On 25 November 200828 November 2008, applications for home mortgages increase by over 200%.  Some lenders are offering rates below five percent for 15-year mortgages. , the Federal Reserve announced it was going to buy up $500 billion of securitized loans and interest rates began to fall!  By

National Association of Realtors® President Charles McMillan comments, “NAR estimates that lowering the mortgage interest rate by 1 to 2 percentage points can result in up to an additional 800,000 home sales. Housing has always led our economy out of downturns and lower interest rates are key to bringing home buyers back to the market.  We strongly encourage the Treasury to move quickly with its plan to lower interest rates to encourage current buyers to act rather than continue to wait.”

Even with foreclosures driving the prices of homes down across the country, people have been on the fence about buying.  Please contact your mortgage professional and accountant to see if this is a good time to buy for you or a good time to refinance your current mortgage.