Good News for Buyers....

Here's an email I got from one of my lenders today. Very good news and a GREAT time to be a buyer....

Good morning Craig,

 

I’ve never had the experience of riding in a Shelby Supercars Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo, but between the possible $18,000 in tax credits.., mortgage rates back in the mid-4% range, housing starts hitting a record since 1990 and purchase applications up over 7%, I feel like I’m about to board the housing industry’s version of a Shelby. 

 

As if the $8,000 federal income tax credit for first-time homebuyers wasn’t enough incentive to buy a how about an ADDITIONAL $10,000 state tax credit for buying a NEW home!  And what if this credit was NOT limited to first-time homebuyers nor by income requirements (the Federal credit is limited to those households earning $150k AGI; $75k single…)?!!!  That’s right your first-time-homebuyer clients may be eligible for $18,000 in tax credits just for buying a new home in CA, WOW!  But if you’re not a first-timer and still want to buy, say 861 Channing in Palo Alto as a primary residence, a $10,000 state credit is nothing to sneeze at.  Please make sure to lick on the link above for a summary, the details and other helpful links.

 

Want more incentive to buy a home?  OK, how about the fact that conforming-level mortgages (loans up to $729,750, FHA included) are now priced back in that 4% range..?  This is all thanks to the Fed for stepping up efforts to buy more mortgage-backed securities, which of course means that we’re printing more money again, but it makes the tax-adjusted* payment on a $600,000 30-year fixed mortgage incredibly attractive at about $2,200 per month (including principal).

 

If huge tax credits and lowest interest rates in history aren’t enough to spur home buying, how about even more data supporting the fact that this market is about to turn?  With housing starts setting a record not seen since 1990, ending a 10-month decline, it’s obvious that the builders and developers are confident that land and materials aren’t going to get any cheaper, and that now is the time to act.

 

You probably heard that purchase mortgage applications were up 7.1% for the month of February, which is a very encouraging sign that people are preparing to buy; and on a local basis, about 10% of our current applications are purchase money.  Even with the mad rush on refinance locks yesterday, of the $25,000,000 in loans that we locked just YESTERDAY 5% were purchase money.  Every week, we are seeing more and more buyers actively applying to become pre-approved for a mortgage loan.