Interest Rates Today

Values of homes are still falling due to the tighter lending standards most lending companies have instated. Most salaries today do not cover the current home values which leaves the current real estate market plummeting. Studies show that anyone who buys a home today will suffer losses now and in the future.

According to Fiserv Lending Solutions home prices are expected to fall in the next 12 months. S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index shows that prices have plummeted 12.7% for the past 12 months ending last February. Freddie Mac has reported that rates on a 30 year fixed mortgage dropped to 5.53%. This made the rates to be the lowest since January 24, 2008 when the rates averaged 5.48%. The dropping rates are indeed a good thing but do not help the victims with current unaffordable mortgages. Dropping rates make refinancing difficult, while refinancing is the very thing that could keep them from losing their homes. Over 156,000 families have had their home repossessed in the U.S. so far this year. With the prices of houses dropping many are hoping to see fewer foreclosures and a market with stability.

Today people are pondering the idea that renting is the best way to go. Renting is now cheaper because it costs twice as much to buy the same house than it does to rent. The problem with renting is that if the house is foreclosed on due to the owner’s lack of income the renters may lose their home as well. Many are hoping that the drop in the market rates will help to overturn the current rise of home foreclosures and produce affordable living for all.