Rates Continue Downward
 In Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.31 percent, with an average 0.4 point, for the week ending September 28, 2006. This is the lowest the 30-year FRM has been since the week of March 2, 2006, when it averaged 6.24 percent.
"This week's economic releases, which showed a slight one-year decline in both new and existing house prices in August, fell short of market expectations and prompted market analysts to reassess
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how much the housing sector will contribute to economic growth in the coming year," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist. "As a result, mortgage rates declined even further this week."
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New Buyers Are
Bred on Bytes
 A marketing company that focuses on the needs of Generation X'ers - that home buyer group born between 1961 and 1981 - says homes that show they can accommodate upscale gadgetry are most likely to whet the appetite of this mainstream buyer.
Generational Marketing Corp. is recommending that home sellers showcase technology features in their homes, such as availability of phone jacks and cable outlets, as well as extra space that can be freed up for an at-home office. Gen X'ers "will demand special wiring for cables, phone lines and electrical outlets, clustered together properly," says the firm. "A home that appeals to an X'er welcomes the future." |
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A New Wind's a' Blowin'
 There's a new wind blowing, and it's not from a hurricane or tornado. It's from windmills. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the country's wind energy installations now exceed 10,000 megawatts in generating capacity, and produce enough electricity on a typical day to power the equivalent of over 2.5 million homes. "Wind energy is providing new electricity supplies that work for our country's economy, environment, and energy security," said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher.
Today, the industry is installing more wind power in a single year -- an estimated 3,000 MW expected this year -- than the amount operating in the entire country just six years ago -- 2,500 MW. |
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Youngster's Drive
Housing Market
 Young adults are more likely to buy a home at a younger age than their older brothers and sisters as well as their baby boomer parents, according to research from the National Association of Realtors. They aren't even waiting for marriage or even a long-term relationship before becoming homeowners.
"The next generation of home owners is beginning to exert its influence on the housing market," said NAR President Thomas M. Stevens. "Many younger buyers have seen the wealth-building effects of homeownership in their parents and understand the value of housing as a good long-term investment."
The percentage of first-time homebuyers under age 25 has been increasing in response to historically low interest rates and continued confidence in the long-term housing market, from 11 percent in 2001 to 14 percent in 2005, according to the 2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
"Owning a home is no more burdensome than renting, and in the long term, it's the better investment," said Kristen Carreira, a 26-year-old homeowner in Pittsburgh who also is part of another trend, that of single female home buyers.
While married couples are still the norm, they represent a smaller share of the home buying public than they did just 10 years ago, from 70% of home buyers in 1995 to 61% today. |
