Mortgage rates above 5% for 1st time in 3 months

Rates on 30-year home loans surged above 5 percent for the first time in nearly three months this week as investors pushed up rates on long-term government debt, which is closely tied to mortgage rates.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.29 percent this week, from an average of 4.91 percent a week earlier. It was the highest weekly average in nearly six months.

Higher rates could endanger any recovery in the housing market since borrowers would be able to borrow less money and might decide to hold off on their purchases.

It's now easier to challenge your property tax bill!

It just got easier to get the assessed value of any property that you own lowered if you feel there is cause. The process is involved but it got a little easier today when Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill that makes it easier to challenge how much a property is worth.

The bill lowers the burden of proof for owners who dispute property tax assessments to a preponderance of the evidence – a lower standard than the clear and convincing threshold they now must meet to overturn a property appraiser’s estimate.

Local governments had successfully stopped earlier efforts to lower the standard. In the just-signed version, property appraisers still enjoy the presumption that their estimates are correct, but the legislative analysts say the bill will cost local governments $157 million during the current fiscal year, increasing to $693 million a year by 2013.

Mortgage rates rising!

Mortgage rates at some lenders spiked by as much as 1 percent last Wednesday and saw little relief on Thursday, according to mortgage brokers.

“The 4.75 percent my broker quoted two weeks ago? There’s no way I’m going to get that now.”

The fear dogging homeowners and investors alike is that April’s record lows in mortgage rates may have come and gone.

The stock market has rallied since early March on the assumption the economy will rebound later this year. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been calling early signs of economic stabilization “green shoots” – and one of those shoots was a pickup in refinancing activity caused by tumbling mortgage rates.

But mortgage rates have rebounded sharply over the past few days as the nation’s growing debt raises concerns that government-backed assets could lose some of their value. It’s a trend that could slow both refinancing and home buying if it continues. Higher mortgage rates won’t necessarily derail the economy’s recovery, analysts say, but it certainly won’t help.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is back at 4.91 percent this week, up from 4.82 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday.