Confidence in the housing market remains low nationally despite the fact that mortgage interest rates are at all-time lows. This means many would-be home owners are choosing to rent instead of buying a home outright. Fewer and fewer shoppers think it’s a good time to buy a home because of the climbing house prices and stagnant wages. People need bigger wage increases in order to be able to gather a down payment and afford the home.

The number of jobs is increasing, but the wages haven’t increased along with it. It’s also become more difficult for potential buyers to save enough money for a down payment than it has been for previous generations, which makes homeownership difficult for a lot of people. This leads to a smaller group of people who own property, as very few home buyers have the money to enter the market the first time.

The good news is that mortgage rates are falling, with the average rate for a thirty year fixed mortgage being around 3.72%, a fifteen year mortgage around 3.01% and five year Treasury-indexed adjustable rate mortgages  dropping down to 2.85% as of March 2016.

Lower mortgage rates mean more affordable buying, and more first time buyers motivated to buy as renting gets more expensive on a long term basis and in most places renting exceeds what it costs to buy a home with a mortgage.

If you think you’re ready to stop renting and buy a home, contact The Sandi Pressley Team today.