Paying mortgage points a smart investment

Click here to view a nice article written by a professor of finance, talking about whether it’s smart to pay ‘points’ or not when you buy a home.

Picking the Right Mortgage Lender

From Best Syndication:

Mortgage brokers can help you along and give you several options with just one inquiry on your credit. This is important because too many credit inquiries on your record can be a negative. This could affect your interest rate or whether they want to lend to you in the first place. So the loan broker may be the best option.

I could not agree with this more. I’ve been working with a great mortgage broker for years. With just one credit inquiry, she searches for the very best home loan for a person’s situation. At times even if you have your rate locked, and rates go down, she can switch you to a new bank and get you the lower rate.

If you work with a loan officer at a bank, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But realize that the loan officer can only offer you that bank’s programs!

Read the rest of the article here. My mortgage broker is Maggie Shaw with Mid-Iowa Mortgage. You can reach her at 515.360.4040.

Existing Home Sales Hit 17-Year Low While Mortgage Rates Rise

From AXcessNews.com:

The National Association of Realtors reported today that sales of existing homes were down 0.8 percent in December, a bigger decline than had been expected. For the year, sales fell by 8.4 percent, the biggest annual decline in 17 years, when existing home sales fell by 14.8 percent in 1989.

And:

David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, believes that the home market has now hit bottom and that it will begin to improve.

Read the entire article here.

Rates on 30-year mortgages rise

Welcome to the first entry on the Des Moines Real Estate blog! Check back often for news on the real estate market.

From the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rates on 30-year mortgages rose this week to the highest level since mid-November after a better-than-expected employment report renewed inflation worries in financial markets.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.21 percent this week, up from 6.18 percent last week. It was the highest level since 30-year mortgages stood at 6.24 percent the week of Nov. 16.

Analysts said that financial markets were reacting to a stronger reading on employment with 167,000 jobs created in December, the best showing in three months.

Everyone have a great weekend!