30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Matches All-Time Record Low at 3.94%

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.94% with an average 0.8 point for the week ending December 15, 2011, down from last week when it averaged 3.99 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.83%.

Upcoming Tri-Cities Weekend Events

http://www.visittri-cities.com/events/

Great resource to see what events and activities are happening around town. Sign up to receive weekly updates by email and never have a dull weekend again!

Tri-Cities Real Estate Market Update

There were 229 closings in November 2011, one less than November 2010. Months of inventory was 5.1, up from 4.2 in November 2010. The average price of homes sold this year to date is $199,659 up $3,504 from the same time in 2010. The Tri-Cities had 237 new properties go under contract in November 2011, up 1.3% from November 2010.

Notice of Trustee Sales (foreclosures) continues to trend downward compared to 2010. In fact, there were 13 notices last month, down 70% from last November.

The Tri-Cities real estate market is steady and is forecasted to be one of the top 20 healthiest housing markets in the nation for 2012.

Tri-Cities Named Most Secure Place to Live in the United States

FARMERS INSURANCE NEWS RELEASE -- The Kennewick–Richland–Pasco, Wash., area is the most secure place to live in the United States among mid-size cities, according to the Eighth Annual Farmers Insurance Group of Companies® study.

The rankings, compiled by database experts at www.bestplaces.net, took into consideration crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, environmental hazards, terrorist threats, life expectancy, mortality rates from cancer and motor vehicle accidents, and job loss numbers in 127 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations between 150,000 and 500,000.

Kennewick Named Second Strongest US Housing Market

Personal Finance News from Yahoo!

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/111989/where-will-housing-bounce-back-most?mod=realestate-buy

Good news! Also in this morning’s USA Today paper the article “In Housing Bust, A New Normal” they mention Benton County. It shows counties in the black, meaning counties with the lowest shares of homeowners with mortgages that have negative equity. Which means that our housing prices have been appreciating and only 4.3% of homeowners who have a mortgage owe more than their home is worth. Again, good news!

Housing Market Snapshot: Tri-Cities - Realtor.com

The Tri-Cities – Benton and Franklin Counties – has been the one area of the state with consistently affordable housing. Even as the population of the area has grown rapidly over the past decade, prices have remained moderate, increasing in step with earnings. The area did not see a big price run-up during the bubble, and has not seen prices fall in the downturn.

The population of the Tri-Cities has grown nearly 20 percent since 2000, and is closing in on 250,000 people. Since 2002, median home prices have increased 29 percent, while average wages have increased 25 percent. But with the drop in interest rates, average monthly payments for the median home have held steady in current dollar terms.

Home construction has fallen far from its peak in 2004. The pace of construction has leveled off, and with continued population growth, builders can expect to ramp up in the coming years. We can expect the Tri-Cities to remain one of the housing bright spots in the state.

Michael Luis & Associates—December, 2010

Tri-Cities Herald Article 1/20/11 - 1,600 Layoffs in the Works at Hanford

The article states that two Hanford contractors announced late Wednesday afternoon that about 1,600 employees will have to be laid off as federal economic stimulus spending ends later this year.

At first glance, the headlines lends for someone to easily say the sky is falling. But reading the article leads to a little different story. The layoffs were expected to a large degree, because of the end of stimulus money. A percentage of the layoffs will be to hires who knew that their jobs were short term and either are living in travel trailers (as we know all of the RV parks are full), or are currently renting. A percentage of the layoffs will end up selecting retirement instead of searching for a new job or have to move out of the area. Another percentage of the layoffs will be hired on by another of the contracting companies and finally the last group will have to relocate. What percentages each of these groups will carry is yet to be determined.

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/01/20/1333876/1600-layoffs-in-the-works-at-hanford.html#ixzz1Bh4pofFV