I hear from many different Realtors that they have buyers sitting on the fence, obviously waiting for pricing on homes to hit rock bottom. Here is some basic information on why buyers need to ACT NOW!  

Is there 100% financing available?

• As we used to know it, no. In most cases the borrower will need 3% down. There is one option for first time buyers or even repeat buyers to obtain secondary financing (up to 5%) from Idaho Housing. (VA loans can go 100% too).

• Appraisals are coming in tighter. Most appraisers have always been cautious and followed the laws but now they are being scrutinized even more then ever. If you have a transaction in another part of Idaho then be prepared to possibly deal with a "soft market" situation where 2 appraisals may be required and only up to 95% financing is available.

• Fannie Mae predicted on March 4th that we would hit 5.5% mortgage rates. We have already and are now in the low 6's to high 5's. The other predictions I have heard are that we could see a rate of 7%. Inflation has been growing steadily as the Federal Reserve has lowered short term rates to stave off a recession. Inflation then becomes king and long term rates go up. Up until this last week, we had not really felt the inflation sting in the mortgage rates. The pain was felt last week and could increase.

• Some are going nowhere and doing just fine. Others are not fairing so well as the playing field for what brokers and banks can do is becoming more level. Riskier loans are out as investors do not want to face potential losses. Every day guidelines are changing and the mortgage industry is completely different from a year ago. Make sure you trust the lender you are dealing with.