Long-term mortgage rates fell to the lowest level of the year this week, after dropping for five consecutive weeks.
Freddie Mac’s (NYSE:FRE) weekly rate report puts the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.93 percent in the week ending May 13, down from 5 percent last week.
A one-year adjustable-rate mortgage was 4.02 percent, down from 4.07 percent.
With the home-buyer tax credit now expired, low borrowing rates remain the most attractive incentive for buyers.
This week, the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association said home sales in the Charlotte area were up 25 percent last month from a year ago, and they rose nearly 17 percent from March.
The number of closings in April totaled 2,220, jumping from 1,773 a year earlier and from 1,900 in March, the association said, citing Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc. data.
Pending contracts reported in April also were up, growing 31.6 percent from April 2009 and nearly 20 percent from March levels.
“Affordable home prices, low interest rates and the recent uptick in consumer confidence create a sense that the market is turning,” said Lyn Kessie, 2010 association and CMLS president. “And as inventory decreases and home values continue to stabilize, all of these factors should help our housing market become more normalized, even as the impact of the tax credit disappears.”
The average sales price in April was $210,410, up 0.2 percent from a year ago and 2.2 percent above March’s average.
On average, homes sold last month in the Charlotte area were on the market for 122 days before their sales closed. That’s four days longer than in March.
Also this week, the National Association of Realtors reported year-over-year housing prices rose in 91 of the nation’s 151 largest metropolitan areas.
By Jeff Clabaugh
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