Bush’s Rate Freeze: An Early Christmas Present or Coal in Your Stocking?
December 6th, 2007 Categories: Buyers, Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
President Bush plans to announce, today, a compromise policy to freeze interest rates for some sub-prime mortgages for a period of 5 years.
Expect an afternoon joint press conference with the Treasury Department and members of the mortgage industry that negotiated this deal.
While the exact terms of the plans have not been officially announced, the Internet in buzzing with most of the planâ
| Discussion: 12 Comments »
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There is an interesting conversation going on in Teresa Boardman’s blog. For those that are interested in this topic.
http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/st_paul_real_estate/2007/12/whos-fault-is-i.html
Sounds like it is a lot more limited plan than thought, and even though it may be just putting off the day of reckoning, it may give the market a chance to recover, prices to move forward, and a chance for these folks to refinance.
I am one of those who received a sack of coal with this annoucement. I was waiting for a market correction to purchase my new home this coming year. I don’t see how prices will recover. Why would I pay $400,000 or more for a home some one is selling when I can get a brand new home for less that amount. The inventory of homes is what drives prices. Builders still need to make money, they will build more homes. If the price is to high for an existing home, what can you give me for a brand new home is the question I pose to them. If its less home than I desire, I sit even longer. The people in the market to buy homes are the ones who looked at these loans for the junk they were and also balked at the inflated price of homes. If the credit becomes harder to acquire and less people who are fully qualified as myself [Good Income + Excellent Credit] cannot obtain loans due to freeze on mortgage rates for the sub-primes, who is going to buy the house. Now the government is going to need a a new plan to help New Buyers like myself if they want me to buy an over priced home. You see this idea get’s worst when you start to look at the domino affect. If they left it alone it would be painful at first but it would eventually get better. The correction is going to OCCUR. The experts all agree on that.
John- it will be interesting to see what happens. I agree there is going to be some domino effect. Many of us just don’t know what that is yet.
I don’t know what area of the country you live in so it’s hard to say how inflated prices are where you live.
People with good credit and good income will not have problems getting new loans. They are and will always be golden to the loan companies.
Sub-prime is a really small percantage of the overall market. There are still more people like you out there.
If you are currently renting, continue to look and make an offer. (Winter is the time when you are going to get the best deal.) If you want newer construction- look at people who did have a loan that is coming due (short sale property). The plan announced yesterday only applies to owner-occupied homes, so investors who went with ARMs still have to sell. The market correction had been going on for the last 18 month at least. The government is coming late to the game.
Good Luck to you and don’t get discouraged.
[...] several Tomatoes have chimed in. Denny Oh at SanDiegoh, Jeanie at Twin City Real Estate Chat, and Mary at Beltway Ramblings all give unique insight to what this announcement [...]
I ageree that this is horrible news. This is about as smart as Nixon’s wage price freeze. True there are some sad cases around the country of people needing help, but that help needs to come from their local churches, not from Big Brother.
No, it is much more than a few sad cases…
It is an economic emergency in many markets, affecting all. (Why else would the most anti-interventionist administration in decades do anything?) It is a domino affect, but not for potential buyers, but for all home owners. It is true that the foreclosures are present in a small percentage of the overall market, but they are concentrated in some ares and approaching 14%. That means in these areas, 85% of the people are current… with good loans and good credit. That sounds good EXCEPT the 85%- who have done everything right- will LOSE much of their hard earned equity (25-30%) because the 15% that foreclose will lower the appraisals and property values VERY quickly for all. Then the neighborhood has to deal with abandoned uncared for homes and it spirals down quickly from there. Now imagine a city dependent on property tax revenues with 10-15-20 neighborhoods on their hands…
It is estimated that another 1 Million to 1.5 Million folks will face foreclosure in the first 2 quarters of 2008.
Something had and has to be done, but I have little confidence that this “voluntary” agreement will do much at all. I was waiting for the President to tell us someone was doing a “Heck-uv-a Good Job.”
Also- Mary, you are right- the buying opportunities for someone with good credit, good down payment and a good job haven’t been this good since about 2000. Just don’t let anyone buy a to be built, make an offer on inventory.
It’ll provide a much needed breather here in Las Vegas. We’re overwhelmed with foreclosures, but they’re not from the working residents. Our foreclosures are mostly out of state speculators who caused our market run up 2 years ago because of cheap easy financing.
Most of the owner occupied people I know who should be refinancing into fixed rates, can’t do it because of the drop in appraisal prices because of the foreclosures. This plan for them is the ONLY option.
Jack- I would imagine that Las Vegas is really being hit hard. I hope this does help your area and not just delay it.
[...] still too early to tell if the president’s compromise for the sub-prime mortgage “crisis” will have an impact on the recent increase of short sale properties. But [...]
Jack…
This Mortgage fiasco is out of control and our gov’t better do something serious to help people out or the housing market will crush this economy….