Saturday, October 27, 2007

Opportunity Knocks

For purposes of brevity, I won't get into statistics with respect to inventory, pricing and/or financing. It suffices to say that this week, there was conflicting data with respect to all three. That being said, the most encouraging news related to those of you who have adjustable rate mortgages.

This week, Countrywide Financial announced that it was going to reach out to its customers who entered into adjustable rate mortgages to the tune of $16 billion. What that apparently means is that Countrywide is willing to refinance $16 billion of adjustable rate mortgages in the form of fixed rate mortgages. This is unprecedented. For those of you who have an adjustable rate mortgage, irrespective of whether it's funded by Countrywide or another lender, it is incumbent upon you to contact your lender with respect to this rare opportunity. It is my strong belief that other lenders will have no choice but to follow Countrywide's lead and refinance their ARMs into fixed rate mortgages.


As an aside, I predict the Red Sox in 5.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Looking Up!

Bad news sells, so, as usual, it has been the primary focus of late.

At the beginning of the week, the buzz consisted of the fact that foreclosures in September were up significantly year over year. However, foreclosures were actually down in September when compared to August. (Source: CNBC and Fox News)

Now, while normally it is appropriate to compare months or quarters from year to year, given the data and current market conditions, I believe the August to September analysis is more telling. The question is whether this is merely a blip, or a trend toward a housing recovery. Although inventories remain at unhealthy levels in this area, I believe that the future is not as bleak as the media would have us believe.

On a micro level, I am seeing buyers finally stepping up to the plate to take advantage of the low prices and interest rates. In fact, a few buyers are heeding my advice and exploring the purchase of rental properties.

For you buyers out there, remember, it is virtually impossible to time the bottom of the market. Do you want to risk a rise in interest rates in the hopes that prices may dip slightly in the next year or so?

Food for thought...