If you haven't been paying attention, you might be surprised to see the change in mortgage rates this past month! Guest contributor Michael Borodinsky, a Mortgage Broker in Edison, has written an article about the recent spike and I wanted to share it with you. Mortgage Rates Skyrocket, Could Go Higher - 30-year fixed rates average 3.94% Mortgage rates shot up to the highest level since the first week of the year thanks to the election, and a further increase could lie ahead in the next week. During October, 30-year note rates averaged 3.76 percent, up from 3.75 percent the previous month when it was the lowest it's been since May 2013. But 30-year interest rates on residential loans have still improved compared to the same month last year, when the average note rate was 4.25 percent. Those findings were derived from Ellie Mae Inc.'s Origination Insight Report | October 2016. Last month's average 30-year rate was 3.82 percent on conventional mortgages, 3.74 percent on loans insured by theFederal Housing Administration and 3.53 percent on mortgages guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. In just the week ended Nov. 17, thirty-year fixed rates averaged 3.94 percent -- the highest average since it was 3.97 percent in the week ended Jan. 7 -- according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. So, the best way to look at it……………..is that rates are EXACTLY where there were at the beginning of 2016. The 30 year skyrocketed from 3.57 percent in Freddie's prior report and 3.97 percent a year prior. "Last week's election fell in the middle of our survey week, making it impossible to determine how closely the mortgage rate would track the post-election sell-off in the Treasury market," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti stated in the report. "This week, the verdict is in -- over the last two weeks the 30-year mortgage rate jumped 40 basis points to 3.94 percent, almost identical to the 39 basis point increase in the 10-year Treasury yield. "If rates stick at these levels, expect a final burst of home sales and refinances as 'fence sitters' try to beat further increases, then a marked slowdown in housing activity." The Mortgage Bankers Association predicted in its MBA Mortgage Finance Forecast that 30-year fixed rates will average 3.9 percent this quarter, 4.0 percent in the first-quarter 2017 and 4.1 percent the following quarter. In the week that concluded on Nov. 11, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index report from OpenClose and Mortgage Daily had jumbo interest rates 7 BPS higher than conforming rates, the same as one week prior. Fifteen-year fixed rates averaged 3.14 percent in Freddie's survey, soaring 26 BPS from the week ended Nov. 10, 2016. Rates on 15-year loans were 80 BPS lower than 30-year rates. The spread widened substantially from 69 BPS in the last report. EVERYTHING IS A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE. CURRENT RATES ARE BY HISTORICAL LEVELS, EXTREMELY LOW AND SUPPORTIVE OF HOUSING. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY AND FINANCE WHILE THE GOING IS GOOD  Michael Borodinsky
Vice President/Regional Builder Branch Manager, NMLS #460228 343 Thornall street Suite 550 | edison, NJ 08837 (O)732-382-2654 (M) 908-202-7293 (F) 855-753-7379 michael.borodinsky@caliberhomeloans.com www.michaelnewhomemortgage.com
How did it get so cold so fast?! Now's the time to think about minimizing winter's wear and tear on your house. My guest contributor Todd Baumann of Allstate Insurance has recently written about a common winter headache - ice damming on your roof. Here's his advice:  With winter season under way, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety is offering guidance on how homeowners can protect their property from winter weather- related damage. As always, know your limitations and seek professional assistance when necessary. When interior heat melts the snow on a roof, the water may run down and refreeze at the roof’s edge, where temperatures are colder. The resulting ice build-up (an ice dam) blocks water from draining off the roof, forcing water under the roof covering and into the attic or down the inside walls of the house. Please consider taking these actions to decrease the likelihood that an ice dam will form or, at least, reduce its size:
Todd Baumann 695 U.S. Highway 202-206 Bridgewater, NJ 08807 Phone: 908-429-8700 Fax: 908-429-7878 Baumann Insurance Group 9084298700 Your Allstate agent Two large companies are consolidating their multiple NJ offices into one location, and Basking Ridge is the beneficiary for one! Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. is co-locating their existing Parsippany and Edison based teams into their new Headquarters at 211 Mount Airy Road in Basking Ridge, which has housed Avaya Inc. for many years. According to their Linked-In Page, the move should be complete in early to mid-2017. Avaya will be moving its offices to Mount Kemble Corporate Center in Morristown. Pharmaceutical company Allergan will be consolidating their Parsippany, Bridgewater and Rockaway locations into a new Headquarters at 5 Giralda Place in Madison. According to NJBiz, the move will keep 1,000 jobs and can potentially create 300 more (njbiz.com: Lincoln Equities Group explains how it lured Allergan to 5 Giralda).
