Mortgage rates at new all-time low
Long Island real estate brokers and mortgage lenders are anticipating a rise in home sales this month and in March, as some buyers hurry to evade higher costs for certain loans. Credit: iStock
Average fixed mortgage rates fell to new all-time record lows for the sixth consecutive week, Freddie Mac reports. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.67 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 7, 2012, down from last week’s 3.75 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.49 percent.
The 15-year fixed-rate loan, a popular refinancing option, averaged 2.94 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from 2.97 percent a week ago. Last year at this time, the average was 3.68 percent.
The Long Island housing market has been slow to respond to the ever-falling rates However, an uptick in contracts this spring suggests sales will improve in the coming months, according to the Long Island Association.
Pending home sales in Nassau County saw an increase of 14.8 percent in April -- there were 995 pending sales in April compared to 867 in April of last year, according to the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. In Suffolk, there was an even bigger improvement: Pending sales rose 20.9 percent, from 879 last April to 1,063 this April.
