Yesterday we helped close the last of the first time home buyers who are eligible for the tax credit... or was that the end? Qualifying military personnel have another year and there is the extension to the extension.

Rates fell to their lowest levels since Freddie Mac started tracking them in 1971. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending June 24, 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.69%, down from 4.75% the previous week. The average for 15-year fixed fell to 4.13%. Adjustables were also down with the average for one-year adjustables falling to 3.77% and five-year adjustables decreasing to 3.84%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 5.42%. “Rates for all but traditional 1-year ARMs hit all-time record lows this week in our survey while activity in the housing market slowed in May following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Freddie Mac began collecting rates for 30-year fixed loans in April 1971, 15-year fixed loans in September 1991 and 5-year hybrid ARMs in January 2005. The record low for traditional 1-year ARMs of 3.36 percent oc curred during the week of March 25, 2004. Both new and existing home sales showed unexpected declines in May. Existing sales fell 2.2 percent, compared to the market consensus forecast of a 6.0 percent gain, based on figures published by the National Association of Realtors. Sales of new homes fell 32.7 percent to an annualized rate of 300,000 units, which was the largest monthly drop and slowest pace since records began in 1963, according to the Census Bureau." Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.