Morning Briefing: Mortgage rates at 10-week low

Mortgage rates at 10-week low… California housing market set for “nominal increase” in 2017… DJ Khaled seeks New York duplex…

Mortgage rates at 10-week low
Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest in 10 weeks following the Fed’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows that the average rate for a 30-year FRM fell to 3.42 per cent in the week ending sept. 29, 2016 compared to 3.48 per cent a week earlier. It was 3.85 per cent a year ago.

Meanwhile, rates for a 15-year FRM averaged 2.72 per cent, down from 2.76 per cent a week earlier and 3.07 per cent a year earlier; and rates for a 5-year ARM averaged 2.81 per cent, up from 2.80 per cent a week earlier but down from 2.91 per cent a year earlier.
 
California housing market set for “nominal increase” in 2017
California has seen a dip in home sales in 2016 but should see a “nominal” increase in 2017 according to the California Association of Realtors.

"Next year, California’s housing market will be driven by tight housing supplies and the lowest housing affordability in six years," said C.A.R. President Pat "Ziggy" Zicarelli. "The market will experience regional differences, with more affordable areas, such as the Inland Empire and Central Valley, outperforming the urban coastal centers, where high home prices and a limited availability of homes on the market will hamper sales. As a result, the Southern California and Central Valley regions will see moderate sales increases, while the San Francisco Bay Area will experience a decline as home buyers migrate to peripheral cities with more affordable options."

For 2016, sales are projected to be slightly below 2015’s 408,800 existing single-family homes at 407,300. Median prices are forecast to be up 6.2 per cent to $503,900 and then slow to 4.3 per cent in 2017 to reach $525,600.
 
DJ Khaled seeks New York duplex
Hit-maker DJ Khaled has been viewing a duplex in New York, in a building popular with those in the music biz.

The penthouse at 234 E. 23rd Street was recently viewed by Adele, the New York Post reports, but could now become the new home for Khaled and his pregnant fiancé Nicole Tuck.

The four-bed duplex, listed at $12.5 million includes a rooftop BBQ terrace and hotel-style library.