Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Home Prices Continue Downward Trend in 2011

As much as we all hoped for a strong beginning to 2011 for the US housing market, home prices hit another new low in the first quarter. This is down 5.1% from a year ago to levels not reached since 2002! What makes matters even worse is that there seems to be no relief in sight, as the average home price is down 32.7 percent from the peak price set five years ago.

The culprit is of course, the huge number of foreclosures that continue to hit the market, sell at bargain prices, and bring everyone’s home values down.

Reduced home values are also hampering many refinancing opportunities for homeowners that could cash-in on today’s historic low refinance mortgage rates.

Yes, mortgage-underwriting standards are much tougher than we have experienced in many years, yet the overall toughest hurdle for borrowers continues to be home value.

There remain two refinancing programs that can provide great opportunity for high loan-to-value (LTV) borrowers. One is the FHA mortgage program and the other is the Fannie Mae DU Refi Plus program. Both of these programs allow individuals to refinance at great refinance rates with an LTV up to 97.75 percent for an FHA loan, and 105 percent for the Fannie Mae program.

If you are considering a home mortgage refinance now and need some help, have questions, or need some competitive refinance rate quotes, please check out the popular Refinance Tool Box. Just give a call at 888-850-9888 or fill out a Rate Quote Request online for professional assistance without the aggressive high-pressure sales tactics.

May the Mortgage Refinance Rates be with You!

Refinance Tool Box

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