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| MARCH 2004 |
A Publication of
ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers |
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Refis, New Home
Mortgages “March-ing” At A Brisk Pace |
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 The month of March
is proving that the refi boom and the new-housing surge are still with us.
In its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 12,
the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced a recent surge in
activity as interest rates, once again, dropped.
“We have been expecting a sharp up-tick in refinance applications as
borrowers become more aware of low rates now available,” said Jay
Brinkman, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “The share of
applications for adjustable rate mortgages is staying the same at almost
28% of the applications and over 42% of the dollar volume. This means that
a sizable percentage of these refinance applications are for adjustable
rate loans.”
Meanwhile, the mortgage industry is also benefiting from the healthy
market in new-home construction. The March Housing Market Index (HMI), a
survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), came
up with a score of 64, the same it had been in February. An HMI score of
50 is average for the survey that rates builders’ evaluations of sales and
other market conditions in their industry.
“Highly favorable financing conditions, solid house-price performance and
excellent demographics continue to drive the new-homes marketplace,” said
David Seiders, chief economist of NAHB. “Builders evidently are deriving
confidence from these developments and registering realistic expectations
for the future.”
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Average Home
Price Approaches Quarter Million |
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 The Federal
Housing Finance Board recently released the results of its year-end survey
of 2003. According to the board’s report, the average U.S. home price as
of December 31 was $245,700, a 3.7% increase over the national average
posted the previous year.
The region with the most expensive housing market was the San Francisco
Bay area, where home prices averaged $506,200. The San Diego area was next
among big-city markets with an average home price of $490,200.
The least expensive big-city housing market was San Antonio, where the
average home price was tallied at $146,100. Indianapolis was the next step
on the big-city ladder at $154,600. |
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Quotes
of Wisdom and Wit |
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“In the business world, the
rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” –
Warren Buffett
“There will never be enough time, unless you’re serving it.”
– Malcolm Forbes
“Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a
bad reputation.” – Henry Kissinger
“Miracles are not in contradiction to nature. They are only in
contradiction to what we know of nature.” – St. Augustine
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in
overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison |
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ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers
currently offers appraisal service throughout all 50 of the United
States. Clients are encouraged to place orders directly to any
office local to properties to be appraised or to the central office
for assignment.
Orders may
be placed via telephone, fax or through the company's Web site. All
Internet orders will be processed through the central office.
Some
Offices Are Independently Owned and Operated
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3316-A Battleground Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27410
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