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Mortgage applications jumped over 25 percent in the first week of January, spurred on by low interest rates. The indicators showed the demand for home refinancing has not been as high in the last 5 years.

While many experts report that rates will stay low for months, 30 year rates of 4.5 percent were too attractive for borrower’s to pass up. Due to the fact that rates change, locking in now a great rate now appears to be a smart move.

While low rates have not yet spurred buying activity, low prices and cheap money certainly provide hope that we may be reaching a bottom in the US housing market.

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Housing stat’s were just released for November home sales.  While the news isn’t great, it isn’t a surprise to anyone either.   The question is, do these numbers signal the bottom?  Is now the time to buy?

Here is a look at the numbers for November 2008:

• At the end of November the supply of unsold homes on the market was at 11.2 months.  (A healthy housing market has a 5-6 month supply of unsold homes.)  While the inventory of unsold homes number is twice what it should be, there is No surprise here.   Buyers:  Keep a close eye on your local market housing supply to determine if your town has reached a bottom. 
• The average home sales price dipped to $181,300, which represents a decline of 13.2 percent from 2007 levels.
• New home sales declined to a level last seen in 1997.

Do these numbers Signal a BUY?

• Interest rates on a 30 year fixed mortgage were quoted at 4.75 percent today, compared to 6+ percent one year ago. 
• Prices have declined another 13 percent from 2007-2008.
• Builder incentives and free upgrades are at record highs.

Our Opinion:  While we can’t promise that home prices are at their rock bottom, they are close.  More bullish news for buyer’s is that low interest rates and steep price declines mean that housing is more affordable than we have seen in years.  In addition, plentiful home inventory means it is a fantastic time to select the home of your dreams.  

With prices and interest rates at rock bottom, what we need is a clear signal from the government to get the market moving.   Buyer’s and investor’s need to know what buying incentive’s will be going forward, before they will buy.  They also need reassurance that the government isn’t going to force  interest rates lower, before they jump off the sidelines.

Our wish for this holiday season is decisive action in Washington that will end the meaningless, negative speculation and shut down the rantings of the news pundits.  If we get our wish, thousand’s of would be home owners and investor’s will snap up the deals of a lifetime, improving our economy as they do.

Season Greetings and Thank You for Visiting InfoTube.net.

From Reuters:

Coldwell Banker Asks Sellers for 10-day price cuts to spur home sales

One of the largest U.S. real estate companies said it is asking its sellers to cut their listing prices by as much as 10 percent to kick-start U.S. home sales in a market plagued by falling prices and near-record unsold inventory supply.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate said some 25,000 sellers, who have homes listed with its brokers, will cut prices during its first national, 10-day sales event starting on Friday, October 10th.  The goal, to lure potential buyers off the sidelines in the worst housing market since the Great Depression.

Most owners still are unrealistic when pricing their homes, and a reduction of 10 percent or less would push the properties “over the tipping point to a sale,” according to Coldwell Banker, which is based in Parsipanny, New Jersey, and is part of Realogy Corp.

“The main driver is to bring buyers and sellers together and to increase the activity in the marketplace,” Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker, said in an interview.
…
Many sellers have been reluctant to slash asking prices, but they face competition from the large number of foreclosed homes on the market at discounted prices.

A recent Coldwell Banker survey found that more than half of the real estate agents said listing prices in their market are too high to attract qualified buyers. Brokers, however, believe that, depending on the market, a price cut of up to 10 percent will be enough to stoke sales.

Kathryn Taylor is one seller who hopes that’s the case.

“The economy. No movement for our home, or even any interest, just because people are scared,” she said, explaining her decision to cut the asking price on her parents’ home in Silver Spring, Maryland, by 10 percent for 10 days.

The two master-bedroom, two-bathroom home in an over-55 community was listed in May at $458,000, undercutting several nearby sellers of the same model.

“This is the first time we’re lowering it, and we really didn’t want to do that because we listed it to sell,” she said. “We knew things were tough, but the home is a really desirable unit in a neighborhood that rarely has anything come open so we didn’t think it would have any problems selling.”
…
Taylor, a retired government employee, is getting “more antsy” about selling. Her father passed away last year and her mother is moving to a nursing home that costs $9,000 each month.

With stock wealth being roiled, “it’s getting more and more important to keep her afloat by selling this house,” she said of her mother.

Sellers can opt to keep their asking prices lower after the 10-day sale, according to Coldwell Banker.

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