Weichert, Realtors: Several Factors Make Now a Prime Time to Buy a Home

RISMEDIA, Feb. 27, 2007-What's in store for the real estate market in 2007? Will this year be a good time to buy? As one of the nation's largest privately-held real estate companies, Weichert, Realtors keeps its fingers on the market's pulse-and its latest assessment gives the 2007 market a big thumbs up. The company, in fact, sees current conditions as "virtually ideal" for buying now.

James M. Weichert, president, said, "Right now, the housing market offers buyers a real window of opportunity. Not only have prices stabilized at attractive levels, but there's generally a wider selection of well-priced homes to choose from. In addition, there is an unprecedented array of low-rate mortgages available to finance a home purchase, including loan programs that require no down payment. The market climate for finding and affording that dream home may never again be this favorable."

Disproving last year's forecasts of rising interest rates, mortgage rates have remained historically low. So far this year, the benchmark 30-year, fixed rate loan has hovered in the very affordable six-percent range. According to Weichert Financial Services, an affiliate of Weichert, Realtors, current rates are in sharp contrast to prevailing rates in the double digits in the mid-1990s and nearly 18% back in the early
1980s.

Driving affordability, too, is the virtual explosion of new mortgage products that have spiked the rate of homeownership to record levels over the past decade. From adjustable rate mortgages that offer rock-bottom interest rates for the initial years of the loan to interest-only mortgages and no-money-down loan programs, for qualified buyers there seemingly is a mortgage for virtually any financial need. Weichert Financial Services, for example, offers more than 360 mortgage products and provides free mortgage counseling to help prospective buyers decide which loan product best meets their needs and financial goals.

As for overall trends impacting home sales, the outlook could hardly be more encouraging. A healthy U.S. economy continues to grow jobs, and consumer confidence is on the rise. The nation's growing household wealth should continue to spur home sales, as increasingly affluent homeowners are more likely to trade up and buy second homes.
Demographics are playing a key role as well. Especially striking is the upsurge in home purchases by single people overall and by singles in their twenties and thirties who wisely recognize the long-term investment value of real estate and no longer wait until marriage to buy their first home.

Immigration is also bolstering homeownership, with U.S. Census data showing that a high percentage of people who emigrate to the U.S. eventually purchase homes. Noting that real estate activity picked up in recent months, the Weichert president expects the pace of home sales to quicken even more as the traditionally busy spring market gains steam. Given this uptick in activity, he said, making a home purchase "sooner in 2007 rather than later" may well prove the savviest financial move.

For more information, visit www.weichert.com or call 1-800-USA-SOLD.

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