To buy or not to buy....plus good ol' advice for the season!

It sounds like Christmas may just be for the kids this year according to statistics put out by the major firms tracking consumer spending.  That may not be a bad idea considering the uncertainty of the job market and the talk by President Elect Obama that we may see even higher unemployment in the coming year than what we are seeing now.   One thing I am sure is on the minds of a few are whether now is a good time to buy or refinance their home. 

It certainly looks like mortgage interest rates will remain at 30 year lows for some time, but they may even dip briefly during the current restructure of how the world economy adjusts to tighter credit guidelines.  I think that if you are thinking about buying or refinancing, you could catch a day where rates drop some to give yourself a great deal for a long time.  I expect to see 30 year rates go below 6% briefly from time to time, and the 15 year fixed rate has been below that point now for a couple weeks.  Its a great time to consider shaving off a significant amount of time on your home loan if you are in a 30 year fixed and move to a 15 or 20 year fixed at a very low interest rate.  You can even get it all done with no cost to you if your loan is large enough and you have a knowledgable loan officer working with you. 

If you are considering purchasing, here are a few things you may want to keep in mind during uneasy times like we are in.   It sounds like unemployment will be going up, but that will most likely only affect a small percentage of industries at this point, so if you are in an industry that has seen downturns already or one that is not generally affected by economic cycles such as health care and government jobs then you are in a great position to get an excellent deal on a home along with one of the best mortgage loan rates ever.  If you are unsure about your industry, visit with your employer and discuss the fact that you are considering purchasing a new home, but want to be sure your job is secure.  Employers love it when they see their employees prosper and would not want to see them make a mistake, so you should be able to rely on them to give you some great insight. 

If you have decided to start looking for a home, now is the time to make your move because people are looking.  Things are getting competetitve and you could end up not getting as good of a deal as  you thought.  I'm in the process of selling my home and I have had a ton of showings, and multiple offers.  I'll talk about that experience in a new blog that I'm starting today. 

If you want to get pre approved and you are in the SD, Minnesota, and Iowa locale, give me a call, I'd love to help you out, or if you just want to bounce a thought off me.

Good luck and have a great week!