Attention Home Buyers & Sellers You are not Alone!

Charging Down Payments?

Condo Buyers Can Charge Down Payments
American Express is rolling out a plan to allow condominium buyers to charge down payments.

The plan is currently limited to select luxury-condo buyers in

New York

. American Express is working in partnership with real-estate firm Moinian Group, which has properties in mid-town under construction. But both companies say that this is just the beginning.

Bill Glenn, American Express's head of merchant business, says the move is part of the company's efforts to expand the ways its clients can use its cards.

The companies didn't disclose the terms of the agreement, although Moinian will pay American Express a fee on each transaction. The condo buyer won't be charged an additional fee. American Express says the program is available across all of its cards.

The move comes at a time when more landlords are allowing tenants to pay their rent with plastic. About 15 percent of the rental apartments in the U.S. accept credit-card payments, estimates Matt Golis, chief executive of YapStone Inc.'s RentPayment, a San Francisco processing firm that works with apartment owners and managers to enable acceptance of credit cards.

Most of its new customers this year are offering to pay the costs incurred by offering credit cards as a payment alternative in order to have a competitive advantage over other properties, he says.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Jane J. Kim (09/13/2006

Yea for Vermont!!

Many Local Markets Still Going Strong

Even with falling demand and increased supply, home prices are still appreciating — although at no where near the double-digit rates of the past few years. “While recent developments raise concern, it is important to remember that the housing market varies significantly across the country,” Stevens said.

One-third of the country (by population) is still seeing rising home prices, including Alaska, New Mexico, Vermont, and many states in the South, excluding Florida. States that experienced the greatest increases in home prices in recent years are experiencing significantly lower sales. These states include Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, and Virginia.

Also contributing to the cooling housing market is a nearly one-point increase in mortgage rates, speculative investors pulling back, and first-time buyers being priced out of the market.
“Pressure is being felt in the housing market due to rising mortgage rates,” Stevens said. “Home buyers have become exhausted financially, which explains why sales have tumbled in higher-priced regions of the country.”

— REALTOR® Magazine Online

More Mortgage News!

Mortgage Activity Up as 30-Year Rates Decline
Mortgage activity was up a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent during the week ended Sept. 1, in part because interest rates declined slightly, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports.

Compared with the same week a year ago, there were 26.1 percent fewer mortgage applications.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 41 percent of total applications from 4.15 the previous week. It was the first decline in seven weeks.

Lower rates are fueling demand. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 6.31 percent from 6.39 percent the previous week with points increasing to 1.10 from 1.03. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage decreased to 5.97 percent from 6.06. The rate for one-year ARMS decreased to 5.91 percent from 5.97. 

— REALTOR® Magazine Online

Interest Rates are Up

Interest Rates 

Bankrate.com reports that "Long-term mortgage rates went up for the first time in six weeks, but not by much...The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 1 basis point to 6.49 percent...One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.8 percent; four weeks ago, it was 6.65 percent."

To read more: Bankrate.com