CONSUMER REPORTS SAYS BUY NOW!

With regard to homes, Consumer Reports’ has three possible buying opportunities.
Homes – Prices are down and few expect a sharp rise anytime soon. Most markets seem to have stabilized so holding off for more declines is probably a failed strategy unless you want to take the risk of buying foreclosures.

Mortgages – They report accurately that interest rates are relatively low, averaging 5.5% for 30 year mortgages. Credit standards have been tightening though so expect to go through some documentation hoops, but it will be worth it. Lenders are anxious to loan having seen a decline in their business volume too.

Home Remodeling – CR suggests that will lower demand that it could mean room to bargain for those remodels you want. Contractors are easier to get a hold of and have little to no wait times before getting started on a job.

NATIONAL HOME SALES STABILIZING

NAR Reports Existing Home Sales Rise in February
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units in February from a pace of 4.89 million in January, but remain 23.8 percent below the 6.6 million-unit level in February 2007. The sales pace has been in a fairly narrow range since last September. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the gain is encouraging. "We're not expecting a notable gain in existing-home sales until the second half of this year, but the improvement is another sign that the market is stabilizing," he said. "Buyers taking advantage of higher loan limits for both FHA and conventional mortgages will unleash some pent-up demand. As inventories are drawn down, prices in many markets should go positive later this year." The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $195,900 in February, down 8.2 percent from a year earlier when the median was $213,500. Because the slowdown in sales from a year ago is greater in high-cost areas, there is a downward pull to the national median with relatively fewer sales in higher priced markets.