Yesterday I posted on Facebook that 4 media giants were all saying that now is the time to buy a house.  I also had an office meeting that reiterated this point. 

1.  Here in San Diego county prices are way down, making homes so much more affordable than in recent years.  Locally the value has dropped by 5%-7% since earlier this year.
2.  Inventory is up.  There are many great properties to chose from.  The odds of you finding a home that really suits your needs has never been better. 
3.  Interest rates are very low.  Yesterday, FHA and VA rates were at 4.25%!  It is unlikely that they will go lower.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are predicting interest rates to go up by 1% by year end.

You may be asking yourself why you should buy if prices are dropping and that is a good question.  First you ned to understand that their is difference between "price" and "cost".  The "price" is the purchase price, the amount the home sold for.  The "cost" is how much you will pay for the loan, your monthly payment and how much you will pay over the long run. 

When I work with buyers they are typically most interested in how much their monthly payement will be and if that payment is affordable.  But at the same time they seem to get hung up on the price. This could hurt them in the end.  They are concerned about "prices" declining and want to wait for the bottom to purchase.  But the reality is no one knows where the bottom is until prices start to go back up and you have missed the bottom anyway.  Not only that but the same property will now "cost" them more.  Did you know that a property's value would need to decline by about 10% in order to come close to compensating for a 1% increase in interest rates!

Investors always seem to be ahead of the general public when it comes to buying at the right time.  They do not wait until it is too late.  What are investors doing now?  They are buying!  Last month 39% of the real estate transactions were bought by investors.  More specifically, last week for one listing, 4 cash offers came in.  These investors had proof of funds of over $10,000,000.  These people know what they are doing! They have amassed a fortune by timing things correctly.  They know the returns are coming in, properties are cash flow, the returns exceed the current stock market and most importantly that NOW is the time to buy.

Here are the links to the articles I referenced yesterday.  Take a look and think about it.  If you are planning on buying, don't put it off.  Call me today!

Wall Street Journal
CBS Money Watch
Forbes Magazine
National Public Radio