Mortgage Rates Down to 6% again for a 30-year fixed?

I was speaking with my knowledgeable loan officer, Kelly Powers, this past Tuesday. I happened to ask her what the 30-year fixed rate was. She told me - 6%!! Can you believe it? An article on Friday, December 8 in USA TODAY reported that mortgage rates have fallen for 10 of the past 13 weeks and are now averaging 6.11%, the lowest since January, according to Freddie Mac. Six months ago, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.67%. The average this year is 6.44%. The unexpected but steady decline in rates could cushion falling home sales by making mortgage payments more affordable. Lower rates will also help the millions of homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages that are resetting to higher rates. "These low rates really have come as a surprise, considering previous forecasts," said Greg McBride, a senior analyst at Bankrate.com. "And I don't see these rates going up by a significant measure anytime soon." "Lower rates should improve the affordability issue, which has really become a challenge to a lot of American homeowners," said LaVaughn Henry, an economist for The PMI Group, a mortgage insurance company.

I suspect all of you that live here have heard this news: the Arizona Republic, reports that Desert Communities, Inc., an affiliate of Las Vegas-based Rhodes Homes, was the winning bidder at the State land auction yesterday for 1,010-acres of state trust land in the Lost Dutchman Heights area between Apache Junction and Florence. The land is part of a 275-square mile swath of state land called Superstition Vistas. The starting price for the land was $45.25 million. The State Land Department predicted rooftops could start popping up about three years from now. "It's the gateway to the future out here in this area," said Jim Rhodes, president and CEO of Rhodes Homes. The win also locks Desert Communities into master-planning the entire 7,000-acre Lost Dutchman area. This is not Rhodes Homes' first development in Arizona. The company is developing Pravada, a 5,750-acre community near Kingman.

I drove down to Queen Creek this morning to remove a lockbox from a listing. Ironwood Road is being widened which will be a blessing to those traveling in and out of Queen Creek via that highway. What is amazing is that every time I go that route, the progress has been unbelievable. I haven't heard what the predicted time frame for completion is, but things are definitely looking up for homeowners in Queen Creek.

Care to know? 44,848!!! Still falling, though a little slower. Could it be? With interest rates this low and home prices lower - home buyers are back? Stay tuned.

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