5 Reasons to Buy a Home Now : Conditions are nearly perfect to get a super bargain. Don't dally.

Kiplinger's | 9/18/2009 | Pat Mertz Esswein

[dragnet2]

It depends where your at. If ya go into the more desirable areas, you’ll see very little inventory available for sale.

Crappy areas = lots of inventory.

[stratman1969]

Bought back in March.

[henry_reardon]

I agree I was able to guy a much nicer 40 acre for my BOL than I could have gotten 2 years ago.

[ChrisInAR]

Awesome...I’m thrilled to read about this, ‘cuz a few weeks ago I set up an appointment w/ a real estate agent & will meet her on Monday.

Any advice, fellow FReepers? Thank you.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

No kidding and I would bet a second dip is on the way as well.

[freekitty]

Fine if you have a job or some money.

[Oatka]

Karl Denninger said something along the line of “People running out on the beach after a receeding tide to pick up all the fish should look up and see the incoming tsunami.”

[TurtleUp]

I have enough cash lying around to buy a bargain, but I’m sitting this out. First, I don’t want to do anything that strengthens obama’s economy, not even a little. He will use any improvement in the numbers as a lever to move further left and destroy our country as a whole, and I’d rather miss out on profit than help him. Second, I suspect prices will drop even lower in the next phase of the Obama Recession. I’ll catch a bargain at the bottom, after obama has been voted out of office.

[Para-Ord.45]

Peter Schiff on FHA and the doom to come:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZi7uquwZKQ

[Fee]

Problem with buying now is that the banks are holding about three year inventory of REO, and more adjustable mortgages are adjusting. It means another foreclosure wave is forming, but this time it will involve unemployed homeowners who barely can meet payments now before their rates adjust upward. These homes and REO’s will hit the market and drive existing home prices/equity even lower. That means more homes will be underwater, and guess what, more homeowners will walk away from their homes. It is a vicious cycle that has not finished until all the home prices truly bottom out. Right now we are not at the bottom. Buy now and you will lose value in the next two years. Numbers range from 20 to 25 percent.

[nufsed]

we have a variety of correspondent and wholesale lenders. We usually do 1 point. Most of our clients do not buy down the loan by adding additional. Fees are low. End of comemrcial.

[Vigilant1]

ToItt:
"what about waiting until the 2nd half of the “W”

mt813:
"That will come in February 2011"

Not exactly. The peak will come in 2011, but the ARM resets will start seriously ramping up early next year.

In addition to that, the banks and other financial institutions are sitting on literally hundreds of thousands of foreclosures they have held off the market thus far. I verified this fact with my nephew, who is a regional President for Wells Fargo. They will not hold them off of the market forever. When they start dumping them, it will continue for years. They will stretch it out to get tax writeoffs for as many years as possible.

The dumping of held foreclosures combined with a new and even larger wave of forclosures from resetting ARMs has obvious implications for buyers. IMO, anyone who buys a home now, unless they can pay cash and scoop up a truly astounding deal, is insane. They would have an underwater mortgage in short order.

[southernnorthcarolina]

I'm in the process of building now (click my signature for an updating construction cam link).

Not because I think prices are great (maybe so for existing houses; not so much for new construction).

Not because I think it will be a great investment (my guess is that gold will do much better, certainly short-term and likely long-term, than house values).

Not because mortgage rates are so low (they are, in theory, but lenders are getting hyper-cautious with their appraisals and loan-to-value ratios -- especially for non-traditional construction).

Yes, buy or build a house -- but for the right reason (the providing of the type and location of shelter you need/want/can afford), not because you think you'll make a financial killing.

[nufsed]

The lenders I have talked to are telling me they are pacing the releases so as not to flood. They will stay with short sales longer, so there may be an increase there. Don't know how ,long that will last. I know more are coming. I look for interest to go up a point or so and that will even off some of the drop.

How far do you think prices will drop, say in San Diego? We have had a slight increase three of the last four months.

[modhom]

Interesting perspective on the $8k credit...
http://activerain.com/blogsview/1221776/outsmart-the-crowd-skip-the-8000-tax-credit-and-wait-to-buy

[nufsed]

Projecting another 100,000,000 people in the next 40 years. San Diego to double in 25. I know about the baby boomers. I’m one. many will downsize and live in their own until they need assisted living.

[nufsed]

You pay on the price side or the interest side. This is a time when both are low.

[umgud]

Projecting another 100,000,000 people in the next 40 years.

Would those people be as prosperous/productive as the boomers they'll be replacing?

[nufsed]

Are you asking about market value or the number of houses needed? I think our society is in for decades of lower paying jobs.

[umgud]

I think the boomers (on average) were/are very productive. I’ll call them taxpayers, not taxusers. I’m wondering if the generation behind us will have the same level of properity. I’m thinking not, especially when you look at school/student stats.