this because every time I wired up to do a live shot on CNBC today, my “hit” was “killed” at the last minute because the Dow dropped again.

But it is precisely on days like this that we have to focus on how it all affects housing; stocks may fill our 401K’s, but our homes are (or were) our single greatest investment.

The drop in the stock market was preceded by a huge drop in mortgage interest rates, and it will likely be followed by one as well. The overnight average last night on the 30-year fixed hit 4.35 percent on Bankrate.com. Economic uncertainty pushes Treasury yields down, which in turn pushes mortgage rates down. Tomorrow we get the jobs report, and my guess is that it won’t be particularly stellar either.

So I was all set to talk on TV today about how mortgage rates, even this low, won’t help the housing recovery significantly (sure, higher rates would hurt) because a) we’ve been at historically low rates for quite some time now, and b) rates are not the most important decision-making factor for consumers today. We had a great conversation about this yesterday on the blog, so I took it further to ask some mortgage professionals.

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Ideally, buyers would like to know that the market has hit bottom and that the value of what they buy won’t decline. Sellers, who will sell at a loss today, wonder if they should get out now or wait for a better market to sell.

When will that better market appear? It’s impossible to time the market. We’ll know that we hit bottom after the market turns around, not before. Some economists think this will take another two years; others expect a turnaround in five to six years.

Many economists think we’re at or close to bottom. However, it’s expected that the market will be rocky for some time. The market will change seasonally. For example, it’s typical for home sales to decline during the winter months.

House Hunting Tip: Good and bad news can affect whether buyers feel optimistic about homebuying. The fact that the conforming jumbo loan limit is likely to drop to $625,000 from $729,750 could spur home sales in higher-priced markets between now and September when the higher loan limit expires.

Interest rates have been fluctuating, but remain below 5 percent for conforming fixed-rate mortgages. Interest rates and affordability in general have a great impact on the strength of the housing market.

The news about the real estate market was discouraging at the beginning of the year as hopes of a solid recovery were dashed by declining home-sale volume and prices. Some economists even predicted that the housing market was headed for a double-dip recession, but this doesn’t look likely at this point.

March brought good news as home-sale volume nationally picked up 3.7 percent from February, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, the sales were primarily driven by investors buying cheap foreclosures.

Although investor purchases were up, the percentage of first-time-buyer purchases was down, possibly due to tough mortgage qualifying criteria, which are expected to become even more difficult going forward.

Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, points out that it’s difficult for buyers to trade up or down if they don’t have equity in their homes. According to CAR, about 25 percent of homeowners in the U.S. owe more than their home is worth. Appleton-Young believes the figure is closer to 31 percent in California.

As grim as the picture looks, it’s not the same everywhere. Residential real estate is a localized phenomenon. The San Francisco Bay Area is a good example. Although median prices are still lower than they were a year ago, the number of homes sold in the Bay Area in March was the best showing in four years. Sales volume was up 41.3 percent from February and up 0.2 percent from a year ago, according to MDA Data Quick.

However, within the Bay Area there was considerable diversity. Several higher-priced counties, which haven’t seen much activity until recently, saw gains. These included San Mateo County, where sales were up 8.6 percent, and Santa Clara County, up 3.9 percent. Both counties benefit from the Silicon Valley rebound. Jobs are necessary for a healthy housing market.

In Alameda County, home sales declined 7 percent in March. Even so, there are hot spots within the county. Select neighborhoods close to shops, transportation and good schools defied statistics with high buyer demand and over-asking-price sales.

The Closing: Keep an eye on trends, but focus on your local neighborhood when making decisions about buying and selling.

Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years’ experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of “House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers” and “Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide.”

Article source: http://www.lvrj.com/real_estate/no-way-to-time-market-123153123.html?ref=123

San Jose resident Jim Mielke was gassing up his work van this morning at a Shell station on The Alameda, which set him back just over $90. He’s deferring some home improvements because of the rise in gas and food prices. By not spending money, he realizes he’s hurting the home improvement store or the materials supplier, which impacts their ability to keep employees on the payroll.

On the other side of the pump, contractor Dave Caputo confirms that work has been slow because of people cutting back on non-essential spending, not to mention the slowdown in real estate sales and the related drop in repair and remodeling jobs.

That cycle is contributing to the unexpected drop in job creation in May. The Labor Department said only 54,000 new jobs were added last month. That’s the lowest number in eight months. Economists had been projecting double that number.

Professor Mario Belotti, Ph.D., an economist at Santa Clara University said it’s not just a downturn in consumer spending that’s causing employers to throttle back. It’s also the impact Japan’s earthquake and tsunami have had on the auto industry, economic turmoil engulfing several European Union countries, and on-going civil strife in Northern Africa and the Middle East.

We are also talking to tech companies in Silicon Valley and job seekers who have been searching for work for two to three years. We’ll have an updated story later today online and on ABC7 News at 5.

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Article source: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/consumer&id=8169621

Did I say double dip? Well I’m not the only one.

Today’s home price report from SP Case Shiller proves the point. Remember, this report is based on the sale prices of transactions that closed in January, but it is also a three month running average. That means that at least two thirds of the price deals were struck in October and November, when mortgage rates were at historic lows, providing more purchasing power; they only began spiking in December.

So prices in the top twenty U.S. Markets were down 3.1% in January, year over year, and the slide is accelerating. Eleven of the top twenty hit new price lows on the index. Only San Diego and Washington, DC are showing annual improvements with San Diego just barely out of the red.

“Keeping with the trends set in late 2010, January brings us weakening home prices with no real hope in sight for the near future” says Standard and Poors’ David M. Blitzer. “The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery. At most, we have seen all statistics bounce along their troughs; at worst, the feared double-dip recession may be materializing.”

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