Mortgage rates are showing a tendency to grow in the last month, which has set the alarms about the possibilities to invest in the market today, or to wait until lower prices.

Such has been the debate in the media, and seems there is a consensus that buying under current conditions is the best possible decision, considering that 30-year-fixed mortgage rates have climbed up to 4.61% from 4.46% a week ago. 15-year-fixed rates are around 3.96%.

Mortgage rates are linked to 10-year Treasury bonds yields and its rates of interest, that have been pressured up as investors tend to sell them, expecting for stocks to be a more affordable investment in upcoming weeks as a result of the growing tax cuts and unemployment benefits.

Given that banks are being more strict about downpayments and the market is flooded with foreclosures, prices are expected to drop. However, as many expect for prices to decline, they are loosing the opportunity to get the lowest monthly fees possible. Rates aren’t getting any lower, at least in the middle term, so don’t lose the opportunity to make the best investment decision possible!

Buy a real estate in today’s Miami real estate market. Brickell and Downtown Miami are very affordable submarkets, and investing in them gives very high revenues in the short and middle terms, not to mention the expected gains over the long terms.

Contact us for further information on how to take advantage on this situation, and don’t miss the chance to become an investor, or to widen your investments, in one of the world’s most appealing submarkets!

September hit the lowest average mortgage rates since 1953, according to Freddie Mac, that’s been keeping the count. Still today in December, rates continue to be below 4,5 percent, incentivating home buying. 15-year-fixed rates are even lower, below 4 percent.

These rates are an average, which points that some lenders may be offering even lower mortgage rates, depending on how creditworthy borrowers are. Borrowers with credit scores above 720 and at least 20 percent equity in their homes can get rates a quarter of a percentage point lower than standards, according to CNNMoney.

Now, this information is useful if you are planning to buy a home, but not only for this. If you want to shorten your mortgage term, add to your real estate holdings and free up cash, to spend it, for example, during the holidays.

Despite constant low levels in the past months, mortgage rates are slightly growing. So, if you plan to take advantage on them, you may want to start moving quick.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced a new foreclosure halt, this time because of the upcoming holidays.

The decision has also been backed by the largest banks, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, that have announced to halt foreclosures in cases in which the investor backing the property decides to welcome the so-called holiday policy.

The foreclosure halt is a measure to diminish incertitude on troubled homeowners, who are wondering whether the foreclosure will take place this year or the next. The halt is announced to be from December 20 to January 3. Banks have announced it to be for New Year holiday.

Anthony Renzi, executive vice president of single family portfolio management at Freddie Mac, said to CNNMoney: “If the property is occupied, our foreclosure attorneys will suspend the eviction to provide a greater measure of certainty to families during the holidays”.

This is a measure that has been used in past seasons. In 2008 and 2009 evictions were also stopped with Fannie and Freddie as leaders of the holiday policy.

No. This is no longer a valid question. The answer is already too clear: BUY.

There are, of course, nuances for this answer. If you’re intending to stay in Miami for at least four years, then it is a smart decision to buy right now, considering prices reaching rock bottom, and low mortgage rates available; still, if your aim is to buy cash, the low prices may be discounted to attract more liquidity to the sellers’ pockets.

If your goal is to stay for a shorter period, then renting would be an option, but you have to consider the fact that rental prices also grow with price gains, that have already reached over-10 percent rises in comparison with previous years; rental concessions and excemptions are over, since increasing demand is making landlords gain confidence and start cutting benefits.

Buying is just convenient because Miami is the third market with the biggest price reductions since 2007 -although we’ll see that this trend is diminishing already-, after Arlington and Minneapolis. This is, of course, proof of the highly affordable market Miami has became since the market crash, not only reserved now for those with the highest acquisitive power. Low mortgage rates make it right to buy in such favourable conditions, and becoming an owner of a real estate in such a widely known market is always a middle and long term investment. So, it’s up to you!

Either way, contact us for personalized attention; let us know your specific case, and advice you on how to rent or buy in today’s convenient Miami real estate market.

Ever since the real estate market crashed, Fannie Mae had had a policy of banning South Florida condos for financing options, due to its high propension to lose value. In 2008, for example, Fannie Mae did not approve a single new condominium in the tri-county area. However, in time, Fannie Mae has adopted a new attitude towards the South Florida market, allowing financing options and products to focus in several selected projects and condos.

