An Ease in Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates have been on the rise for the last month, the 30-year fixed rate dropped again to 5.07% in the last week. A 15-year fixed rate mortgage dropped slightly too from 4.52% to 4.40%. The 15-year fixed mortgage is a popular choice for those who are looking to refinance. Experts say that low mortgage rates are available to those qualified borrowers who are willing to shop around.

California Home Prices Up 10%

In February Southern California home prices jumped 10% compared with February 09's numbers. This in part is due to foreclosure sales becoming less frequent, and it could also be a sign that homeowners with equity are looking to move up into more expensive homes. This was particularly true in San Diego and Orange Counties. Although it is beginning to look up, it could be year before the market is back to what is once was.

Historically Low Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates for 30-year home loans fell below 5% again this week according to the mortgage company Feddie Mac.

According to the LATimes.com the low rates have been engineered by the federal government in response to the deep recession. Not since the 1950s have rates remained so low for so long, said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, citing data from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

December shows .3% increase in Home Prices

Across the U.S. housing prices rose .3%. This is the seventh straight month that there has been an increase. Although a few cities showed declines in home prices over all it seems as though the country is take step to a recovery.

On a quarterly basis, U.S. home prices fell 2.5% compared with the fourth quarter of 2008.

Have we Hit Bottom?

The CEO of Freddie Mac believes that the housing market has finally hit bottom, though there is fear that the new wave of foreclosure coming through could hurt the recovery. In addition Haldeman the CEO of Freddie Mac said he expected the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to remain between 5 and 6 percent throughout 2010. Leading industry analyst are still divided on how the recovery will go.

Mortgage Rates a Little Lower

Fixed 30 year mortgage interest rates went down slightly but remain about 5% for the forth week in a row. Fixed 15 year mortgage rates were also down slightly from 4.50% to 4.45%. This is a popular mortgage for those who are refinancing, and looking to pay off their home quicker. The 5% rate may not last for long, as many people predict that rates will increase this year.

House Prices Down in Most Areas

Although there is some hope in the housing market with sales up, housing prices are still pretty flat. This is of course with the exception of larger California cities that posted solid gains with Los Angeles up 0.7%, San Diego up 1.1% and San Francisco up 1.7%. Areas such as the Inland Empire and San Bernandino still are showing losses.

Among the hardest hit was Las Vegas which has seen no signs of improvement this year. Many believe that Las Vegas is going to have problems for quite sometime, mainly because tourism is down so far, and there is little sign of improvement.