Lee's Summit Homes Blog: Roxanne Van Buskirk

As you can see, while inventory of available house has dropped dramatically, sales have remains fairly constant over the past twelve months. That means that there is fewer homes to choose from. When inventory is lower, it is more difficult to get a “deal” since there are few homes to choose from. While far from a sellers market, Lee’s Summit has remained one of the metros strongest markets for home sales.

There may not be a better time to buy a house for several years. Here are some reasons to buy now:

1.  Mortgage rates are still near all time lows – Mortgage rates have been at 40 year lows for some time. that trend is not going to last forever. Low rates mean you can buy more house for your money. I can still remember the 18% mortgage rates of the 80’s. Even a 1% change in the rates can significantly reduce your buying power!

2.  Even if rates stay low, the cost of a mortgage may rise – because of the high number of defaults, the cash reserves used to cover these defaults by FannieMae and FreddieMac are seriously depleted. this means higher mortgage insurance premiums that are tacked on to your principle and interest. Like higher interest, these premiums would have the affect of reducing the amount of house you can afford to buy.

3. There is $8,000 of stimulus money out there for first time home buyers. Time is running out. This program ends on December 1, 2009. That means you have to close on your new home by that date. In order to close by then, you realistically need to have a contract in place by October 15th. You have less than 30 days. There is a lot of inventory out there to choose from. If you are on the fence, now is the time to jump off and into a new home! Contact me for details.