When Were Homes The Cheapest?

credit sesame BY: WHEN WERE HOMES THE CHEAPEST? www.creditsesame.com PAST AND PRESENT According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the housing inventory has risen by 1.14 million to 130.9 million within this year. HOME OWNERSHIP RATES IN THE U.S. 1900-2010 100% 90% .................................... ........ 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 HOME OWNERSHIP RATES IN THE U.S., 1999-2010 Home ownership rates in 2010 have hit 66.9%, only slightly higher than its lowest point in 1999, when it was 66.7%. 70% 69% 68% 67% 66% 65% 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 During the late 1990s and early 2000s, home ownership was on the rise, while mortgage rates increased with a healthy economy. NATIONAL AVERAGE MORTGAGE RATE TRENDS AND AVERAGE MEDIAN HOUSING PRICES SINCE 1986 As average median home prices generally rose over the last 24 years, 30-year fixed rate mortgages have hit a 50-year low. 10% 5% '86 '87 *88 06. 16. '92 93 94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 *02 03 04 '05 "06 '07 "08 '09 '10 68. Year Average Median Housing Prices $125.000 and Under $125,000 - $200,000 $200,000+ * January-September, 2010 THE BOTTOM LINE FOR FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS TODAY? Average median Mortgage housing prices are down almost a 50-year low. bidding wars for High vacancy rates continue to open up doors on the There are more rates are at choices and no that perfect home. market. 10% from its peak in 2007. HOW DO HOME BUYERS FEEL? In the 2009 - 2010 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, these key findings were reported: 64% of people think it is a good time to buy a house. This is close to as many who thought it was a good time to buy in 2003, when home prices hadn't peaked yet. 31% think now is a very good time to buy a house. 64% 31% "Well, it certainly is the best time we've seen in the last four, five years, and maybe in my lifetime. And if you look at some of the property values that are out there, one of the things that people forget is that a house is a consumer durable good. It's not just an investment." - Karl Case, professor of economics at Wellesley College and inventor of the Case-Shiller housing price index. Karl case also give the example, "If you look at a $300,000 house, three years ago, the house payment on an 80 percent mortgage would have been $1,500. Today, the same house is 30 percent lower on average and the same mortgage at 4.1 percent gives you a house payment of about $800." Sources census.gov | foxnews.com I businessweek.com | hsh.com I mortgagenewsdaily.com | moneywatch.bnet.com | msn.com | fanniemae.com 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rate (%) $86,600 $104,500 $113,400 $120,400 $122,300 $120,000 $121,300 $126.100 $130,400 $133,400 $139,800 $145,1 $152,000 $159,800 $166,500 $172,600 $185,000 $191,400 $217,800 $234,200 $243,100 $243.700 $230,400 214,500 5219,700