I love data... be it hard numbers, graphs, charts, tables, interpretation, etc. I've come up with another concept of tracking overall affordability: combining cost per finished square foot with mortgage rates to give an overall cost of financing each square foot of house over the last few years (I only had data back to 2002): This chart is using approximate mortgage costs and an estimated cost per square foot for 2008 so this isn't "scientific quality" but the trend is very clear and I think it's close. … [Read more...]
Twin Cities Mortgage Rates Fall
On Friday my loan officers were quoting rates on 30yr fixed mortgages in the 5.5% - 6% range again... which is down more than .5% from just a couple weeks ago. On a $200,000 house, that means a monthly payment that is more than $80 less than it was just 2 weeks before. Or in other terms, it would be like taking $13,000 off the price of a $200,000 home. … [Read more...]