Irvine OC Real Estate Blog

Just out: The Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. This will enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a down payment

Previously, most buyers wouldn’t receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit. 

We are hearing that FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

If you are planning on purchasing a home with an FHA loan and are a first time buyer that qualifies for this tax credit -please call your mortgage company or loan officer for details. This of course is brand new so nothing happens quickly in government! Still, this is a great step in the right direction! Let’s hope for more good news as time goes by. If you would like some assistance please visit my web site , Email  or phone 949-275-6544 directly. I am happy to take your call and assist you in any way I can.

Here we are in May already! Time flies quickly by! The stock market is doing better this week, Chrysler is going Bankrupt and housing sales in Irvine has been hitting its stride.

You may have heard many people describe real estate as cyclical but I would compare the ups and down of real estate to catching a wave. It seems like you must “catch it” at just the right time! We have already seen a huge inventory of bank foreclosures come and go. There are very few of these right now and who knows if there will be another “wave” in the future. The optimal time may or may not have passed but it is still a very “good” time.  Inventory of homes for sale in Irvine is disappearing at a very fast rate. Albeit mostly in the under the Million price range it still is amazing to see homes so quickly disappearing fromt he mls “active’ list! The governement is offering incentives and interest rates are very low. How long will they stay this low-You might ask? Many economists are predicting we are getting close to the end of the recession and now they are worrying about inflation. This usually follows a recession! Some people mistakenly believe that when interest rates go up-prices go down. But sadly that is not the case! History has shown us double digit interest rates on mortgages when the prices were rising. In fact, since it is “inflation” it makes everything rise! If youi would like to hedge your bet against this possibility you would do well to buy real estate. Of course paying cash would be a great hedge against the future but if not, finance with a 30 year fixed low interest rate and get ready to ride out the next wave. 

Remember, no one has a Crystal Ball so everything is subject to interpretation. There are many indicators you can use to time the market and interest rates, supply and demand, decreasing foreclosures, are just a few. Several areas in California are still leading the foreclosure list including Riverside/San Bernardino and some other counties like Merced. But unless you are interested in buying in those areas you would do well just to look at the “local market activity”. Real estate is always LOCAL. If you would like more information on buying a home today please give me a call at 949-275-6544 or just send me an Email  . You can visit my web site and view all the homes for sale in Southern Orange County! I look forward to hearing from you!

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