Category: Real Estate Reports

HAR Releases March Housing Statistics

As predicted by a surge of mortgage applications nationwide last month, closed sales of single family homes in the Houston market climbed 11 percent in March versus a year ago.

The three HAR areas served by Keller Williams Realty Northeast saw sales gains as well. Nine percent more homes were sold in both Area 1 (Atascocita/Humble) and Area 32 (Kingwood) compared to last year. Area 40 (southeast Montgomery County) exceeded the market’s results with a hefty gain of 17.4 percent more homes sold this March.

Mortgage News

Last week, the Federal Reserve did as promised and discontinued its policy of buying mortgage-backed securities as of March 31. By purchasing housing loans, the Fed has provided much-needed capital for distressed lenders and investors. The policy was in effect to help subsidize the housing market and keep mortgages rates abnormally low.

So what do the experts predict will happen to the mortgage rates? The leader of Freddie Mac, one of the two government-run mortgage financing companies, does not foresee an upswing in the rates in the immediate future. “There’s not going to be, at least in the short term, a major dislocation and a major move up in mortgage rates,” said Freddie Mac CEO Ed Haldeman in a recent Forbes.com article.

Fed Expected to Stop Mortgage Subsidy: Real Estate Experts Urge Consumers to Buy Now

Next Wednesday (3/31) is a monumental day for the mortgage industry. It is the day that the Federal Reserve has said it will stop buying mortgage-backed securities in an effort to keep mortgage rates low and bolster the housing market. The expected outcome of this move is an increase in interest rates which have been hovering around 5 percent this week for a 30 year fixed rate loan.

Spruce Up Your Home to Sell this Spring – Keller Williams Agents Offer Tips

Spring is expected to come early this year for the real estate market. Experts are predicting that home sales will start to take off during February due to fast-approaching deadlines for home buyer tax credits.

For home sellers,

HAR Housing Report 2009 Released

Last week, the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) released the year-end housing report for 2009. While home sales declined for the third year in a row in Houston, the worse appears to be over and a spring surge in home sales is predicted by real estate experts due to the home buyer tax credit and low mortgage rates.

Texas and Atascocita Top Destinations for Relocation

There is a popular bumper sticker that reads: “I wasn’t born in Texas, but got here as fast as I could.”

Recently released statistics confirm that Texas is still a prime relocation destination with Atascocita being one of the top choices in the state.