I wish, oh how I wish, I were a first time home buyer right now. I cannot believe what I'm seeing by way of rates and prices right now! Okay so you've missed out on $8,000 right? Or have you?...
I want to take a moment of your time to shed some light on those of you who are still on the fence, and perhaps a bit bitter about missing out on the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
Let's say that you wanted to purchase a home in Pierce Co. just around the deadline in May, but for some reason you couldn't quite get it together. If you would have made that purchase in May, the median sold price of a home was $227K and the average rate on a 30 yr. fixed mortgage was 4.78%, making your monthly principle and interest payment around $1,188 with a total life of the loan payout of $418, 346*--that's pretty awesome coupled with the $8k rebate. But wait! I think I can beat that!
Now we're here in October, no government incentives, no frills, etc. Why buy? Here's why...
You've finally got it together to make that purchase, and that home you liked is still available. But guess what!? Median sold prices have gone down and now that $227K purchase you were going to make is now going to be a $222K purchase, and on top of that your rate has gone down. You would be purchasing that home now for a rate of 4.37% making your monthly principle and interest payment roughly 1,107 with a total life of the loan payout at $398,793! Awesome! Do you see what this means!? You will have saved $5k on the purchase, $80 off of your monthly mortgage, and a whopping $20k off the life of your loan!
No, you didn't get the first time home buyer tax credit, but you did receive greater buying power from lower prices, rates. Are you really going to take yourself out of the market because you are no longer eligible for the tax credit? Really!?
You can find a more in-depth look at mortgage rates over time here.
If you are a first time home buyer looking to get more information on classes, down payment assistance, or purchasing your first home--please contact Jennifer Hamilton and I'll be happy to assist! :)
*Mortgage examples procurred from a Google mortgage calculator. Mortgage rates and graph provided by Copyright © 2010 Mortgage-X.com, Source: www.mortgage-x.com Reprinted with permission
Comments(0)