Lehigh Valley Real Estate Blog, Home Buying & Selling Information

Mortgage Interest Rates Go Down in Lehigh Valley

Prosperity Mortgage, a Long & Foster Real Estate and Wells Fargo owned mortgage company, released their rate sheet on Friday indicating that rates have gone down again. The 30 year fixed rate with zero points is now 5.625%.

If you can afford to pay 3 points, the rate is 5.0%. It has been a long time since we saw rates this low.

Although Lehigh Valley hasn't seen the drastic price reductions being talked about on the national media, home sellers are more willing to negotiate as houses sit on the market longer. Now, may be the perfect time to consider purchasing a house before the spring market brings a possible increase in prices.

If you are interested in obtaining information about the new rates, call Amy at Prosperity Mortgage 610-317-1460 and tell her Joe gave you her name.

Where are the Lehigh Valley Home Sellers?

After spending the past couple of days showing some very motivated home buyers selections in the Lehigh Valley, they were discouraged that they just can't seem to find a house that appeals to them. One of the buyers is on the brink of renting instead of purchasing. They are going to take one more week to look and then quit the search.

Two of the buyers were searching in the price range of $260,000 or below. All of the houses we visited needed some type of upgrading or repairs. I should note that both of these buyers wanted a single detached home and needed to move in by the end of January. Very motivated!

Because of the shape of the houses in the mid two hundreds, I started dropping the price to see if we could find a pristine house in a lower price range. The buyers were willing to max out on the purchase price but not for a house that would immediately need upgrades. Some of the common problems:

Out-dated kitchens and bathrooms
Old carpeting
Decks that were in need of staining
General painting and maintainance

Most of the houses were in "rough" shape to be on the market for a quarter of a million dollars.

Sellers always question listing a house in the winter. Most wait until the Spring. In the Spring, they will become one of many. Today, may be the time to list the house!