Mortgage Rates Rise as Housing Ends Year on High Note

Average mortgage rates went up this week as the housing market ended 2011 on a high note, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of rates.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.98% for the week ending Jan. 26, reversing its previous three-week trend of setting all-time record lows. Still, this marks the eighth consecutive week the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has remained below 4%.

Last week it averaged 3.88% and last year at this time it was at 4.8%.

New Home Sales Drop 2.2% in December as 2011 Hits Record Low

New single-family home sales fell 2.2% to an annual rate of 307,000 in December from 314,000 a month earlier, according to the Commerce Department.

The seasonally adjusted rate, dropped 7.3% from 331,000 a year earlier. The preliminary estimate for actual new homes sold in 2011 came in at 302,000, 6.2% below 323,000 sold in 2010. Annual sales marked a new low since at least 1963, the start of Commerce Department records.

For some perspective, builders sold 1.28 million new homes in 2005.

Foreclosures for Sale: 34% Off

Foreclosure homes sold for 34 percent less than the average price of a non-distressed home during the third quarter of 2011, according to new data released by RealtyTrac recently.

The average sales price of homes in the process of foreclosure or bank-owned was $165,322 over the July-to-September period last year.

RealtyTrac says third parties purchased a total of 221,536 residential properties classified as foreclosures or REO during the third quarter of 2011, representing just 20 percent of all residential sales during that timeframe.