Home Affordability

Wow is this a crazy statistic from CNNMoney.  “The typical American family who makes the nation’s median income of $64,000 a year, could afford to buy 70.8% of all homes sold in the United States during the last three months of 2009, according a quarterly report from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo”

Again this is due to low interest rates and property values declining over the past couple of years.  If you are thinking of buying now is the time to see what you need to do to buy.  I think it is so important to get pre-approved ahead of time and I am not saying a day before you go out with your realtor.  Too many people, even those who own or owned a home before, have no idea what their payments will be and the costs involved.  Be prepared. 

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/17/real_estate/most_affordable_cities/index.htm?section=money_realestate&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_realestate+%28Real+Estate%29

Low Mortgage Rates Tempt Hesitant Buyers

I have been saying this for awhile now.  People want to buy because of the record low interest rates and home affordability.  The tax credit is just a bonus. 

Also, make sure when reading the headlines on interest rates you notice that it says the AVERAGE rate for the week ENDING.  Take rates today, they are much higher than 4.71% paying .7% because bonds have gotten much worse the past 3 days especially today since the unemployment figure dropped unexpectedly. 

“Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.71 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 3, 2009”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/record-low-mortgage-rates-beckon-home-buyers-2009-12-03?siteid=rss