Russ Darby Danville, CA Real Estate

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Is It Time To Buy A Home?

Why It's Time To Buy
The Clouds Haven't Quite Parted, But the Long-Term Case for Home Ownership Is Looking Stronger

" Despite all the gloom, however, there are growing indications that it is a good time to buy. Mortgage rates, which fell to 4.55% for the week ending June 2, according to Freddie Mac, are near 50-year lows. Homes have become more affordable than they have been in years: According to Moody's Analytics, the ratio of home prices to income is now 20.9% lower than the 15-year average through 2010, and 12.5% lower than the 1989-2004 average. A historic glut of homes, meanwhile, has created a buyer's market: There were about 15 million vacant homes in the U.S. last year, according to John Burns Real Estate ConsultingInc.—some 3.1 million more than normal."

See more HERE

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

BANKS PUSH BUYERS TO PUT DOWN MORE CASH

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703312904576146532935600542.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

MAKING SENSE OF THIS STORY:

Banks have found that larger down payments discourage delinquencies by increasing the buyers’ exposure to loss and reducing the impact of declining prices. According to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, buyers who made smaller down payments were more likely to default during “unfavorable economic circumstances, such as a housing market slowdown or job loss.”
A recent analysis showed the median down payment in nine major U.S. cities rose to 22 percent last year on properties purchased with conventional mortgages. That percentage doubled in three years and represents the highest median down payment since the data were first tracked in 1997.
Higher borrowing costs and larger down payments could cause housing prices to decline further, analysts say. For now, borrowers who can’t afford such amounts are turning to alternative programs, such as loans for veterans or those backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Some industry experts say this has created a nonconventional mortgage market for riskier borrowers and those who don’t qualify for conventional loans.