Jason Hodge of construction company Rausch Coleman Homes says that “traffic has picked up immensely.”
He is referring to the orders Rausch Coleman Homes has received after mortgage rates have officially hit their lowest levels since 1971. Unofficially, the rates could even be lower than those found during the 1950’s.
Freddie Mac saw the average 30-year fixed-rate home loan go down to 4.15 percent before settling to 4.22 percent last week.
Mortgage applications, however, have seen a 15-year low as well according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Unemployment woes and fears of a second recession are keeping many potential homeowners from taking a mortgage they could not afford in the near future.
Paul Wheeler of Accent Realtors is encouraging buyers go back to the market even if overall sales are below the 2010 level, saying that “it is the best buyer’s market he has seen in 19 years.”
This is especially important not only for the mortgage industry but for the American government as well.
Owning 248,000 foreclosed homes has put major pressure on the government to find ways to dispose of these properties, especially since documentation problems have stalled foreclosures – meaning that foreclosures are expected to pick up once these documentation problems are resolved.