Where are mortgage rates ahead of the Fed meeting?
The national average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage ended Tuesday’s session down 0.01% to 6.80%*. The bond market rallied on slightly softer than expected jobs and consumer confidence data. However, volatility followed after the headlines from the Middle East started to emerge in the afternoon.
There may be a headline-driven impact at the start of trading today, but all eyes will shift towards the Fed announcement in the early afternoon.
Every market watcher will be paying close attention to every word from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. If Powell indicates that a rate cut is likely in September, the market will likely react positively. However, if Powell sounds like he needs to see more data before a decision, we could see rates head back towards the 7.00% range.
How is the San Diego housing market performing?
Recent data published by Axios indicated that roughly one in three homes in San Diego County saw their sale price cut recently. That’s over 14% higher than the national average, and indicates that buyers are looking at a lower price point than sellers are offering.
When asked about the San Diego market, Zillow economist Skylar Olsen stated, “A housing market that for years has been defined by fast sales and few options is starting to look more like it did before the pandemic in terms of competition among buyers and their negotiating power.”
However, San Diego is still a hot housing market. Homes in the area only last about 16 days on average and receive about five offers.
Are there cities that will pay cash for folks to move there?
A friend of a friend always has a story about how they moved to an area and the government paid them to move there. It might actually be true depending on the market.
Several areas actually do offer grants or incentives to have people move in. The team at Realtor.com compiled a list of areas that range from mid-sized metros such as Tulsa, OK to small town areas like Jacksonville, IL.
They even included the Greater Rochester, NY area that offers up to $9,000 in grants for purchasing a home in the nine-county region. Candidates must be over 18 years old, eligible to work in the U.S., live at least 300 miles from Rochester and relocate within six months of accepting the grant.
According to Barb Egenhofer, director of talent strategy at the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, they’ve had some success with the program. Egenhofer stated, “We have found many of our movers come for the freshwater access, change in seasons, vibrant community offerings, great place to raise a family, inclusivity and many, many more reasons.”
* National average rates as of 7/30/2024 are included for educational purposes only and are not advertised rates from Rate.
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