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Mortgage rates on 30 year and 15 year mortgages stayed pretty constant they week. In fact for 4 weeks in a row now 30 year fixed rates have stayed between 6.01 and 6.06. But 5 Year and 1 Year Arms stayed relatively constant.

May 15, 2008
30-yr 6.01
15-yr 5.60%
5-yr ARM 5.57
1-yr ARM 5.18

May 8, 2008
30-yr 6.05
15-yr 5.60%
5-yr ARM 5.67
1-yr ARM 5.29

May 1, 2008
30-yr 6.06
15-yr 5.59%
5-yr ARM 5.73
1-yr ARM 5.29

April 24th, 2008
30-yr 6.03
15-yr 5.62%
5-yr ARM 5.68
1-yr ARM 5.29

Below is what the mortgage payment would be on a 200k House based on current interest rates for the different products.

May 15th
30-yr $1200.38
15-yr $1711.46
5-yr ARM $1144.37
1-yr ARM $1095.75

I am actually a… Read Full Post

Just east of IH-35, in the center of Austin, lies an area that is becoming a popular destination for Austinites looking for a central location that doesn’t come with the price tag one would pay in other centrally located areas. They also don’t lose any of the historic charm or lack of small local businesses within walking distance by moving to East Central Austin.

There are several small central east side neighborhoods, such as Blackshear and East Cesar Chavez, but the Cherrywood area is quickly becoming a new favorite; its subdivision known as French Place is being referred to as the new Hyde Park. Lying between 35 and Airport boulevard, north of Manor and south of 38th ½ Street, French Place was originally owned by the Giles family in the 1940s. It…

Compared to last week mortgage interest rates on 30 Year and 5 year ARM's went down a little and rates on 15 year mortgages went up a little.  But basically, for the second week in a row mortgage rates did well pretty much nothing. 

May 8, 2008
30-yr 6.05 15-yr 5.60% 5-yr ARM 5.67 1-yr ARM 5.29

May 1, 2008
30-yr 6.06 15-yr 5.59% 5-yr ARM 5.73 1-yr ARM 5.29

April 24th, 2008
30-yr 6.03 15-yr 5.62% 5-yr ARM 5.68 1-yr ARM 5.29

April 17th, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.40% 5-yr ARM 5.48 1-yr ARM 5.10

April 10th, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.42% 5-yr ARM 5.56 1-yr ARM 5.19

Based on today's rates the mortgage on a 200k house would be $1205.53 compared to last week when it was $1206.82.  Nothing really to write home about.

May 8th, 2008
30-yr $1205.53
15-yr…

With over 50,000 students there are numerous entertainment venues around the University of Texas. Austin is frequently referred to as the live music capital of Texas. And although when people talk about the music scene in Austin they usually think of downtown the campus area also reflects this saying with nightspots such as the Hole in the Wall, which is an Austin institution and has been the home of many local recording artists for more than twenty-five years, as well as the U.T. campus itself, which hosts regular live music performances in the Cactus Café, which is adjacent to the student union and which is located in the West Mall area. There are also faculty-oriented clubs and restaurants such as the Campus Club, at the corner of 24th and Guadalupe,…

At the beginning of March mortgage rates on 30 Year loans were around 6.25. Following cuts by the Federal Reserve board mortgage rates fell over the next two weeks. Since the middle of March mortgage interest rates have remained relatively stable fluctutating between 5.85 and 6.06. The Federal Reserve board cut rates this week right after the weekly rates were released by Freddie Mac. So I expect rates to fall over the next week. And those might be the lowest rates we will see for awhile. Why? After the FED cut rates they indicated that they would not likely cut rates at the next meeting. So we might be at a low point as far as mortgage rates are concerned. If you are thinking of buying a property and getting a loan this might be a good time to make the…

Mortgage rates increased this week after holding steady for the last 3 weeks. Rates seemed to move up across all of the major mortgage products. Below are the rates on the different mortgage products over the last few weeks.

April 24th, 2008
30-yr 6.03 15-yr 5.62% 5-yr ARM 5.68 1-yr ARM 5.29

April 17th, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.40% 5-yr ARM 5.48 1-yr ARM 5.10

April 10th, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.42% 5-yr ARM 5.56 1-yr ARM 5.19

April 3rd, 2008
30-yr 5.88 15-yr 5.42% 5-yr ARM 5.59 1-yr ARM 5.18

The FED is meeting on May 9, 2008 and the general belief is that the FED will not cut rates due to fears of inflation. Therefore we might not see rates come down much from where they are currently are. Which basically means that now is a good…

The Austin market contines to move along at slower yet steady pace. Since all the subprime issues in September the Austin market,like most of the country, has taken a noticeable hit. On the one hand the Austin real estate market is slower than this time last year. But it is still outperforming a extremely anemic national market.

Basically it seems many parts of the country had underlying problems that were exposed by the subprime meltdown. On the other hand Austin didnt seem to have the same underlying problems but the changes in lending standards have still hurt Austin. Namely by eliminating subprime loans a portion of potential buyers have been taken off the market.

Lets break out some of the submarkets in Austin.



The real estate…

The University of Texas at Austin is one of the five largest universities in the country, and currently nearly fifty thousand students attend the university, which is home to the U.T. Longhorns. Most of the students live in the U. T. campus area, which encompasses an area from Interstate 35, which runs along the eastern perimeter, to Lamar Boulevard, which circles the western edge of the campus, including numerous fraternity and sorority houses. The campus also extends to Martin Luther King to the south and the campus itself is just a mile or so north of the State Capitol Building and the Capitol complex. The northern edge is roughly around 27th Street, and among these fours borders are some of the most interesting sights in the Austin area.

There are…