The great opportunity now is for home buyers to get a mortgage at an historically low rate. Freddie Mac reported national average mortgage rates set new record lows last week. But according to most observers, buyers shouldn’t expect further rate dips. Lenders are seeing plenty of loan volume, so they don’t have to lower pricing to get more activity.
Opportunity was also one of the themes in Fannie Mae’s August National Housing Survey, where 69% of Americans polled say now is a good time to buy a home. And in spite of all the talk about more price declines, people expect home prices to dip only 0.5% in the next year. This is why some observers feel we’re at a price bottom now. A strong 46% of Americans expect rents to go up in the next year, so that should motivate purchases as well.