First-time home buyer?

I know I'm not the first to say this and I know I won't be the last; but, this is a great time to buy a home. Especially in the Petaluma or Santa Rosa market area. While we experienced a slight up tick in pricing over the early fall months, prices are beginning to come down again as we approach the winter months. This isn't unusual since the holiday time is traditionally a slow time anyway. Buyers are busy looking for the right holiday gift or planning holiday events. What makes this different is the fact that you have all the regular reasons mentioned above but we still have the homes that are sadly going into foreclosure or others where individuals need to sell because of circumstances beyond their control. While this is sad, none-the-less these homes need to be sold.

As a first-time homebuyer, the time has never been better for you to get into this market. Interest rates have yet again dipped below 5% and while inventory is moderate, people who need to sell are making deals. First-time buyers still have the $8000 tax credit working for them as well.  The thing that most people aren't talking about is the fact that rules for FHA loans could be changing in the near future. Currently, a buyer only needs to come up with 3.5% down to obtain a loan. There is talk of raising that to 5% at some point. Currently there are even programs that can help a buyer with the closing costs. One of them is through CalHFA. Most economists agree, the banks are going to have to raise interest rates soon. Currently, the Fed is backing the banks; therefore keeping the interest rates at these historic lows. When the Feds decide to let the banks stand on their own, they will have to raise rates to continue to be profitable. There is talk that this could happen as early as March. While know one knows for sure what the future may bring, one thing for sure is that prices for homes are great, interest rates are very low and banks and people are willing to negotiate now. We may not be able to say that for very much longer. If anyone of these things change it can knock the first-time buyer out of the arena.