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Real Estate News by the Numbers: Week of May 5 – May 11

Douglas Lazovick
1 min read

A quick rundown of the important real estate news from the week of May 5 – May 11, by the numbers:

3.83% – Average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage this week according to Freddie Mac. The rate is once again an all-time record low, falling 0.01% below last week’s record average.

3.05% – Average rate on a 15 year fixed mortgage this week according to Freddie Mac, also a record. Last week’s rate averaged 3.07%.

10 – Number of housing markets that are expected to have double digit price gains through 2013. “Home prices will also be driven higher as banks opt for short sales instead of repossessions.”

98% – Number of housing markets where it’s cheaper to Buy than to Rent.

0.4% – Decrease in the national median home price for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.

79% – Number who refinanced in the first quarter of 2012, who either maintained or reduced their principal mortgage balance. Broken down, 58% maintained the same loan amount and 21% reduced their loan balance.

$14.75 Million – List price for singer Billy Joel’s Miami Beach estate. The mansion was bought in 2006 and is 9,200 square feet.

367,000 – Weekly unemployment benefit claims for the week ending on May 5th. The seasonally adjusted number is down 1,000 from the previous week.

5.76% – Amount of homeowners who were 60 days delinquent on their mortgage in the first quarter of 2012. It’s the lowest delinquency rate since the fourth quarter of 2009.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.