Mortgage Rates Return to 2013 Levels as Bonds Rally

Homebuyers have to wait for refinancing to pick up longer to be able to make the biggest purchase of their lives as mortgage rates return to 2013 levels, a Yahoo! report examining the correlation of mortgage price movements and the bond market stated.

“Recently, mortgage rates have been stuck around 4.25% even though bonds have been rallying. The issue may be that originators are beginning to extend credit to borrowers that they would have turned down last year. Over the past year, the only loans that were getting done were conforming loans and high-quality jumbos,” the report said.

The report explained that bonds and mortgage rates have stopped correlating during the past few months although it seems that the trend has clearly reversed. 30-year fixed mortgage rates declined by nine basis points at 4.14 percent, as yields for ten-year bonds rallied and their yields drop by five basis points.

Lower rates give homeowners the chance to refinance, which allow them to boost their disposable income and in turn, drive economic growth. Bank of America Corp. analysts said that mortgage rates would have to decline to 3.8 percent and the 10-year Treasury yield to go below two percent for refinancing to “really pick up,” according to Bloomberg.

With mortgage rates increasing, and with many homeowners finding it difficult to apply for a loan, loan originators offering stated income loans have increased. This would be beneficial for home builders, especially in markets with rising activities. 

The report suggest investing in homebuilder stocks like the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF XHB, but another place where revenues from the slowly rebounding industry are trickling down into is online real estate stocks. Mergers and acquisitions are hot in the said segment and many emergent players have the potential to grow into billions. With existing home sales weak this month--1.8 percent down month-over-month to 5.05 million—it may be wiser to invest in real estate marketing technologies.

One good stock in mind is Realbiz Media Group, Inc. RBIZ. Realbiz Media is a Florida-based digital media company that develops proprietary video marketing software that agents and their brokers can use to promote their virtual tour listings online.

Realbiz Media is a Florida-based digital media company that develops proprietary video marketing software that agents and their brokers can use to promote their virtual tour listings online.

The company was reported to have developed over 28 patented technologies, as of this posting. One of its products, Nestbuilder.com, is a great platform for publishing virtual tour listings and personalized agent profiles which realtors can use as they build their network. Within a year, the consumer site has grown its number of listings to 1.6 million.

According to equity research firm Goldman Small Cap Research, the valuation of the stock is expected to rise up to $7 from $4 this year. The firm, which issued the company a speculative buy early this year, stated that the Realbiz Media’s key relationship and partnership with technology vendors and big name real estate brokerage firms will enable it to expand its virtual home tour listings network and push its valuations up.

Realbiz Media’s platforms, applications and web sites feature social integration, which allow agents to cross-publish their posts to social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

To learn more about Realbiz Media and its products, contact sales@realbizmediagroup.com or call 1.888.REAL.BIZ (888.732.5249).