We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again…it is a great time to be a buyer! (Yes, exclamation point necessary.) Donald Trump even said it on Larry King the other night (we searched for a copy of the interview, but can’t find it…help?)
You can talk all you want about the the bottom not being near, but we’re telling you it is a great time to buy (if you have the means, and determination). Sure, prices may continue to decline, and there are a multitude of hurdles you will face with regards to financing, but it can be done, and you gotta think long term. Not only that, but don’t think about waiting for the price to drop on the home you’ve been eyeing. Make an offer. If you’re looking at a $4,000,000 house and it’s been sitting and you think it’s only worth $3,125,000…make an offer! If you’ve been tracking sales of $800,000 condos and you have an inkling your favorite one will soon be $750,000, make an offer for $700,000. Negotiate! [And read this new post on condo lending.] Come to a price you all agree on, if it doesn’t work for you, walk away. You, the buyer, have negotiating power for any property that is currently on the market in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. Take advantage of that power, historically low interest rates (we honestly never thought we’d see these lows again, but here they are), and the surplus of homes on the market to choose from. There are buyers out there lurking, and sellers ready to deal. Don’t believe all the crap you read on sites that love to pick rotten apples (imagine how shitty their apple pies taste with all those rotten apples they continue to pick), homes are trading, people are finding deals, and dreams are being made. It’s a great time to be a buyer in San Francisco, and we’re not just sayin’…
From the SF Biz Times:
Market watchers expect the Federal Reserve’s decision to buy U.S. Treasuries will drive down mortgage rates in coming weeks, and they are already falling.
Freddie Mac’s weekly rate report says 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average of 4.98 percent this week from 5.03 percent the previous week. The new average is just shy of the all-time low of 4.96 percent in mid-January.
A year ago, 30-year mortgages were averaging 5.87 percent.
Following the Fed’s announcement Wednesday of a new round of initiatives to speed economic recovery, yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell about a half percentage point. That was the largest one-day decline since Oct. 20, 1987.
Reports this week suggest homeowners are already lining up to lock in new mortgages at lower rates. Fannie Mae said this week its refinancing volume surged to $41 billion in February. The Mortgage Bankers Association says applications to refinance existing mortgages jumped 30 percent last week.
There is little incentive left for homeowners or buyers to choose riskier adjustable-rate mortgages.
The average one-year adjustable-rate mortgage was 4.91 percent this week, nearly on par with fixed-rate averages.
…and cue the normal (and expected) “you’re Realtors, so of course you’ll say it’s a good time to buy…sleeze bag” comments. We’ve heard it all before, so it’s gonna have to be interesting to grab our attention.
–Mortgage rates near all-time low [San Francisco Business Times]