“If your finances can support it, now appears to be a great time to buy,” this according to Time Moneyland.
“For Americans who either have cash to buy or a credit score good enough to obtain a mortgage, there’s still time to get a killer deal on real estate …,” Martha White of Time Moneyland in the article “Why This May Be the Ideal Time to Buy Real Estate” wrote.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) reported that housing affordability nationwide hit a new record high in the first three months of this year with 77.5% of all existing and new homes that were sold in this period were within the means to families earning the national median income of $65,000.
Eric Lascelles, chief economist at money-management firm RBC Global Asset Management Inc., told the Wall Street Journal that home prices have declined by 34% since the 2006 peak.
Today’s mortgage rate is also at its all-time low. Based on Freddie Mac’s “Primary Mortgage Market Survey,” the 30-year fixed mortgage rate as of May 3 averaged at 3.84 %; while the 15-year fixed mortgage rate averaged at 3.07%.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that Americans who signed contracts to buy U.S. homes rose by 4.1% in March this year.
Instead of shying away from distressed real estate properties (short sales and foreclosures), buyers are intentionally looking for these properties.
RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist, in a blog post, wrote that “banks have recently been given additional reasons to opt for short sales rather than foreclosure over the past 18 months.”
“Since the second quarter of 2009 and through the fourth quarter of 2011, pre-foreclosure (short) sales have averaged about 89,500 per quarter, with a couple spikes above 100,000: in the second quarter of 2010 and in the second quarter of 2011,” Blomquist wrote.
Whether you are a first-time home buyer, first-time home seller, empty nester, thinking about selling a home or buying a home, do contact the Guldi Real Estate Group. In Southern Maryland, the Guldi Group is the number one real estate team.