Mortgage Rates See Biggest Plunge In Over A Decade

Last week, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined by 22 basis points from 4.28 percent to 4.06 percent, resulting in the biggest single-week decline in rates since 2008, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Survey released on Thursday, March 28.

Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said the drop is due to the Federal Reserve’s economic outlook, which predicted slowing economic growth.

“The Federal Reserve’s concern about the prospects for slowing economic growth caused investor jitters to drive down mortgage rates by the largest amount in over ten years,” he explained in a prepared statement.

This is good news for buyers as the dramatic drop in rates is expected to drive up home sales during the spring home buying season.

“Despite negative outlooks by some, the economy continues to churn out jobs, which is great for housing demand,” said Khater. “We have recently seen home sales start to recover and with this week’s rate drop we expect a continued rise in purchase demand.”

Bankrate economist Deborah Kearns estimates the lower mortgage rates will save buyers approximately $15.85 each month for every $100,000 they borrow in comparison to last week’s rates.

“At the current 30-year fixed rate, you’ll pay $487.27 each month for every $100,000 you borrow, down from $503.13 last week,” she explained.

* Original article by MARIAN MCPHERSON Staff Writer, Inman News

Celebrating Tower Cottage with ‘Bubble & Brew’

We recently hosted a fun Broker’s Open House event at one of our premiere in-town properties at 48 East Ridge Road with the ‘Bubble & Brew’ food truck! Realtors from the local area toured the home and enjoyed gourmet scones, croissants, tea, coffee and more on a beautiful, sunny Tuesday morning.

An iconic presence since it was a summer home for Jackie Bouvier Kennedy’s aunt, the beautifully updated Tower Cottage is a stone’s throw to all the Village has to offer including shops, restaurants, theaters, art galleries, spas, fitness studios and more!

Offered for sale at $2,475,000, the architectural treasure features original detailing & charm, yet is also perfectly suited for a modern lifestyle. Built in 1880 by renowned architect Charles B. Northrup, the impressive wrap-around porch leads into a spacious front hall with well-proportioned rooms, fabulous flow, 10-foot ceilings, 4 fireplaces & classic architectural details that cannot be reproduced today. The new kitchen features white custom cabinetry, Carrera marble countertops, a Bertazzoni stove, two wall ovens, separate full-size SubZero refrigerator & freezer units, & the original coal stove. Other rooms include a formal dining room, living room, breakfast room, butler’s pantry, 6 bedrooms, library & an office. Expansive views of the lawn, gardens, or gunite pool can be enjoyed from every window, but are most impressive from the three-story turret. Truly the definition of a Signature Property.

Click here to see more, or contact me to set up a showing.

Ridgefield is #1 Safest City in Connecticut, #2 in USA!

Ridgefield is a fabulous place to live…and a safe one too!!  According to SafeWise, Ridgefield ranks as Connecticut’s safest city and America’s second safest.  Read below for more details about how Ridgefield stacks up, as well as the SafeWise methodology for raking the cities.

A Closer Look At America’s Safest Cities

Nationally, violent crime is actually down over the past three years, with 70% of the safest cites in America residing in the Northeast. To find out more about the health of the nation, click here.

  • 30% of America’s 100 safest cities are in New Jersey. Connecticut claims second place with 14, and two of those are in the top three.
  • 16 of these cities made the list for the second consecutive year, and New Jersey is home to five of them.
    It’s harder to find one of the safest cities in the West or the South—those regions have only five cities each on our list.
  • The Midwest is home to 20% of the country’s safest cities.
  • The top three cities (Hopkinton, Massachusetts; Ridgefield, Connecticut; Madison, Connecticut) each reported zero violent crimes in 2017—and each has a median income of more than $100,000.⁴
  • 93% reported fewer than 10 total violent crimes, and only six cities reported any counts of murder.
  • 22 cities had fewer than 100 property crimes, and 70 had fewer than 200. Only two cities reported more than
  • 500 property crimes—Johns Creek, Georgia, and Carmel, Indiana (the two largest cities on the list).
  • 42 cities have populations under 20,000, and all are under 100,000.
  • Carmel, Indiana is the largest city on the list, with 93,098 citizens. Even with a big population, Carmel still managed to limit violent crime to just 0.18 incidents per 1,000 people.
  • 59% of the safest cities in America have a median income over $100,000.
  • Only two cities are below the national median income of $57,652—Laguna Woods, California, and Manchester Township, New Jersey.

A Closer Look At Connecticut’s Safest Cities

Overall, the Constitution State is well below national averages for both violent and property crime. Proving the point, 95% of the cities on our list saw fewer than one violent crime per 1,000 people, according to FBI data.

With such a low violent crime rate (it’s just 2.55), it’s no surprise that residents named digital security their top concern in our State of Safety study. And the numbers confirm this finding—just 6% of the people we spoke to reported a personal experience with violent crime in the past year, but 16% reported experiencing a digital security issue.

  • 85% of the safest cities are on the list for the second year.
  • 80% reported 25 or fewer total violent crime incidents.
  • Connecticut’s crime rates are better than the national averages, with 2.55 violent crime incidents per 1,000 people and 19.53 property crime incidents. Nationwide rates are 4.49 for violent crime and 27.11 for property crime.
  • 95% of the safest cities had fewer than one violent crime per 1,000 people in 2017.
  • Even though 16% of our State of Safety respondents had a personal experience with digital security in the past year, that’s eight percentage points below the national average of 24%.
  • Having someone access sensitive information is the primary digital security fear, with 73% naming it their top concern.
  • Being robbed is the top violent crime worry, and safest city reporting supports that—only three cities had zero incidents, and the reports ranged from one to 25, with a total of 146 being reported among all cities, which makes it the second-most common violent crime after aggravated assault (166).

 

** Data courtesy of SafeWise and first published on their site 03/14/2019