More great news for home buyers this month. Average mortgage rates are hovering around 5.25%. Favorable conditions, including the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, have increased home sales by 17% from last month. Buyers should be aware, however, that median home prices have begun to increase.
According to an article released by the Associated Press, Lobbyists from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have begun to lobby for an extension of the $8,000 tax credit. Currently, the credit applies only to first time home buyers with single income of less than $75,000 and combined income of less than $150,000. After three straight months of increasing home sales, the NAHB would like to extend the credit to all home buyers, regardless of income.
The video below gives interesting information on mortgage payments and interest.
With all this good news, why, then, are foreclosure rates up 7% from July? In her article “Unemployment Spike Compounds Foreclosure Crisis,” Renae Merle describes that while mortgage rates are becoming more affordable, rising jobless rates are proving to be yet another obstacle for homeowners to overcome. The jobless rate that marked the beginning of the housing crisis was around 4.6%. Today, economists have predicted the jobless rate to hit 10% by the end of the year.
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