| It's the Real Estate Sale of the Century!! The combination of low mortgage interest rates, low home prices and the new 2009 Home Buyers Tax Credit creates a "Perfect Storm" - you could say we are in the middle of a huge 50% Off Sale! Home prices are 25% - 30% below what we saw during the past few years, and mortgage interest rates are at all time lows, nearly 20% lower than they were a year ago. The monthly payment (for principal and interest) on a $200,000 home at 5% is almost identical to a $180,000 home at 6% - or a $162,000 home at 7%. A good and true 'rule of thumb' is that a 1% increase in interest rates decreases your purchasing power by 10%. Based on the chart at the bottom of this page it looks like a very reasonable expectation for future interest rates would be in the 8% - 9% range. Your purchasing power at today's rates is significantly higher than it will be when rates rise to a more "normal" level, and is higher than it has ever been in your lifetime. Bottom line - Today is the day to buy a home, stop paying rent and begin to build your future. If you have not owned your home in the past 3 years you can qualify for up to $8,000 as a Tax Credit incentive from the Federal Government - and even many current homeowners can qualify for a $6,500 credit - so I can safely say there has never been a better time to buy a home! |
| John R. Hastings Associate Broker Licensed in Arizona |
| CURRENT MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES Primary Mortgage Market Survey® data provided by Freddie Mac Data is updated weekly (usually on Thursdays) |
