Mortgage rates at 2010 low -- but not for long

If you've been shopping for a home, now may be the time to buy. Mortgage rates are expected to rise sharply within the next few weeks.
Mortgage rates are close to a record low and probably won't stay there much longer. Experts say it's time to get a loan now, or you'll end up with a higher rate later.

For those who are willing and able to refinance, it is time to act. Homebuyers tend to be more influenced by home prices than by mortgage rates, but they should keep in mind that mortgage rates could be a full percentage point higher a year from now.


Mortgage rates are expected to rise because the Federal Reserve plans to stop buying mortgage-backed securities by the end of March. For the past year, the Fed has been buying more than four-fifths of newly issued mortgage bonds. When the central bank stops buying them, private investors will have to step in. 

Not Ready Yet!

Wash Where You Flush


Toilets are one of the biggest water hogs in the home. Seattle-based ecohaus has addressed this environmental challenge by promoting the Caroma Profile, a bathroom fixture that is part sink and part toilet. Users wash their hands in the toilet tank (cleaner than you might think). That water is then repurposed for future flushes. Its dual flush component reduces water consumption by an additional 40 percent to 70 percent. The toilet and sink combo is a great space saver in smaller bathrooms. Cost: $499.99. www.ecohaus.com

Are Interest Rates About to Rise?

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley says the central bank will scale back its purchases of mortgage-backed securities late next month. While interest rates likely will climb when the program ceases, the extent of the rise remains to be seen.




Dudley says the Fed will act if rates spike too much. Still, analysts worry that the end of the MBA purchase program and expiration of the home-buyer tax credit, along with higher premiums and tighter underwriting of FHA mortgages, will work together to stifle home sales and price stabilization in the coming months.

Source: Inman News (02/08/10)

Fort Bend County tops Forbes growth list

Fort Bend County is the No. 1 county in the United States to “get ahead,” according to Forbes magazine.

The county, a suburb located southwest of Houston, topped the publication’s list of counties that experienced the most income and job growth over the past few years.

The average median household income in Fort Bend County climbed 10 percent to $84,782 in 2008 from $77,082 in 2007, said Forbes. The county has also added 5,913 new jobs since the second quarter of 2007, an increase of 5 percent.

Like the rest of Texas, Fort Bend gets a healthy chunk of its revenue from the energy sector, but it also benefits from a diversity of industries - including education and hospitality -that has fueled several decades of rapid population growth.

Fort Bend County also ranked sixth on a list of the nation’s counties that experienced the most job growth in a CNN/Money Magazine poll last fall.

Fort Bend officials predict that the region’s job growth will continue. In 2009, Kansas City Southern and CenterPoint Properties’ announced an 880-acre intermodal facility and logistics park just west of Rosenberg, which is expected to create more than 750 jobs.

And, Lufkin Automation recently purchased 6.2 acres in Missouri City with plans to move their headquarters to Fort Bend County.

Source: Houston Business Journal