In the challenging South Florida real estate market, there's a new silver lining for homebuyers. Interest rates have recently dropped from their highs down to roughly 6.7%. This is a huge increase in purchasing power for everyone. If you were looking to keep your budget under $3,000 per month, this means you can now aim for homes valued around $453,000. This is a notable increase in purchasing power – nearly $40,000 more compared to October 2023, when the same budget could afford a home worth $416,000 at an average rate of 7.8%.

How much home can you afford as mortgage rates change?

The median priced home in South Florida is currently around $615,000, meaning it would cost roughly $3,572 at a 6.7% rate for Principal & Interest (not including…

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Mortgage Applications Skyrocketing!

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has this cool thing called the Market Composite Index. It's basically a fancy way of tracking how many mortgage loan applications they're getting. And guess what? There's been a whopping 10.4 percent increase on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. This is hot on the heels of a 10 percent jump at the start of the year. Even without seasonal adjustments, we're talking a 26 percent rise!

We've been saying that once rates come down the market is going to become much more competitive with buyers jumping back in the market and we're starting to see the beginning of this. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Refinancing

Refinancing is getting hotter, too. Refis are up…

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