Real Estate Affordability

In today’s market place the decision is not whether or where to by but should I buy. There has been a continuing trend over the past two plus years for people who have either lost their home to foreclosure or sold out ahead of the downward market place to seek shelter in rental housing but is it now time to move back into home ownership due to Real Estate Affordability.
If you look at the numbers it may indicate the answer is yes but is this a result of consumer confidence or a recovery in the underlying economy with homeowners not loosing there employment and being able to have a secure income source. For the third straight month foreclosure filings have dropped and are at there lowest levels since July 2007 based on RealtyTrac’s April report, a nationwide foreclosure tracking service. However, a closer look at the data indicates is some 26 states that have a judicial foreclosure process the foreclosure levels were actually up by 15% and that this was being masked by the decline in states such as California (down by 50%), Arizona (down by 70%) and Nevada.
This all being said there is light at the end of the tunnel as housing affordability reaches record highs with nearly 78% of all new and existing homes being sold in the first quarter of 2012 being to families earning the National medium income, according to National Association of Home Builders/ Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. When you combine this with record lows in many mortgage programs and the recent surge in Mortgage applications which were up 9.2% last week it appears as though people may be starting to realize now is the time to get back in the market place.
Banks are still being cautious on lending and credit is still tight, a point many home builders are all too quick to point out, but for those who are creditworthy and for those who are willing to jump through the hoops and convince the banks they are creditworthy, even for mortgages that are within their means it may be the best move you make.
To find out what you monthly payment would be go to www.montecito-estate.com/financing-calculator