A large percentage of homeowners in Summit County are from the Denver Front Range, and conventional wisdom has speculators predicting that as the real estate economy improves in Denver, so too will it improve here. As joblessness decreases, homeownership increases, and some measure of optimism returns to the market, home buyers will return to the high country where we have even more to offer than all the best attributes of Denver! Anybody lucky enough to live in Colorado can have the best of both worlds, with a vibrant capitol city, and a massive playground just one hour away!
There are a few indicators showing improvement in the outlook for the real estate market over the next 6-18 months. Mortgage interest rates are at a 50-year low, and according to industry analysts, should stay low in the coming months. The Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee did the inevitable this week and kept its target for the federal funds rate unchanged, at a range of zero percent to 0.25 percent. As a result, the prime rate remains 3.25 percent. That means interest rates will stay unchanged for consumer debt that is pegged to the prime rate, including home equity lines of credit and some credit cards. On top of that, the Fed will more than double its purchases of mortgage-backed securities. That should put a ceiling on the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, which has been below 6 percent all year and could conceivably park itself below 5.5 percent for months to come.
Posted by: Jeffery McClintock
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