More on WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY OR REFI!!!!

More news coming out today points to the fact that, indeed now is the time to think about pulling the trigger if you are considering purchasing or refinancing a home.
Freddie Mac released an article, MORTGAGE RATES CLIMB IN RESPONSE TO RECENT RISE IN BOND YIELDS, reminding us that we are now seeing rates that have not been this high since December 11, 2008. As long as treasury yields remain high, there will continue to be an upward pressure on interest rates.
In a related article written by Brian Louis on Bloomberg.com, US Mortgage rates Jump to Highest Since December, he states, "This week’s rate increase translates into an additional $31.79 a month for a buyer purchasing the median-priced U.S. home of $170,200 with a 20 percent down payment."
More great information is contained in my Monday, June 1st post, NOW is the Time to Buy.
Also if you missed the webinar this morning which discussed this very topic, you can sign on to http://www.mysoi.com/ tomorrow and listen to the archived version.
So unless you are an ALL CASH buyer, call your mortgage professional today to determine how the current rate trending is impacting your purchasing power.

No More CNN???...Constantly Negative News???

WOW... Lot's of promising news out there. First time and bargain hunting home buyers are storming into the market.

In an article from Bloomberg.com, U.S. Economy: Pending Home Resales Surge by Most Since 2001 , the author Carlos Torres points out that low prices, low interest rates, pent up demand and more market confidence have set the stage for this new uptick.

Les Christie of CNNmoney.com included regional sales data in an article he also published today, Pending Home Sales Rebounding.  Positive reports came from three of the four regions. The Northeast (+33% ), the Midwest (+9.8%), and the Western (+1.8%) all saw increases in pending sales, with only a 0.2% decrease in the Southern region.

Just for FUN!!!

Now IS the Time to Buy!!!!

So you think home prices are still going to drop a bit? Waiting to try to time the bottom? Well, while you were waiting to squeeze every last penny out of the sales price, interest rates started moving upward. So much so that the financial columnists have been banging out articles about "pulling the trigger".

Today on CNNMONEY.com, Les Christie wrote about how the high yields on Treasurys are going to keep the UPWARD pressure on mortgage rates (Mortgage RATES Staying above 5%). Brett Arends (WSJ) in his article, Low Mortgage Rates Are Going, Going cautions that rates are likely to keep inching higher and that if you are looking to refinance or to buy, you should start considering your monthly payments.

On Thursday, I will be presenting a FREE WEBINAR, "WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY" (12pm EST). Arm yourself with the data, research and information to make informed decisions. Register at http://www.mysoi.com/ today!!!

One in Eight Americans Facing Foreclosure

Foreclosures are now at an all time high. 616,000 Americans are in danger of losing their homes and 50% of these homeowners, reside in four states- California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.

One in eight Americans are behind in their mortgage payments. Many of them have lost their jobs and unable to find employment. “If people don’t have a paycheck they can’t support a mortgage,”said Jay Brickman, the MBA’s chief economist.

Yesterday, rates rose for the first time in while on the higher yields on treasury notes.

Even with this new data, economists and housing industry analysts are more optimistic that the bottom may be in sight. (See yesterday's post)

The Bottom???

Phil Izzo of the WSJ online collected opinions from several economists about their view of current market conditions. In his post the general sentiment from those he interviewed was that we probably have hit bottom as for the resale of homes (April resales rose 2.9%), but inventory continues to rise and prices my still be falling in some markets. Some good news is that housing affordability is at all time highs and interest rates are at all time lows.

Sign of the Times

If you haven't read Jeff Jarvis' new book, What Would Google Do? You may want to think about picking it up to read this weekend. It is so necessary for all industries to understand how the Internet is changing everything ... FAST!!!! All of us must reinvent ourselves if we want t0 survive. A wonderful company here in NYC is closing it's doors because of the challenges this new market presents.

Another book I would suggest is Seth Godin's book, Survival is not Enough. We are responsible for our destinies and must create our own future.