Now is the Best Time to Buy a Home

Many potential home buyers are finding it difficult to filter out the media headlines and determine if now is the right time to buy a home. Most industry professionals agree buyers shouldn’t wait until prices and interest rates go up to buy -- now is the best time to buy a home.

Home prices in northern Nevada have dropped dramatically in the past few years and today’s mortgage interest rates are among the lowest in history. They’ve recently dipped again and borrowers can find a 30-year fixed loan for as low as 4.25percent. Rates were as high as 6.75 percent just a few years ago and in the double-digits 20 years ago.

As the economy rebounds the demands for mortgages will rise and so will interest rates. The effect of a rise in interest rates on monthly mortgage payments can be dramatic.

Based on the current median home sales price of $175,000, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with a 4.25% interest rate has a monthly payment of $933 per month. At six percent the monthly payments increase to $1122 -- an increase of $189 a month. The total payments over the life of the loan increase by a whopping $68,040!

Home buyers that believe home prices will drop further could be making a very costly mistake. If the interest rates increase to six percent again, the home price would have to drop below $147,000 -- more than 16 percent -- to maintain the same monthly payments. House prices have begun to stabilize and bidding has become highly competitive, especially on the lower priced homes. It is highly unlikely that prices will drop that much.

Potential buyers frequently overlook the tax advantages of homeownership when considering if they should purchase a home. Mortgage interest and property taxes are great tax deductions.

While there are many variables to tax advantages, we estimate that a $175,000 mortgage with a 4.25 percent interest rate will generate $1,624 reduction in your tax liability annually.

This is the first time in four or five years that home prices and low interest rates have made northern Nevada an affordable place to live for most families. A family with a median income can afford to buy a median price home.

Low mortgage rates and affordable home prices will not last forever. The longer you wait the more you will have to pay to achieve your dream of homeownership!

Northern Nevada has many highly qualified Realtors, loan officers and builders that can be great help during your home shopping experience. To find more resources, contact the Builders Association of Northern Nevada at (775) 329-4611 or visit www.thebuilders.com.

The perfect storm of opportunity for first time homebuyers!

A trifecta of conditions (Low interest rates, reduced prices and first time buyer programs) makes now the perfect time to buy your first home.

The Nevada Housing Division provides mortgages and down payment assistance to for low to moderate-income families. The program currently has $102 million in funding for its first-time homebuyer program and expects its interest rate to stay at 4.5 percent for a while.

The Federal Government has also extended the first time homebuyer tax credit through April, 2010. These factors combined with reduced home prices make now the perfect time for first time homebuyers to invest in a home.

Read the full Reno Gazette Journal story by Jason Hidalgo
Housing division offers low rates for low-income first-time buyers

Forecast for 2010 - partly sunny!

More than 250 people attended Forecast 2010 & Beyond Wednesday and discovered that there are some bright spots for this year!

Elliot Eisenberg reminded us that us that we are not the worst market in the country and that national economic indicators show that things should start to improve for 2010. Attendees got a good chuckle at his suggestion that we need to market ourselves better and suggested we change Reno to East Tahoe!

Tim Ruffin wins the quote of the day with “flat is the new up”. Commercial deals are flat, which is better than down!

Mark Krueger reported that more land deals happened at the end of 2009 than in the past 4 years and that the majority of those sales were to local builders.

Ken Amundson busted some myths and let us know that prices are not still falling, and in fact demand for homes under $200,000 may actually be driving prices back up.

The speakers presentations are now available on our website.

Home Builders Unfairly Targeted in Senate Health Care Bill

The Senate is scheduled to hold a series of votes over the next three days on health care reform. Given the time crunch, please call your Senator now!



The bill unfairly singles out the construction industry by only giving construction firms an exemption from the bill's employer mandates if a firm employs less than 5 people. Every other industry is granted an exemption if they have fewer than 50 employees.

CALL TO ACTION


Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators and urge them vote NO on H.R. 3590, and not unfairly punish the construction industry.


Tell Congress NO on HR 3590!

This narrow provision is an unprecedented assault on the construction industry and unjustly targets an industry trying to keep its doors open during the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression.