Not too long ago, ok maybe a long time ago (35 years seems like just a while back), my MOther In Law had a 6.25% 30yr fixed mortgage on her home. I said "don't ever pay that off, you won't get money any cheaper", the going interest rate on a new home loan was somewhere in the vicinity of 12%. This is a new day.
The lenders are shouting with joy right now, because after being called the scum of the earth for helping people get into toxic loans (not the case around here, 3rd lowest rate of foreclosure), they are now the HEROES of the hour with rates at 4.5% to 5% 30 year fixed mortgages. $$$ cha ching! More dollars for you in your pocket, more dollars for them in transaction fees. Even more interesting are the folks coming out of the woodwork wondering if the bottom is here.
Should I upsize, downsize or buy more for investment? Since our local sales volume is down 20%, you would think our prices would be going down. Not so, we actually increased by about $3,000 for average sold price on an average in the $196,000 range.
Anything that is priced right around here is selling in less than 30 days, overpriced stuff still sits and waits. People who are wondering where the bottom of the market is should come over to my office and check my crystal ball! If you knew the stock market had peaked and was headed down, did you pull all of your stocks or loose 25% to 50% of your 401K like I and a lot of my friends did? Can you live in your 401K?
Buyers are missing out on really good deals because they get burned out trying to find the desperate price instead of the best house for the money!
We just had a homeforecasters.com report come out that "forecast" the Billings Montana market will appreciate 3.1% for 2009. Humm, I wonder. I'll just have to check my crystal ball.
