We all know there has been a huge economic downturn due to the mortgage and housing industry. We know a lot of you out there are waiting for the prices to bottom out. To REALLY tumble. Mortgage rates right now are near 50 year lows. According to the Wall Street Journal, homes are now more affordable than they have been in ages. From 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”. It may just be time to find mortgage rates in Lake Forest.
Moody’s Analytics states that this downturn won’t last as long as we think it may. They predict that the number of distressed homes will begin to fall in 2013, which will cause home prices to edge upward. The overall picture, right now, however, isn’t that great. The unemployment rate is up, foreclosures are extremely common, and inflation is bound to occur. Homes prices may fall lower for a couple of months.
The benefits of homeownership, however, are the same as they always were. You still get to deduct the mortgage interest on your taxes (for now), you get to decorate the home however it strikes your fancy, and in this market, you can literally buy for LESS (in some cases such as Chicago, and Cleveland). There are a lot of areas where the rent is still very high (take California as an example.) The home prices have lowered to the point where a condo can be LESS than rent. Homeownership CAN pay off. Obtain one of the low rate 30 year mortgages and one day you will own the home free and clear. Seems like a long way off, but you have to live somewhere anyway! Then you will have the one word we don’t hear much about these days: equity!
Housing economists are saying that demographics, affordability, loans, employment, and psychology should take over in the next 5 years. These are all drivers of the housing market. Of course, the foreclosure mess needs to clear up first.
This is from the Wall Street Journal: “Here is a glimmer of what the future may hold: While overall home prices fell by 7.5% in April over the same period a year earlier, according to CoreLogic, a Santa Ana, Calif., provider of real-estate data and analytics, if you exclude distressed sales, prices were off just 0.5%. So if you are in a market that isn't battered by foreclosures, you may be close to a bottom already.”
Many people have put their lives on hold due to this downturn. Another thing to take into consideration: The Boomers. The Baby Boomers are about to flood the market with larger homes for sale, however, they’ll have a huge demand for condos or small homes with amenities.
Texas and Washington continue to prosper economically due to their business friendly outlook. Many people are relocating there to find jobs with higher wages and lower priced homes. People with great credit and solid jobs have no problem obtaining financing. But many people’s credit has tanked during this downfall. That’s when the financing gets tricky. It should eventually ease up. Economists say credit will hold tight, as it is currently, for at least six months.
Doug Yearly, chief executive of luxury builder Toll Brothers Inc., told investors in May that "some of our clients, after waiting so long, are starting to move off the fence and into the market, The family with elementary-school kids and a puppy when the housing debacle began five years ago now has middle-school kids and the dog weighs 80 pounds."
So in short, things WILL get better. Find your Orange County Mortgage rates and become the proud homeowner you’ve always wanted to be!
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