Most Americans say now is time to buy a house
Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the time is right to buy a house, with a majority believing prices will be the same or higher over the next year, according to a Fannie Mae survey released on Tuesday.
The 64 percent that said it is a good time to buy is just shy of the 66 percent that said the same thing in 2003 as the U.S. housing market was racing higher, said the survey.
However, most of the 3,451 polled said that it would be tougher for them to get a loan than it was for their parents.
The survey comes amid signs that the U.S. housing market is recovering after suffering the worst downturn since the 1930s. But, while home prices in some regions are rising, soaring delinquency rates across the nation mean foreclosures will keep persistent pressure on the market, according to analysts.
Fannie Mae (FNM.N), the largest U.S. mortgage finance company, said that the public still "strongly believes" in upholding their financial commitments, though that weakens once people know someone who is defaulting.
Those who know someone in default are more than twice as likely to have seriously considered stopping payments on their own mortgage, Fannie Mae said.
According with the patrick.net forum webblog, housing crash continues - It’s Still A Terrible Time To Buy.
Because house prices will keep falling in most places. Prices are still dangerously high compared to incomes and rents. Banks say a safe mortgage is a maximum of 3 times the buyer’s annual income with 20% downpayment. Landlords say a safe price is a maximum of 15 times the house’s annual rent. Yet on the coasts, both those safety rules are still being violated. Buyers are still borrowing 6 times their income and putting only 3% down, and sellers are still asking 30 times annual rent, even after recent price declines. Renting is a cash business that proves what people can really pay based on their salary, not how much they can borrow. Salaries and rents prove that prices will keep falling for a long time. Anyone who bought a "bargain" this time last year is already sitting on a very painful loss.
Because it’s a terrible time to buy when interest rates are low, like now. Realtors just lie without shame about this fundamental fact. House prices fall as interest rates rise, because a fixed monthly payment covers a smaller mortgage at a higher interest rate. Since interest rates have nowhere to go but up, prices have nowhere to go but down. The way to win the game is to have cash on hand to buy outright at a low price when others cannot borrow very much because of high interest rates. Then you get a low price, and you get capital appreciation caused by falling interest rates. To buy at a time of low interest rates and high prices like now is a mistake for both reasons.
It is far better to pay a low price with a high interest rate than a high price with a low interest rate, even if the mortgage payment is the same either way.
Nobody have the right answer, and maybe one smart move is wait until second semester. Another best chance of finding a good deal is by looking at the listings the MLS is hiding from you: FSBO sites, Craigslist, foreclosures, builder inventory. It’s also productive to talk to people you know who might want to sell, or send out postcards in a certain area. Avoid the realtors and you’ll come out way ahead.
Source: Internet