Marion Skubi

Low Rates Help Make Home Buying More Affordable

From RealTrends.com: Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.97 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 4, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 5.05 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.15 … Read more

Experts Say Market is Stabilizing

From RealTrends.com: A number of the industry’s closely watched home-price gauges indicate that stabilization has been slowly creeping into the picture since mid-2009. Analysts at Barclays Capital agree that the tail risk of a sharp decline in housing continues to recede with every passing month. But they caution that there’s still a bit more of a drop in the cards and little chance of sustained gains any time soon thanks to an inflated supply of foreclosures.

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New York Times Features Santa Fe

The Art of Being Santa Fe

By HENRY SHUKMAN
Published: February 7, 2010

I CAN’T remember how or why it came to be dawn when I first saw Santa Fe from a bus window. It was my first time in New Mexico, the fulfillment of a long-held dream: to visit the land that had inflamed my imagination when as a teenager I’d read D. H. Lawrence’s paeans to the state.

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February 2010

February 2010 Sales YTD Avg List Price Avg Sale Price 2008 Sales Value of the Month Las Campanas 4 1,048,500 939,500 5 Northwest County 7 597,629 564,071 6 Northeast City 27 761,533 711,075 9 Tesuque 0 — — 0 Santa Fe City 145 463,264 435,854 121 Santa Fe County 159 451,796 424,015 124

NAR: Existing-Home Sales Rise 11.5%

From Inman.com: Sales of previously owned homes rose 11.5 percent year-over-year in January, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units, up from 4.53 million units in January 2008. January sales fell from a rate of 5.44 million in December 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported.

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Interest Rates to Remain Low

From RealTrends.com: Investors breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke told Congress that interest rates are likely to remain low for an extended period. The economy, he said, “still requires support for recovery.” Investors see these low rates as a boon to a recovery of employment and business. Bernanke’s announcement … Read more

More Fixed-Rate Borrowers Choose Shorter Loan Terms

From RealTrends.com: Refinancing borrowers overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a fixed-rate, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly Product Transition Report. While 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are still the most preferred product chosen for the new loan, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages gained favor among refinancers who previously held … Read more

PMI Sees Bottom in Home Prices

From RealTrends.com: A new study from PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. suggests home prices have found their bottom. The company’s analysis shows that by almost all measures, residential property values began stabilizing considerably during the second and third quarters of last year – and monthly data through November confirms that this stabilization continued into the fourth quarter. PMI says the likelihood that home prices will drop lower over the next 24 months is diminishing for most large metro markets.

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January 2010

January 2010 Sales YTD Avg List Price Avg Sale Price 2008 Sales Value of the Month Las Campanas 2 1,050,000 939,500 3 Northwest County 5 673,780 632,700 1 Northeast City 13 699,262 655,809 4 Tesuque 0            — — 0 Santa Fe City 77 437,689 414,939 54 Santa Fe County 83 427,710 404,665 55