The Fargo Moorhead Monthly Skim

by Donovan Schumacher

The Feds realized our economy was in tough shape, so they lowered the fed rate from 5.25% to 4.75% and the prime followed from 8.25% to 7.75%. That can mean a few things for us consumers. First off, let me clear the air that it does not directly reflect the housing mortgage interest rates the same way. The mortgage rates are based on other economic factors, like the 10 year mortgage bond, housing starts and unemployment factors. The recent lowering of the fed rate can and most likely will affect the value of the dollar. For example, on Friday, September 21st, the Canadian dollar and the US dollar came in at an even value for the first time since 1976. I am hoping that this does not continue to drop as it will have a huge impact on foreign investing and shrink the dollar even faster, which will trigger a raise in the Fed rate again soon.

Housing sales came in at 795,000 which was lower than the expected 830,000 and new home listings rose 8.2% from the previous month of 7.5% with the median price of new homes sold being $225,000.

For right now with interest rates still hanging in around 6.125% which are great rates, buyers have plenty to shop for and sellers are usually motivated. Sellers that are listing their homes usually want a certain price and that needs to correlate with what the market is bringing. If the market shows a slight decrease in values, the seller needs to have realistic expectations.

I have been saying this over and over, but it is a great time to buy!!!

Donovan Schumacher is president and owner of Valesco Mortgage. Schumacher Can be reached at dschumacher@valescomortgage.com or by calling 701.356.6400.