May Round Up: Mortgage Rates Lowest Since February
Freddie Mac had forecast brisk home sales for April when it recently announced mortgage rates had dipped to the lowest levels since Feb. 24.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.17 percent for the week ending April 25, 2007 and the average for the 15-year FRM was 5.89 percent, both down from the previous week.

Expect more of the same.

"...As long as inflation is held in check, there is little or no pressure to push mortgage rates higher. And at the moment, core inflation does indeed seem to be a non-event. Continuing low rates will keep the housing industry abuzz," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Homebuyers Pick Amenities Over Space
According to a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders, 69 percent of buyers would rather have more amenities than additional space.

Even so, the average home size has risen more than 50 percent to 2,340 square feet over the past 35 years.

The NAHB poll found that buyers prefer walk-in pantries, kitchen islands, and bathroom linen closets. Additionally, brick exteriors are popular with nearly 45 percent of respondents.

NAHB also reported an increase in the standard ceiling height to 9 feet from 8 feet, which makes homes appear more spacious.

Housing Market Defies Bubble Talk
Everything is coming up roses in the nation's housing market this spring.

Home prices continued to soar in April, up to a median $203,800, 15.1 percent higher than they were a year ago.

Meanwhile, low mortgage rates fueled record sales.

The National Association of Realtors put the seasonally adjusted annual rate of single-family detached home sales at a new record 6.28 million, a 4.5 percent increase in sales from just a month earlier when the annual rate was 6.01 million. Sales activity was 5.0 percent above the pace for April 2004, 5.98 million units a year.

Total existing-home sales, including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, likewise rose 4.5 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.18 million from 6.87 million in March. Sales were also up for the year by 5.7 percent from the 6.79 million-unit pace set in April 2004. The previous record for all homes was a sales rate of 7.02 million in June 2004.

"A new record is a bit unexpected, but so is the performance of mortgage interest rates which have been lower than forecast," said David Lereah, NAR's chief economist.

Percentage of Million Dollar Homes Double
What's the fastest-growing segment of the home real estate market nationwide? Think luxury. Think big. And in some communities, think ... well, kind of ordinary.

Million dollar homes have exploded in numbers by 150-180 percent in the past 10 years, more than seven times the growth rate of housing units in the rest of the marketplace. It used to be that a million-dollar home was a big deal, the biggest place in town. But now, million-dollar homes are barely included in the "upper-brackets."

The percentage of homes valued at $1 million or more is moving faster than the rise in home prices, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It says while home prices are up 16 percent in the last three years, the percentage of million dollar homes has nearly doubled from 0.5 percent to 1.0 percent during the same period.

Not surprisingly, the Golden State, California had the highest percentage of million-dollar homes (4.1 percent) -- nearly 1-in-25.

High concentrations of million-dollar homes were also found in Connecticut (3.3 percent), the District of Columbia (3.3 percent), Massachusetts (2.2 percent) and New York (2.1 percent).

Of the 231 counties with populations of 250,000 or more, San Mateo ($644,300), San Francisco ($607,000), Santa Clara ($553,500) and Santa Cruz ($553,000) -- all in California -- had the highest median home values. Among counties with the least expensive homes were Hidalgo, Texas ($54,000); Jefferson, Ark. ($61,900) and Cameron, Texas ($62,800).

Anyone for a $100 million house? Seems impossible, but at the rate we're going, maybe not.

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