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Mortgage Rate Update Ending 3/18/09

Bankrate.com  conducts a weekly national survey on the interest rates for the five most common consumer banking products.  Here’s this week’s outcome:

• 30 Year Fixed Rate: 5.29 percent
• 30 Year Fixed Rate Jumbo: 6.88 percent
• 15 Year Fixed Rate: 4.86 percent
• 5/1 ARM (Adjustable): 5.24 percent
• 1 Year ARM (Adjustable): 5.48 percent 

Applications for mortgages increased sharply for the second straight week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancing activity grew by 30 percent, while applications for new purchases were up 1.5 percent.

There was also an unexpected jump in the construction of new homes for the month of February, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted 583,000, up 22 percent from January.

Knudsen’s Ice Creamery. Just a Lick Away from the Tri-Valley Area.

I scream for ice cream.  I have several top contenders for favorite flavors.  If you, like me, are an ice cream aficionado, then you’re in luck.  There’s a family-friendly creamery with tons of charm just west of the Tri-Valley in nearby Castro Valley that will satisfy your creamy cravings. 

According to the Knudsen’s Ice Creamery website, Dave and Kathy Knudsen have been in the candy and ice cream business for a long while.  First in San Francisco, the Knudsen’s owned an ice cream store, and then in Hayward the couple bought and expanded The Candy Factory.  In 2004, the Knudsen’s opened Knudsen’s Ice Creamery in a Castro Valley location that was formerly a different ice cream store.  The Knudsen’s remodeled the store and also added a working candy factory. In 2005, the Knudsen’s also began to make their own ice cream (Fenton’s had served well as their ice cream supplier when they originally opened.

Located conveniently on Castro Valley Blvd. (take the Strobridge exit from the 580, head east on Castro Valley Blvd, creamery will be on the south side of the street), this family-owned and operated restaurant is a real eating experience.  When I was trying to think about why I liked my meal at Knudsen’s so much, I realized that a trip to Knudsen’s feels like you are transported to Read more