Every day the financial reports seem to be worse than the day before. At times it appears as if there is no good news to be found about our economy, housing and financial institutions. However, the housing market has some encouraging reports.  Yes. Prices have dropped – but the charts below show the steady growth of housing appreciation and the  value of real estate over the long term. 

 Chart 1:  Return on Investment, by Steve Harney, Keeping Current Matters. 

Are we at the bottom yet? Frank Blake, CEO, Home Depot states in the Wall Street Journal, 9/3/08, “We don’t think we’re at the bottom yet, but we think you can see it from here.”  In the WSJ on 8/12/08, economist Karl Case of Wellesley (the ‘Case’ in the widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller index of U.S. housing prices) says that he thinks the housing market may be near a bottom.   Positive news from reputable sources!

And what about mortgage rates…   According to Bankrate.com, a national survey of large lenders indicates that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.19 percent this week.  “While mortgage rates continue to fluctuate, they remain well off their midsummer highs and are considerably lower than they were one year ago."  Freddie Mac reported that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.94% last week!  With the lower mortgage rates and the price reductions in the housing market this is an optimum time to buy a house.  It’s true that banks are more stringent on their requirements, including larger down-payments, documented assets and good credit scores. But FHA loans are available for buyers that can’t meet those bench-marks – but are still credit-worthy and meet their guidelines. Read “What can I afford?”  to find mortgage contact information.