In 2009 Fannie Mae approved 41 condos for financing. In 2010, in contrast, in the first quarter of the year the government owned entity has approved 22 new South Florida condos, of which 10 are in Palm Beach County and another nine are located in Miami-Dade. Broward County, Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County are being susceptible of developer-oriented aids, since Fannie Mae has understood that without financing there are fewer ways out of the crisis.

Financing does not only means that more prospective buyers will be assisted. It implies multiple effects in the whole economy because more parts -financing institutions, intermediaries, clients-  take a share in the transaction, contrary to what happens with cash sales. Bankers and lenders will have more resources available in middle and long terms to continue operations and to provide more financing products for other prospective buyers.

This is the logic that Fannie Mae seems to attend when deciding about opening financing opportunities for developers of new condos. 2010 first quarter accounts already for 40 percent more approved new condos in South Florida than the same period 2009. Last month, 123 new condos were approved statewide, with 70 of them from South Florida’s tri-county area. All of them are new condos that Fannie Mae considered, in order to avoid deep price cuts that clients demand when they buy cash.

The last 11 weeks have witnessed a fast fall of 30 and 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage. Rates have fallen consecutively, hitting record-low levels, unseen since data exists.

Freddie Mac, the second biggest home loan financing entity in the country, has reported that since it has kept track of them in 1971, 30-year-fixed-rate mortgages have never been as low as September’s first week 4.32 percent. This rate has fallen steadily for 10 out of the past 11 weeks.

For 15-year-fixed-rate mortgages, Freddie Mac started keeping the record in 1991, because the 30-year mortgage has traditionally been the most used loan product. The last 11 weeks have also been dramatic for 15-year mortgage opportunities, since the rates for this type of loan have gone as low as 3.83 percent.

With these levels, what is happening with real estate demand? In fact, July showed unexpected figures that talk about how rates are impacting home purchasing and home loan refinancing. “Low interest rates, large inventory and many eager sellers should create a positive climate for sales”, said to Reuters a senior vice president with a real estate consultancy in Bridgehampton, NY. The NAR published this week its Pending Home Sales Index for July, which shows how 5.2 percent more contracts have been signed during that month, in comparison with April, which is actually surprising if we think about the huge impact the tax credit had for spring and summer sales.

Many may think waiting is better, to see if mortgage rates hit a bottom, and the same with prices. But sales activity is already shaking Downtown Miami‘s ground, and even overseas buyers benefit from low mortgage rates: half of them get some type of financiation to buy second homes in Miami.

30-year-fixed-rate mortgages continue to make history. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year mortgage rate fell to 4.42 percent yesterday, after setling in another record-low at 4.44 percent the week before.

On its hand, the 15-year-fixed-rate mortgages also went down from 3.92 to 3.90 percent. This is the ninth straight week that mortgage rates fall steadily, said Reuters today. These rates help rise housing loan demand; in some cases, demand for home financing have been reported to rise 50 percent, and refinancing activites also flowrish, as practically everyone that has a mortgage right now could benefit from negotiating refinancing under present conditions.

However, there are always considerations about optimistic prospects of seeing more and more people refinancing. “Underwater” mortgages cannot be refinanced, that is, those housing loans in which the amount of debt has topped the value of the mortgaged asset. Although this is the heaviest concern for the government, good expectations for refinancers are on their way, since lowering their monthly payments amount can help rise consumption and reactivate economy in many ways.

This mortgage rates are ideal to attract homebuyers into the already largely desired markets of South Florida. South Beach, for example, is a real estate luxury submarket that can benefit from low mortgage rates, as US buyers decide to invest in its affordable condos, with convenient monthly payments and the possibility to gain high middle and long term revenues out of a smart investment.

Consult our financing options, or contact us for more detailed information on investing in the Miami real estate market.

The Congress approved on Wednesday a major reform that would irrigate the Home Affordable Modification Program HAMP with additional $2 billion, destinated to help troubled unemployed homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure by their lending institutions.

The reform was approved with by-partisan support, after major claims from different opinion sectors that there was not enough government aid to provide ways out of the crisis. Since unemployment is one of the big issues to solve in the present-day crisis, more resources are going to be available for local housing finance agencies that bid for them, in order to extend deadlines and renegotiate debt from unemployed homeowners.