In small business news, New Jersey Academy of Music (NJAOM) is expecting to be moved into 37 Stonehouse Road in Basking Ridge late November. NJAOM is opening a world class facility for classical music instruction for individuals and groups in many musical disciplines. The Academy has an impressive roster of faculty and will offer private instruction, initially in violin, piano, viola, guitar, cello, and composition, with the possibility for expansion to other disciplines in 2017. The Academy will welcome beginners through advanced students and will include an ensemble class for all studio students. Karen's Dollhouse has re-opened a retail shop at 24 West Oak Street, housing miniatures, dollhouses and accessories. For over 25 years Karen has been involved with dollhouse miniatures and specializes in handcrafting detailed resin miniatures, featuring her creations in a twice annual Dollhouse and Miniature Show at the Somerset Hills Hotel in Warren, as well as on Ebay and Etsy. In addition to dollhouses, the miniatures are sought after for dioramas, fairy gardens and other applications. In celebration of her grand re-opening, Karen's Dollhouse Shop will be giving away a finished dollhouse on December 22. Stop in any time to enter the drawing - no purchase necessary!
 What is there to do in the garden in November or December? Plenty if the weather stays decent and you want to get a jump on next year!
Cleaning up the yard and garden is first on the list for the rest of us! Cut back your shrubs, pull annuals and any lingering weeds, and drop a layer of hay on tender strawberry and vegetable beds. Leave it through the spring - it makes a fine mulch as long as the layer isn't too thick! Protect vulnerable plants and trees from both cold winds and deer with wraps. If your sprinklers have been off for several weeks, check on trees and shrubs for dryness. You might need to give them one last watering by hose before winter and frozen grounds set in. Now is the time to clean off and store lawn furniture, pots and garden decor - before the first serious frost damages them. Take note of anything that needs repair or replacement before using next spring, you might get a bargain fixing or replacing it off-season. If you planted cold weather veggies like kale, spinach or cauliflower in August, you are probably harvesting now. If you didn't - put a note on your calendar for next year! If you have easy access to your vegetable bed, adding a cold frame now will extend the growing season well into winter, particularly if we are lucky enough to have a mild one. Lastly, take photos and measurements of beds or areas for future planting. You can spend many happy cold winter hours dreaming and planning for next year! I created a video yesterday with our town as the backdrop and hope you enjoy it. I sell approximately $23MM in sales volume each year, mostly in town, and Zillow ranks me as having the most sales of homes located in Basking Ridge regardless of company as do several other organizations. More importantly, I love our town, and bringing new faces and spreading enthusiasm to help sellers and buyers, being a matchmaker of sorts, is the ultimate measure of why I love what I do! Please enjoy the video!
Fans of all things miniature will be happy to know that Karen Aird is re-opening her retail shop on October 22 at 24 West Oak Street!
Tiny animals, furniture, flowers and other items of daily living are expertly handcrafted by Karen and others to use in dollhouses, dioramas, and even fairy gardens. For over 25 years Karen has been involved with dollhouse miniatures and specializes in handcrafting detailed resin miniatures, featuring her creations in a twice annual Dollhouse and Miniature Show at the Somerset Hills Hotel in Warren, as well as on Ebay and Etsy. The new retail shop will stock house kits for Do - It - Yourself and loads of supplies made by Karen and others. New houses that are finished will be available, and if you want, Karen can repair or refurbish your old one. See what she has to offer at www.karensdollhouse.com. In celebration of her grand re-opening, Karen's Dollhouse Shop will be giving away a finished dollhouse on December 22. Stop in any time to enter the drawing - no purchase necessary! |
AuthorMarie and her Coldwell Banker office "crew" love living and working in Basking Ridge! We bring you some of the latest and greatest news and events the area has to offer! Archives
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