Fixed Mortgage Rates Fall. Good News for Builders and Buyers Alike

Fixed rate mortgage interest rates fell this week to the lowest level this year. The average 30-year rate dropped to 4.71% while the 15-year rate fell to 3.89% according to Freddie Mac

This was the third week in a row of falling mortgage interest rates and it comes right at the beginning of the Spring home buying season.

Atlanta area home builders are hopeful that these lower rates will increase interest in buying a new home her in the troubled Georgia real estate market.

While home prices have fallen and a bulk of builders' inventory of spec homes are still available, there is some good news for Georgia home builders according to AtlantaRealEstateForum.com which reported that "inventories of finished vacant homes fell 36% in Atlanta last year, more than any other region studied. And, from July 2007 to July 2010, Georgia’s population grew 20%, twice as much as any other state. Meanwhile only 8.6% of Georgia’s subprime mortgages are in foreclosure, far below the national average of 13.2%."

AtlantaRealEstateForum.com suggests that these statistics point to a potentially bright future for Atlanta area home builders. With mortgage interest rates down and existing inventories housuing inventories being depleted, if credit can become not quite as tight, Georgia home builders see the potential for a comeback to normalcy.

In addition to the improved outlook for builders, lower 15 and 30-year rates will also help make buying a first home more affordable for young families.

Overall as the weather warms, one ccn see hopeful signs that the Atlanta area housing market mat at long last begin returning to normal