Pending Home Sales Strong on Low Mortgage Rates Today

The National Association of Realtors reported Pending Home Sales posted a strong increase in May, matching the highest level in two years. The NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, which is a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.9 percent to 101.1 in May from 95.5 in April.

Today's mortgage rates are just above record lows and homes are more affordable then they ever have been which is finally enticing home buyers back into the market. Mortgage rates today on 30 year home loans are averaging 2.62 percent and current mortgage rates on 15 year loans are averaging 2.97 percent.

In the Pending Home Sales report Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, “The housing market is clearly superior this year compared with the past four years.  The latest increase in home contract signings marks 13 consecutive months of year-over-year gains,” he said.  “Actual closings for existing-home sales have been notably higher since the beginning of the year and we’re on track to see a 9 to 10 percent improvement in total sales for 2012.”

Loan Type

Purchase Refinance with Cash out Refinance

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FICO Score

Superior (780-850) Exceptional (760-779) Excellent (740-759) Very Good (720-739) Good (700-719) Above Average (680-699) Average (660-679) Fair (640-659) Need Improvement (620-639) Poor (350-620)

Loan Amount

$

Points

Up to 0 points Up to 0.5 points Up to 1 points Up to 1.5 points Up to 2 points Up to 2.5 points Up to 3 points

LTV

%

Loan Term

 15-Year Fixed  20-Year Fixed  30-Year Fixed  5-Year ARM  7-Year ARM  10-Year ARM

Show Advertiser Disclosure

The lenders whose rates and other terms appear on this chart are MRC's advertising partners. They provide their rate information to our data partner RateUpdate.com. Unless adjusted by the consumer, advertisers are sorted by APR from lowest to highest. For any advertising partners that do not provide their rate they are listed in advertisement display units at the bottom of the chart. Advertising partners may not pay to improve the frequency priority or prominence of their display. The interest rates, annual percentage rates and other terms advertised here are estimates provided by those advertising partners based on the information you entered above and do not bind. Any lender Monthly payment amounts stated do not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included. Although our data partner RateUpdate.com collects the information from the financial institutions themselves, the accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed. Rates may change without notice and can change intraday. Some of the information contained in the rate tables including but not limited to special marketing notes is provided directly by the lenders. Please verify the rates and offers before applying for a loan with the financial institution themselves. No rate is binding until locked by a lender.

Lender

APR / Rate

Fees / Points

Payment

NMLS #1835285

4.863%

15-Year Fixed

4.750%

$3,000

Includes 0.750 points for $3,000

Lender Fees: $0

$3,112 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2562839

4.875%

15-Year Fixed

4.750%

$3,325

Includes 0.550 points for $2,200

Lender Fees: $1,125

$3,112 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2473786

4.889%

15-Year Fixed

4.750%

$3,707

Includes 0.653 points for $2,612

Lender Fees: $1,095

$3,112 /mo

Next >

NMLS #757416

4.997%

15-Year Fixed

4.875%

$3,240

Includes 0.810 points for $3,240

Lender Fees: $0

$3,138 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

5.128%

15-Year Fixed

4.990%

$3,660

Includes 0.740 points for $2,960

Lender Fees: $700

$3,162 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2473786

5.231%

5-Year ARM

5.125%

$4,807

Includes 0.928 points for $3,712

Lender Fees: $1,095

$2,178 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1835285

5.342%

5-Year ARM

5.250%

$4,147

Includes 0.912 points for $3,648

Lender Fees: $499

$2,209 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1835285

5.564%

30-Year Fixed

5.500%

$2,827

Includes 0.582 points for $2,328

Lender Fees: $499

$2,272 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2562839

5.609%

30-Year Fixed

5.500%

$4,825

Includes 0.925 points for $3,700

Lender Fees: $1,125

$2,272 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2473786

5.700%

30-Year Fixed

5.625%

$3,291

Includes 0.549 points for $2,196

Lender Fees: $1,095

$2,303 /mo

Next >

NMLS #757416

5.715%

30-Year Fixed

5.625%

$3,940

Includes 0.985 points for $3,940

Lender Fees: $0

$2,303 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2561451

5.874%

30-Year Fixed

5.750%

$5,542

Includes 0.940 points for $3,760

Lender Fees: $1,782

$2,335 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

5.934%

30-Year Fixed

5.875%

$2,532

Includes 0.458 points for $1,832

Lender Fees: $700

$2,367 /mo

Next >

NMLS #399799

5.980%

30-Year Fixed

5.875%

$4,719

Includes 0.848 points for $3,392

Lender Fees: $1,327

$2,367 /mo

Next >

NMLS #2562839

6.095%

5-Year ARM

5.990%

$4,533

Includes 0.852 points for $3,408

Lender Fees: $1,125

$2,396 /mo

Next >

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by Mortgage Research Center, NMLS #1907, Equal Housing Opportunity. Payments do not include taxes and insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and product details.

Another positive sign in this report is the national median existing-home price is expected to rise 3.0 percent this year and another 5.7 percent in 2013. We haven't seen any back to back annual gains in home prices since the housing boom several years ago.

You can watch this video on Pending Home Sales and listen to Lawrence Yun talk about the report:

Homes are more affordable since carrying costs are low so these days and home prices have come down as much as 50 percent in some areas over the past six years

There are many lenders out there offering 30 year conforming mortgage rates at 3.50 percent with points. 15 year mortgage rates can be found at low as 2.75 percent with points.

Jumbo mortgage rates are also incredibly low right now. Average fixed 30 year jumbo mortgage rates are at 4.27 percent. I remember just a few years ago during the "Great Recession" you couldn't find a lender offering jumbo loans.

Since the economy is still on shaky ground current mortgage rates today will probably stay at these low levels for the rest of 2012. We'll probably also see rates make new lows if anymore weak economic data is released which probably will happen.

Another factor which could send mortgage interest rates lower is all the debt problems in the European Union. The latest news is Spain's short term borrowing costs reached a record level since the formation of the Euro zone.

As investors flee the Euro and sovereign bonds of the Euro member states they buy dollars and U.S. Treasuries. When Treasury prices move higher, Treasury yields move lower. Lower Treasury yields will mean lower mortgage rates.