Mortgage rates drop....the market is better than you think

The first article, City warned fees may stunt growth, from the Arizona Republic, reports that noted state economist Elliott Pollack warned the Goodyear City Council that raising impact fees too high could stunt the city's future economic development. Pollack was commissioned to do an economic analysis after developers and city staff were concerned that the fee increases proposed in a July report were too steep. The study produced by an independent economic consulting firm suggested that Goodyear triple its impact fees from $9,000 per home to about $27,000. That number shocked many, including Goodyear officials. After some additional debate, the fee increase recommendation was lowered to $21,000 per home. Pollack said that if the fees are too high, developers might take their projects to neighboring cities that have lower impact fees. That could have Goodyear lose regional commercial developments that could generate huge sales-tax revenues for the city. Avondale is considering raising impact fees to about $18,000, while Surprise has talked about boosting theirs to $21,000. Developers pay impact fees to cities in order to build infrastructure for resident services, but builders just pass these fees on in the price of the home.

City warned fees may stunt growth
http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/1103swv-impact03Z5.html



The second article, Mortgage rates dip to 6.31 percent, from MSNBC.com, reports that rates on 30-year mortgages dropped this week to the lowest level in a month as financial markets viewed new evidence of a slowing economy as a sign that inflation will decline. Rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 6.31 percent this week, down from 6.40 percent last week. The article also states that in an effort to dispel some of the gloom surrounding housing at present, the National Association of Realtors announced that is beginning a series of newspaper ads proclaiming "it's a great time to buy or sell a home." The ads, which were to start appearing in newspapers on Friday, noted that mortgage rates have been falling recently and the near-record level of unsold homes means that buyers have more homes to choose from. The ad quotes former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan as saying that "most of the negatives in housing are probably behind us." Tom Stevens, the Realtors president, said, "The market is much better than you might hear or read." Mortgage rates dip to 6.31 percent
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7148582/