How Rising Mortgage Rates Could Boost Home Sales

Reader Comments
Back to blog

Jane: Yes, I concur - it's the unregulated banking Industry that's still not taking any fully legitimate course of action to correct what they've caused - because Geithner and Bernanke are still at the helm. This will never change.
I'm waiting to see how many foreclosures will hit the market this spring... And the paperwork, based on what I've read, is still being pushed through without a complete investigation of it! This means, of course, that new purchasers of those houses will be at risk of having houses with bad titles.
I wonder if the rising mortgage rates will force some homeowners to be a little more logical when pricing their homes and actually lower their prices. When we lived in NY (outside NYC), we priced our house right and got out in the knick of time. People in Asheville don't seem to understand what's really happening out there, though and many houses appear way overpriced... So, they sit on the market for well over a year. Or they sit and then come off and go on as rentals (or people do both).
We have great access to a database that shows us when a house was last purchased and what the price was. I'm in no position to bail out someone who bought a house at the height of the market and wants to recupe their costs. How can this ever be fixed?
Agents will never admit this but it's obviously what's happening.

B of NC 3:09PM February 11, 2011

Median price homes need to fall to a level that median Income can afford. The old rules of thumb, 33% of your income for housing, you should not more thatn duble you debt to income ratio. When we get there then we should consider if there is another shoe to drop.

Tom of PA 4:41PM December 14, 2010

Rising interest rates won't affect the housing market. Sure, some fence sitters will buy. But many more will decide against it.
Unemployment will stay high for at least five years, until new industries can be developed. Meanwhile, temporary and part-time jobs will continue to be the norm in the U.S. -- underpaid with no benefits. Who can buy without the security of a full-time job, regardless of whether interest rates are low or high?
The so-called discount housing now on the market is nothing but housing at the price it would have been had it not been for mortgage meddlers. In terms of salaries, which haven't risen for ten years, it's no more affordable than before, and it's a lot less attractive to many.
Now, B of A is selling reams of toxic mortgages to unknown investors -- likely meaning many more foreclosures will flood the market.
BTW, it's not interest rates that aren't "cooperating" with the Fed -- it's the unregulated banking industry that's not cooperating.

jane of GA 3:33PM December 14, 2010