Mortgage applications increased 23.1% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Jan. 13.

The data includes an adjustment for New Year’s Day. The MBA market composite index increased 23.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 38.1% compared with the previous week.

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Fewer Americans than forecast filed first time applications for unemployment benefits last week, easing concern that post-holiday firings were on the rise.

Claims plunged by 50,000 to 352,000 in the week ended Jan.14, the lowest level since April 2008, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 41 economists in a Bloomberg News survey projected 384,000. The four-week average, which smoothes out fluctuations, decreased to 379,000 last week from 382,500.
Companies are slowing the pace of firings and beginning to step up the pace of hiring even as a slump in Europe spurred by a default crisis may limit U.S. growth. The improvement may be a sign that companies are looking to expand their workforces as sales climb.

Oil demand is falling for the first time since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis as a result of a mild winter, high crude prices and the European economic crisis, according to fresh estimates from the International Energy Agency. The industrialized nations’ watchdog said oil demand dropped by 300,000 barrels a day in the final quarter of 2011. Such a fall is rare: over the last decade, oil demand has posted drops only in the financial crisis of mid-2008 to mid-2009. The end game on the supply/demand curve is as demand falls, so, too, should prices

The beginning of a new year is always a time to reflect and consider goals and opportunities for the year ahead. As we begin 2012, there are many reasons for encouragement when it comes to the economy and real estate. If recent economic and real estate trends are any indication, 2012 will be a year when good things can happen not only for potential homebuyers and sellers, but for the country as a whole.

For example:

• Existing-home sales rose again in November, and remain at levels above those of a year ago. What’s more, pending home sales also continued to gain in November, reaching the highest level in 19 months, an indication that there will be more future sales. 

• In November, sales of new single-family houses rose 1.6 percent from October and were 9.8 percent above November 2010. Additionally, housing starts surged to a one-and-a-half year high in November, and permits for future construction were the highest since March 2010.

• In a sign that the overall economy is strengthening, U.S. employment has grown solidly for the past six months, generating 100,000 jobs or more in each month for the first time since April 2006.

• The Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators showed two months of solid gains, signaling that the economy was gaining momentum and the risks of a recession were receding, and its Consumer Confidence Index improved to levels seen in April 2011. 

Please stop by our office and bring new, unwrapped toys. All the toys will be donated to a local, Princeton family to make their Holidays a little more bright. Thanks! – The Weichert Princeton Team

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As we enter 2012, here are some money saving tips specifically related to the housing sector to help you manage your financial budget and capitalize on savings.

Buying a home: What size is right? According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, home construction firms expect U.S. houses to average 2,152 square feet in 2015, down 10% from last year. This means that if you’re buying with the goal of selling it in the future, trends suggest that oversized homes may be a declining trend in the future. So an astute buyer needs to decide what size home is right for them.

Selling a home: What price is right? According to Joe Magdziarz, president of the Appraisal Institute, sellers and their agents should look at comparable sales data just within the past 90 days to find the right price. You don’t want to be one of the 75% of homeowners who believe their home is worth more than it is. Your knowledgeable Weichert Realtor can help you assess what price point the market will dictate to help sell your home.

Already a home owner: Shorten your loan Refinancing your mortgage to a shorter term can save you significantly. For instance, a $250,000 mortgage, going from a 30 year at 4.25% to a 15 year at a 3.50% would save you $12,000 in interest over the life of the loan (assuming full term duration). Don’t want to do a 15 or 30 year term loan? Terms of 10, 20, and 25 years are also available. Your educated Weichert Financial Gold Services Manager can help you custom fit the term that works best for you.

Already a home owner: Refinance, Refinance, Refinance Even if you don’t think you have enough equity (or any equity) in your existing property, there are new product offerings coming on the market each day, so where you may have gotten a “no” in the past, you may be able to get a “yes” today or in the near future. Additionally, there are options to do a cash-in refinance, where you bring some cash to closing. If disposable cash is an issue, there are also options to build closing costs into the structure to come to the table with little or no cash in many cases.

Looking for Open Houses to attend this weekend? Here is a list of some in the Princeton and greater Princeton markets. Just click the sign to plan your Princeton Open House Tour.

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In speaking with a couple of associates last night, the topic of refinancing came up. When analyzing a specific situation, the comment was made, “I would consider refinancing my home at today’s lower rates, but I am already X years into the loan, and I’m not sure I want to start all over again” (meaning they had paid down X years of their 30 year mortgage, and they didn’t want to start over again with a new 30 year mortgage).

To which I commented “then why not refinance into a 20 year or 25 year term loan so you don’t have to start over again”. In unison, two knowledgeable associates responded, “you can do that”?

Sometimes, we are so close to a situation, or an answer appears so commonplace, that we assume everyone knows the answer, but perhaps, we haven’t done as great of a job as we should have getting the news out. So with a slow news week, this gives us a great opportunity to get the message out for those who didn’t know, and reiterate the message for those that did:

on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans (loans that are the vast majority of our refinance transactions), the following terms are available for Fixed Rate structures: 10 year, 15 year, 20 year, 25 year, and 30 years.
So there is no need to “start over”.

Everyone can take advantage of these historically rates and continue to maintain (or even reduce) the existing term of their loan without “starting over”. In fact, we have seen the majority of the refinance scenarios in 2011 be of the “trade-down” variety -> where an original 30 year term refinances into a new 15, 20 or 25 year term loan (at a lower price to reduce payment, a shorter term to reduce life of loan and future value interest paid, or both), or 15 year term loans refinance into 10 year term structures.

The prevailing thought is that interest rates will stay low for quite some time given the woes of the global financial markets and the economic climate, and that may be hard to debate. What is not hard to debate is with rates at this level, the downside (rates ticking back upwards) is significantly more likely than the upside (rates dropping down further), so why risk the chance of missing out on a great thing?

This is the weekend to capitalize…your trusted Weichert Financial Gold Services Manager can help you reduce your payment and/or your loan term this weekend in time for the coming holidays. We can help….ask us how!

T0 search for Princeton homes for sale click here.

To search Princeton townhouse for sale click here.

  
Give yourself the gift that pays you back…a Real Estate License!

Whether you think you would like to go into Real Estate full time or just make Referrals it all starts with the license. Weichert has two class options for you at the Princeton facility:

1. December 5 -December 16.   Be done in two weeks and still have time to shop for the holidays!  Classes run from 9 am – 4:30 pm. 

2. January 10 – March 15. Start the new year off right! 

Best news of all is that the school is only $99 vs the regular price of $349! Interested in enrolling or finding out more. Call the office direct and ask for Josh or send a message by clicking here.