Right now there are a lot of homes up for sale and not  enough buyers to buy up all of these homes. This is one of the top signs that we are currently in a buyers market. When there are too many homes for sale and not enough buyers, most of the time sellers are willing to go above and beyond to try and sell their homes. This may mean that they are willing to sell it for under market value and accept a significantly lower sales price than they would like to, they may be willing to offer incentives such as furniture or home repair store gift certificates, car leases, and much more. Therefore, now is definitely a good time to start looking for a new home if you have been considering purchasing a home. Chances are you can obtain a great bargain and buy a home for a considerably lower value than it is probably truly worth, especially if you are patient. Don't be afraid to bid low. Many people believe in bidding at a percentage below the purchase price, such as 10% under, but in this market it is not uncommon for consumers to bid 15-20%, and possibly even more, under asking price.

Mortgage companies are shutting their doors, filing for bankruptcy protection, merging, selling out to larger companies, and changing their guidelines by the minute. It is highly anticipated that this same trend will continue for awhile longer as well. So what does this all mean to you. It means that it is going to be tougher to obtain a mortgage the longer you wait. Rates have steadily been increasing over the past 12+ months and they will probably continue this upward trend, which means the longer you wait the higher the interest rate you will most likely qualify for. Therefore, even if the real estate trend of decreasing property values continues, the saving that you may realize you will probably end up paying for through a higher interest rate. Hoping for rates to decrease and property values to decrease may be too risky to wait for. Now is the time to buy, especially if you have a home that you need to sell. The worse the real estate market gets, the worse for you trying to sell your home as well.

Buying a foreclosed home could be a very beneficial way to buy a home and you may be able to get a home at a real good value. Keep this in mind though, usually sheriff auctions do not provide the tremendous deals that make buying a foreclosed home worthwhile. Buying a foreclosed home from sheriff auction can also be risky because they are buy at your own risk and you can not walk through the homes before buying to assess the damage or maintenance the home needs to be habitable. There are some good deals though at sheriff auctions, you just need to really do your homework before you go to the auction. two good rules of thumb are to drive by the homes that you are considering purchasing and at least look at them from the street, if not try to get up closer to the home, and also to find out roughly how much is owed on the mortgage so that you have a good idea as to what the lender needs to try to get out of the house to break even at auction. If you do not like the idea of the auction process, then you may want to consider finding a Realtor who specializes in selling homes that have been foreclosed on. There are many Realtors who specialize in this. The keys to buying foreclosed homes are patience and research. Therefore, foreclosure purchases are not a bad route to go if you do your homework and be patient.

In conclusion to recap everything, now is as good of a time as ever to look into buying a home. Prices are low, rates are still good and there are still quite a few mortgage programs available Not a lot of good can come out of waiting to buy a house, except unnecessary risk of paying more money, taking on a higher interest rate and/or possibly not qualifying for a mortgage program in the future. Foreclosures can be a good way to buy a home for a good low price, however certain caution and due diligence need to be taken anytime you are considering buying a foreclosure.