Well it is summer in the gorge and the real estate market has picked up! We have seen more people contacting us about our listings, including other agents meaning that they have buyers. In addition we are getting calls from people that want to sell their property which had slowed down for a time. This was due to the confusion in the market about values as we all have had to deal with but the market cycles are a real phenomena and we are experiencing the summer cycle now. The summer events in the gorge are in full swing and this provides us with a new crop of folks that fall in love with the area and may possibly end up living here someday. But for now we will enjoy the little “pick up” in our market and make the most of it while it lasts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage rates have fallen to the lowest level on record, giving consumers added incentive to lock in low payments on home purchases and refinancing.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac said today that the average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent, from 4.75 percent last week.

That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

The previous record of 4.71 percent was set in December. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows.

Mortgage rates have fallen over the past two months. Investors wary of the European debt crisis and the turbulent stock market have shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, driving down yields. Mortgage rates tend to track the yields on long-term Treasury debt.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average of 4.13 percent, the lowest on records dating to September 1991 and down from 4.2 percent a week earlier.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.84 percent, down from 3.89 percent a week earlier. That was also the lowest on Freddie Mac’s records, which only date back to January 2005.

Average rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 3.77 percent from 3.82 percent. That was the lowest average since May 2004.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 a point for 30-year, 5-year and 1-year loans. The average fee for 15-year loans was 0.6 of a point.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose 5.6 points in April, reaching its highest reading since September 2008. Wells Fargo economists attribute most of the increase to improving consumer expectations, while opinions on the job market improved modestly.

In a June 7 question-and-answer session at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted a slow economic recovery, with unemployment rates in the double digits for the near term.

He said interest rate increases likely would resume before the job market fully recovers. “Even though technically we’ll be in recovery and the economy will be growing, unemployment will still be high for a while and that means that a lot of people will be under financial stress,” Bernanke explained.

Source: The New York Times, Sewell Chan (06/08/10)

□ W-2 forms — or business tax return forms if you’re self-employed — for the last two or three years for every
person signing the loan.

□ Copies of at least one pay stub for each person signing the loan.

□ Account numbers of all your credit cards and the amounts for any outstanding balances.

□ Copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements for both checking and savings
accounts.

□ Lender, loan number, and amount owed on other installment loans, such as student loans and
car loans.

□ Addresses where you’ve lived for the last five to seven years, with names of landlords if
appropriate.

□ Copies of brokerage account statements for two to four months, as well as a list of any other major assets of
value, such as a boat, RV, or stocks or bonds not held in a brokerage account.

□ Copies of your most recent 401(k) or other retirement account statement.

□ Documentation to verify additional income, such as child support or a pension.

□ Copies of personal tax forms for the last two to three years.

Tax Benefits of Homeownership

The tax deductions you’re eligible to take for mortgage interest and property taxes greatly increase the financial benefits of homeownership. Here’s how it works.

Assume:

$9,877 = Mortgage interest paid (a loan of $150,000 for 30 years, at 7 percent, using year-five interest)
$2,700 = Property taxes (at 1.5 percent on $180,000 assessed value)
______

$12,577 = Total deduction

Then, multiply your total deduction by your tax rate.

For example, at a 28 percent tax rate: 12,577 x 0.28 = $3,521.56

$3,521.56 = Amount you have lowered your federal income tax (at 28 percent tax rate)

Note: Mortgage interest may not be deductible on loans over $1.1 million. In addition, deductions are decreased when total income reaches a certain level.

Prepared by Bob Anderson

Ph: (509) 427-7043

boba@windermere.com

Existing – Home Sales Rate 7.6% – Existing-home sales — completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condos, and co-ops — increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million units in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March, and are 22.8 percent higher than the 4.70 million-unit pace in April 2009. Monthly sales rose 7.0 percent in March.

Pending Home Sales Index 5.3% – The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1 percent above March 2009 when it was 85.0; this follows an 8.3 percent increase in February. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

30-Year Fixed Mortgage 4.84%  – Falling rates on U.S. government securities helped push mortgage rates down to the lowest level so far this year.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed loans declined this week to 4.84 percent from 4.93 percent a week ago, reported Freddie Mac