“Mortgage rates moved little in the past week, as the latest economic news gave no reason for change,â€? said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “The economy added 97,000 jobs in February, in line with consensus expectations, while the unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent. But the promising employment situation did not materialize at the cash registers, with retail sales only growing by 0.1 percent in February, falling short of the 0.3 percent gain that had been predicted.”

Today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.14 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week ending March 15, 2007, unchanged from last week when it averaged 6.14 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.34 percent.

Real Estate Trends Report Asks MLS, Industry Asset or Public Utility

While brokers grapple with the parochial issues - both practical and legal - consumer demand continues to grow for more and more real estate information with listing data atop the pile. If brokers wish to remain at the forefront of consumer awareness and the existing MLS system has any hopes of surviving intact, it will have to re-engineer itself into a  standardized mega regional or national system that will be relevant and meaningful to brokers, agents and consumers alike.
By some estimates, $1 trillion worth of adjustable-rate mortgages will reset this year, creating “payment shock” for consumers who didn’t see it coming — and even for those who did but hoped to be in better financial shape before their payments ballooned.

On the House | Mortgage refinancing boom may be on horizon

“I believe some of the unsettling news lately in the financial markets inspired consumers to think about their own financial situation, and many made a move last week, as reflected in the refinance statistics,” Svinth said.

The second time was to convert a 6.25 percent hybrid (I think it was a 5/1) to a 5.375 percent fixed. I was on the phone to my broker just about every two days in the six months between the ARM and the fixed-rate mortgage, asking if it was time yet. (Now, if I could only negotiate a lower property-tax rate with the borough.)

From the National Association of Mortgage Brokers comes this caveat: Be aware of all the fees and closing costs you will incur - refinancing is not free. Ask for a written list of the costs.

“Stock market problems, talk of recession, and the ‘flight to quality’ ” - investors dumping money into safe, though lower-yielding, Treasury bonds - “all point that way,” said Fred Glick, president of USLoans L.L.C. in Philadelphia.

The long-term, 30-year fixed-rate roller-coaster is headed downward, observers say.

Today news

Just a few months into 2007 and New York’s real estate market is already breaking records. New Jersey real estate family the Kushners have sealed the deal on 666 Fifth Ave. for $1.8 billion, the largest amount ever paid for a single building. The 41-story skyscraper, located between 52nd and 53rd streets, was bought from Tishman Speyer Properties. The 26-year-old scion of Kushner Companies, Jared Kushner, signed the record-breaking contract. The building currently houses several high-powered law firms and bankers as well as the exclusive cigar room the Grand Havana Room a haunt of the politically-connected and wealthy.—Rhea Saran

The ultra-luxe 48 Bond Street is filling up. According to Robert McCain, a Stribling Marketing Associates broker, four of the 14 available units have been contracted in the past five weeks. 48 Bond is scheduled to open in the fall of this year. Though it only spans two blocks between Broadway and Bowery, cobblestone Bond St. in Manhattan’s NoHo is now the talk of the town with a swanky new charcoal-granite building with a glass façade. At 11 stories high, the building comprises 14 two-bedroom/two-bath units and three penthouse apartments, which are currently selling for an estimated $2.1 million to $2.5 million each, feature double paneled windows with motorized blinds, a washer and dryer, 10-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, walnut floors and stainless steel appliances.—Elizabeth Valerio

In the 1920s, an American financier built a cavernous office for himself in Grand Central Terminal. In 1999, at a cost of $1.5 million in renovations alone, the space was converted into its current avatar, a lush bar called the Campbell Apartment. Last week an interior designer from London – coincidentally named Campbell, too – gave the bar a 12-hour, $350,000 facelift, a feat accomplished such that the train station bar didn’t have to close for even a night.—R.S.