Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.24 percent, with an average 0.6 point, for the week ending February 9, 2006, up from last week's average of 6.23 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.57 percent.
"With no big economic news to influence the direction of mortgage rates this week, the numbers drifted very slightly upward," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "We see this trend continuing throughout 2006, with the 30-year FRM ending the year at about 6.3 percent as the housing market eases back from last year's record setting levels toward a somewhat more normal rate of activity."
Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and nearly four million renters in America. Source: Freddie Mac
Home sales this year are expected to stay below the peak levels in 2005 but will remain historically strong, according to the National Association of Realtors.
David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said the sales slowdown has already occurred. “Right now, home sales are a little lower than projected, but they can be sustained around current levels,” Lereah said. “Sometimes people lose sight of the fact that real estate is cyclical. Even so, sales will continue at a historically high pace with modestly higher interest rates as the year progresses, and 2006 is forecast to be the third strongest year on record.”
Existing-home sales are likely to decline 4.7 percent to 6.74 million this year, down from a record 7.07 million units in 2005, while new-home sales are expected to fall 8.5 percent to 1.17 million from a record 1.28 million in 2005; both sectors would see their third best year after the totals for 2005 and 2004. Housing starts are seen at 1.87 million units in 2006, down 9.3 percent from 2.06 million last year.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage should rise to 6.9 percent by the end of the year.
NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va., said home sellers are making some adjustments. “It’s easy to understand that sellers have taken it for granted that it would be fairly easy to sell without much compromise during the recent sales boom,” said Stevens, senior vice president of NRT Inc. “Now that buyers have more choices, it’s even more important for sellers to seek advice from real estate professionals. Pros can recommend the right mix of improvements to maximize return, as well as bridge the differences between buyers and sellers that often arise in the negotiation process. Consumers should keep in mind that not all real estate agents are Realtors®, who subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics.” Source: Realtor.org
Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market SurveySM (PMMSSM) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.23 percent, with an average 0.5 point, for the week ending February 2, 2006, up from last week's average of 6.12 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.63 percent.
"Declines in worker productivity coupled with accelerating labor costs increase the threat of inflation down the road. Inflationary pressure generated by these two factors pushes long-term mortgage rates upward, which is why we have seen rates rise these last two weeks," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Still, to keep things in perspective, mortgage rates are currently only about one-half a percentage point higher than they were at this time last year.
"Mortgage rates will surely fluctuate in the weeks and months ahead, but the trend now is for higher rates over the long run."
Pending home sales continue to decline but are expected to recover in the months ahead, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* based on contracts signed in December, was down 3.0 percent to a level of 116.4 from 120.0 in November, and is 5.5 percent below December 2004. Pending sales have trended steadily down from a record index of 129.2 last August.
The index is based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed and the transaction has not closed, but the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, the first year to be examined, and was the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.
David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said momentum in the housing market shifts slowly. “Changes in the overall direction of the housing market are akin to a large ship making course corrections – it takes some time for the driving factors to materialize as a change in the sales level,” he said. “In many recent transactions we’re looking at a delayed effect of mortgage interest rates that peaked in November but are now lower than expected. Mortgage applications have trended up in recent weeks, so we shouldn’t be surprised to see pending home sales rise in the next couple months.” Source: Realtor.org
Sales of new single-family homes closed out the year on an up note, topping last year’s record sales by more than 6 percent, the Commerce Department reported today. Total new single-family home sales for 2005 reached a record 1.282 million, up 6.6 percent from the previous annual record of 1.203 million set in 2004.
For December alone, new home sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.269 million units, up 2.9 percent from November’s pace of 1.233 million units, but down 6.6 percent from the October pace.
“There is no denying that 2005 has been a tremendous year for the housing industry,” said NAHB President David Pressly, a small-market builder and developer from Statesville, N.C. “Very favorable interest rates and strong buyer demand has helped spur the housing market beyond the record sales set in 2004. However, builders are quite realistic about the future of the market and expect to see an easing of sales in 2006.”
“While new-home sales have been quite strong throughout 2005, we see a cooling of the market to a healthy and more sustainable pace in the months ahead, as substantiated by recent surveys of our builders,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “For 2006, we expect to see a 6 percent to 7 percent drop in sales, but certainly no reason for alarm. This would make 2006 the second or third best year in housing history.”
McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market SurveySM (PMMSSM) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.12 percent, with an average 0.5 point, for the week ending January 26, 2006, up from last week's average of 6.10 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.66 percent.
"The miniscule rise in mortgage rates this week most likely reflects market expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will once again raise rates next week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "At the beginning of last week, financial markets priced in a 90 percent probability that the Fed would increase short-term rates. Today, the odds are statistically certain.
"Keep in mind, however, long-term rates are still below December's monthly average and continue to fuel the housing market. Last week, mortgage applications for home purchases were stronger than last December's average. Even refinancing activity remains strong, averaging around 43 percent of all mortgage applications." Source: Freddie Mac
Existing-home sales declined in December but easily set an annual record, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – were down 5.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 6.60 million units in December from an upwardly revised pace of 7.00 million in November. Sales were 3.1 percent lower than a 6.81 million-unit level in December 2004.
There were 7,072,000 existing-home sales in all of 2005, up 4.2 percent from 6,784,000 in 2004. This is the fifth consecutive annual record; NAR began tracking the sales series in 1968.
David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, expected the monthly sales decline. “This is part of the market adjustment we’ve been discussing, with a soft landing in sight for the housing sector,” he said. “The level of home sales activity is now at a sustainable level, and is likely to pick up a bit in the months ahead. Overall fundamentals remain solid, driven by population and employment growth as well as favorable affordability conditions in most of the country, so we expect the housing market to remain historically high but lower than last year’s record.” Source: Realtor.org
"Interest rates for long-term mortgages slipped lower this week due to some economic data releases that pointed towards more subdued inflation in the near term," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are about the same as they were in late October of 2005. However, shorter-term rates, such as those for adjustable-rate mortgages, were basically unchanged due to market expectations of another rate hike by the Federal Reserve Board at the end of January.
"Our January forecast calls for a gradual rise in long-term rates throughout 2006, ending the year at about 6.5 percent for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, while relative rate differences with adjustable-rate mortgages will narrow. This should induce some slowing in housing market activity, but we expect the housing market in 2006 to be strong, nonetheless." Source: Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey on January 12th. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 6.21 to 6.15 percent. One year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.74 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 5.76 to 5.71 percent. One year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.19 percent. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages decreased from 5.78 to 5.76 percent. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.03 percent. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs decreased from 5.16 to 5.15 percent. One year ago, the one-year ARM averaged 4.10 percent.
The key word for the housing market in 2006 is balance, with a return to a more normal rate of price growth, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said current trends in the housing sector are healthy. “We don’t need to break a record every year for the housing market to be good – in fact, cooling sales are necessary for the long-term health of this vital sector,” Lereah said. “A modest slowdown in home sales, coupled with improvements in housing inventory, means the market is in the process of normalization. That will help to bring balance between home buyers and sellers, yet sales will remain historically strong.”
After setting a fifth consecutive annual record, projected to 7.10 million units for 2005, * existing-home sales are forecast to ease by 4.4 percent to 6.79 million this year, which would be the second highest on record. New-home sales, which should be a record 1.29 million for 2005, are expected to decline 6.0 percent to 1.21 million in 2006 – that also would be the second best year in history. Total housing starts for 2005 are seen at 2.07 million units – the highest since setting a record 1972 – with a 6.6 percent slowing to 1.94 million this year.
“A lot of demand has been met over the last five years, and a modest rise in mortgage interest rates is causing some market cooling. Along with regulatory tightening on nontraditional mortgages, there will be fewer investors in the market this year,” Lereah said. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is likely to trend up gradually to 6.7 percent during the second half of the year. “This will preserve generally favorable affordability conditions and keep the housing market at a more sustainable sales pace.” Source: Realtor.org
"Financial markets paused this week, trying to decipher the December minutes of the Federal Reserve?s monetary policy committee, which seemed to hint that the Fed might slow the pace of rate hikes in 2006," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "As a result, mortgage rates were little changed this week. Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages currently are below the monthly averages set in November and December of 2005.
"The interest rate savings between 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell about 0.6 percentage points to around one percentage point since the same time last year. This will likely slow ARM lending activity in 2006. Today, ARMs account for about 30 percent of new loans. We forecast that share to fall to around 25 percent by the end of 2006."
Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey on January 5th. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage Decreased from 6.22 to 6.21 percent. One year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.77 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchaged at 5.76 percent. One year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.21 percent. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages decreased from 5.79 to 5.78 percent. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.03 percent. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs increased from 5.15 to 5.16 percent. One year ago, the one-year ARM averaged 4.10 percent.
Pending home sales, a leading indicator for the housing sector, slowed for the third consecutive month and demonstrates that a market transition is firmly in place, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* based on contracts signed in November, slipped 2.5 percent to a reading of 120.6 from 123.7 in October, and is 2.5 percent lower than November 2004. The index is derived from pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed; pending home sales typically are finalized within one or two months of signing.
David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said the index remains at a high level. “Although pending home sales are trending down from a record in August, the index remains well above a mark that is considered to be historically strong,” he said. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, the first year to be examined, and was the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.
“We are clearly experiencing a market transition, moving from a prolonged boom to a more balanced period of sustainable sales,” Lereah said. “In other words, home sales have been peaking for the last five years and we will land on a high plateau in 2006 – a market that will be healthy for both buyers and sellers. Investment fundamentals for housing remain solid, preserving generally favorable affordability conditions while offering solid returns as well as a place to live.” Source: Realtor.org
Freddie Mac today released the results of its 22nd Annual Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) Survey, which found:
Greater lender discounts for introductory ARM rates;
Smaller interest-payment savings for ARMs relative to fixed-rate loans;
Increasing popularity of hybrid ARMs relative to one-year adjustables.
"The Federal Reserve ratcheted up short-term interest rates at each of their meetings in 2005, raising their federal funds target from 2.25 percent to 4.25 percent," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "This contributed to a rise in short-term interest rates relative to long-term rates. This phenomenon is reflected in mortgage pricing as well. First-year rates on 1-year ARMs rose a full percentage point over the year; initial rates on 5/1 hybrid ARMs were up 0.8 percentage points; initial rates on 10/1 hybrids were up 0.7 percentage points; while rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans were up about one-half of a percentage point."
The survey, based on data collected December 19 to December 22, found that starting rates for ARMs would have increased even further were it not for greater use of initial-rate discounts by lenders. In order to increase borrowers' financial incentive to choose an ARM, lenders typically offer a lower initial interest rate than what the fully-adjusted rate would be at the time of origination, i.e., the underlying index rate plus the margin. At the end of 2004, this discount averaged 1.4 percentage points for conventional, conforming one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs, and by the time of the survey it had increased by a half percentage point, to an average of 1.9 percentage points. Over the last 22 years, initial one-year discounts averaged about 1.7 percentage points.
"When the interest-rate difference between a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and the fully-indexed ARM rate decreases, lenders generally offer a larger initial rate discount on the ARM," observed Nothaft. "The larger initial discounts increase the initial rate benefit of an ARM compared with fixed-rate loans, helping lenders to maintain ARM originations."
Learn more about how Mambo is licensed and how this affects you.
Mambo is released under the GNU General Public license (GNU GPL).The
GNU GPL provides for a person or persons to distribute Mambo for a fee,
but not actually charging for the software itself, because Mambo is
free. Mambo is free to share and change, but if you do change it in
anyway, can you also change the license and make it commercial? No! The
whole GPL is devoted to ensuring this does not happen. Copyright, a
much more refined and stringent law will prevent this as well.
So with regard to Mambo, the GPL and copyright:
You MAY distribute it and charge for that service. You MAY change it, add design and content to it and you MAY charge for that. You may NOT alter the license and you must NOT alter the copyright. You do NOT have to show a 'Powered by Mambo' graphic, as it not a copyright notice.
In other words, you must NOT pretend that Mambo is yours, and you must NOT charge people for Mambo.
Use Mambo to empower yourself and your clients by taking away the
'Black Magic' that surrounds putting content on the internet. Charge
for the value you add and not for the hard work that Miro, the Mambo
Development Team and the Mambo community have put into it.