These meassures will be applied in 17 states, that were elected because of their critical prices cuts in real estate products, or because of their high unemployment rates. Florida is one of them. Also on the list are California, New Jersey, North and South Carolina, and Washington DC, among others. More financiation, then, will be available for troubled homeowners facing foreclosue and without employment, but the resources will not be available for housing finance agencies for several months to come, until the reform becomes effective.

However, if you are a buyer who wants to learn about ways to finance your new Miami condo, contact us for further information and check our financing options online.

During the past six weeks 30-year-fixed-rate mortgages have made history in a row, with rates fall to unseen levels week after week. Rates as of August 5 were as low as 4.49 percent, after coming down from 4.54 percent the previous week. But the time to make history is now for 15-year-fixed-rate mortgages, that broke the floor of 4 percent rates to set at 3.95 percent last week.

3.95 percent in this type of loan is the lowest level that Freddie Mac has registered since 1971, and it shows how macroeconomy is setting healthy ways to cut suffering from the struggling housing market. Reuters has reported that the low rates have already caused interest in homeowners who are now willing to take on the cost of renegotiating their debts. The demand for new home loans is starting to grow as well with such low rates, but some are still waiting for employment to rise.

Employment is one of the pilars of the economy, and as long as it continues to scarce these type of opportunities may be underexploited. For many the tax credit let one thing clear: “This baby cannot walk on its own without government intervention”, said a chief economist with a lender group based in North Carolina.

What does this mean for Miami? It means that for those who can, now is the right time to get a loan and acquire a property to invest in one of the world’s most appealing housing market. These rates could impact in Brickell neighbourhood now that it has consolidated as Miami’s hottest submarket. Full with new permanent residents, and with less units available, Brickell’s pricing is going to start  moving up, and current mortgage rates will surely be helpful for middle and long term investors.

News are on the air that mortgage rates for average 30-year fixed loans are hiting low historical levels week after week. The current level of interest is of 4.58%, an unseen rate since the 50′s. But it seems that consumers are not responding as expected to this incredible opportunity. The reasons? “It’s the economy, stupid”, like Bill Clinton’s already famous quote during its first presidential campaign.

The economy. To start, employment is not looking too good. With low employment expectations, buyers save their money, looking forward to tought upcoming times. Then, it is the below 5% rates that have been available some fifteen months ago already, which have allowed many homeowners to refinance their loans before; they won’t refinance their loans now again if they have to pay high transaction costs (fees) to do so. Then, it is the tax credit, too. The tax credit gave April an unusual high level of sales, perhaps limitating the reaches of traditionally big sales months like during spring and summer seasons. And last, but definitely NOT LEAST, the strengthening of lending parameters.

This last one is obviously one of the most discussed issues around the mortgage riddle today. Both buyers and sellers, real estate firms, independent realtors, everybody… is blaming the strict standards to get a credit. In a recent artcile by Florida Realtors, the main complain was that many serious buyers are stopped by heavy financial requirements, and those who qualify are taking advantage of refinancing. And the call right now is that: be more flexible. We don’t have to get back to times when it was TOO flexible, but a balance can be found to give the opportunities to those who perhaps don’t have AAA qualifications with premium credit, but still can buy a property. Sales performed thru intermediaries help in building the confidence of the market by moving the capitals, not only between buyers and sellers, but between other financial institutions that lenders work with, and from them to the market.

Now, part of the riddle is also that although mortgage rates were expected to rise, the financial interedependence with European countries that fell in their debt crisis drove investors away from their unsecure markets, and back to the safe US Treasury bonds. Loan rates are attached to the rates offered by US Treasuy bonds. As demand for this type of papers goes up, the rates go down, and so happened.

It is surprising that sales haven’t matched the expectations that such rates created. However, we do have to consider the fact -at least for the case of Miami- that many sales are simply cash sales. Investors looking for middle and long term revenues in the attractive South Florida market are buying, and bulk-buying, in cash, let aside the efforts of financial institutions. But if you are one of those who can qualify for a typical 30-year fixed loan, then perhaps you need to check our offer of great condos and homes available at irresistible prices!  Don’t get us wrong. This is a careful moment in our economy, but still there are a lot of ways to take advantage of moments like this.

The best way to put it is thinking of a house or an apartment as an investment, whether the plan is to sell it or not. It is anyways an investment, and thinking outside the box and in middle and long terms, are some of the keys to understand it. Also, knowing that prices are at a bottom right now, and are not expected to fall, helps in making a thoughtful decision.