February 2011

Boca Raton Real Estate & Financing

If you are financing your Boca Raton real estate purchase, expect your bank to ask you for a larger down payment even if you have a high credit score. After the record number of foreclosures and defaults on home mortgages, banks want to make sure that buyers are qualified and less likely to default. Statistics show that buyers who put down a larger down payment offer banks less risk. The President has called for increasing down payments on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over time to a minimum 10% down payment. Many banks require a 20% to 30% down payment depending on the borrower’s credit score and credit history and the type of property they are buying. According to data released by the government, the median down payment…

Consumer Confidence Is On The Rise 

Good news on the horizon, unemployment rates are falling, consumer confidence is up, and consumers are spending more money now because they feel more secure in their jobs. While interest rates are climbing, they are still low and home prices continue to be affordable. Boca Raton interest rates are hovering around 4.875 to 5.25% and are still historically low. At the peak of the housing bubble, rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage were 6.76%. For those of you who remember, interest rates were at double digits in the 1980’s and did not start falling until after 1991. Statistics show that what matters most to home buyers is affordable housing, job security and interest rates in that order. Although if interest rates were

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