Guidelines:
Mambo is "free" software released under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
The
word "free'' has two legitimate general meanings; it can refer either
to freedom or to price. When we speak of "free software'', we're
talking about freedom, not price. (Think of "free speech'', not "free
beer''.)
Free software is a matter of the users' freedom
to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More
precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the
software:
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs
Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour.
The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
Access to the source code is a precondition for this
1. What license is Mambo released under?
Mambo is released under the GNU GPL. A copy of this is included with your copy of Mambo and can also be found at http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl.html. Unofficial translations can also be found at http://www.fsf.org/licenses/translations.html.
2. Who owns the copyright to Mambo?
The
copyright to Mambo is held by Miro International Pty Ltd. Miro were the
original authors of Mambo and continue to actively support the project.
3. Are there any restrictions to your use of Mambo?
The GNU GPL grants you the freedom to use the software for whatever purpose you see fit.
4. May I charge money for Mambo?
The
GPL allows everyone the freedom to do this. The right to charge money
to distribute Mambo is part of the definition of "free" software.
When
people think of "selling software'', they usually imagine doing it the
way most companies do it: making the software proprietary rather than
free. So to avoid ambiguity you may you may charge to distribute the
software and any other service you provide along the way. You may not
charge for the software itself.
Remember if someone pays your fee the GPL also gives him or her the freedom to pass on the software with or without a fee.
5. May I remove "powered by Mambo, Copyright Miro etc" from the footer?
Yes you can although we would hope that you would retain it as a badge of honour.
6. May I remove the "copyright" statements from the source code to Mambo?
No, you must keep all copyright notices and credits in the source code.
7. Does the GPL mean that my website content is also GPL?
No.
The copyright and license of Mambo does not cover the content that you
create. Using Mambo does not place any restrictions, legally, on the
license or copyright you use for the content of your website.
8. I have modified Mambo for my own web site. Do I have to release these modifications?
The
GPL permits anyone to make a modified version for their own use without
the requirement to distribute it or pass on those changes to others.
9. I have made a modification (hack) to the Mambo core code. Do I have to release it under the GPL?
If
you chose to distribute your modifications to others it must be
released under the same terms that you received the original code. So
your modifications must be released under the GPL. You may of course in
this case modify the headers for the source code to include your own
copyright statement. If you do so you must clearly annotate in the
source code your amendments, changes or additions.
10. I have written a Component, Module, Template for Mambo. Do I have to release it under the GPL?
No The GPL allows you to write your own extensions for Mambo and to release those extensions under whatever license you chose.
11.
I have written a Component, Module, Template for Mambo and released it
under the GPL and I charge a fee for it, but website X is giving it
away for free.
If someone pays your fee the GPL also
gives him or her the freedom to pass on the software with or without a
fee. Placing a restriction on someone's use of GPL licensed software is
in breach of the GPL itself.
12. May I purchase a copy of Mambo, which has the copyright statements removed?
Although other GPL products may be available in this way Mambo is not.
13. I believe person A is in breach of the GPL what should I do?
You should report it. First check all the facts that you can and then report it by sending an e-mail to .
14. Who has the power to enforce the GNU GPL license of Mambo?
Only
the copyright holder, Miro International Pty Ltd, has the power to do
this. If the Mambo Development Team finds, or is made aware of, a
breach of the GPL they will report it to Miro for them to take any
necessary action.
Miro takes copyright infringement very seriously and will prosecute to the full extent of the law.
15.
Website X is using, or offering, my non-GPL Component, Module, Template
without my permission, or in breach of its license, can you help me?
Whilst
this is not within the remit or responsibility of Mambo we are willing
to act as intermediaries in this on your behalf. In most cases these
situations arise out of simple misunderstandings and can be settled
amicably. You should e-mail full details to .
DISCLAIMER
This
document refers to the software program Mambo, Version 4.x and all
subsequent versions, released under the GNU General Public License and
copyright Miro International Pty Ltd.
This document is subject to additions, modifications and other changes at any time without notice.
A
lawyer has not prepared this document. You should consult a lawyer
experienced in copyright, licensing and intellectual property for
clarification.