I outlined in my post on 1/20/2009 the strength of the Tulsa Real Estate Market and how it is well positioned for 2009. There's more good news!
The Federal Reserve in late December 2008 took the unprecedented step of lowering its short-term target interest rate essentially to zero. More importantly, it made a strong commitment to provide additional support, as needed, to the housing market by continuing to purchase mortgage-backed securities.
As a result, 30-year fixed mortgage rates dropped below 5% to stand at their lowest level in more than FIFTY years!
If rates stay near 5 percent or drop even lower (a real possibility) home sales could rise nationally by 10% to 15% in 2009 and bring price stabilization to parts of the country where markets have lost significant value (according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors).
For markets like Tulsa that have remained strong and not lost value, this could mean an increasingly competitive real estate market and a large influx of buyers - both of which are great things for the local real estate market.
As an example, I just had a client receive a fixed-rate mortgage quote of 4.75% on a $500,000 plus mortgage. The client was able to use the low interest rate coupled with the less than favorable economic news from the national media outlets and secure a fantastic deal on his dream home. Twelve months ago this would not have been possible.
There is a unique window that will remain open possibly the next couple of months for those who are considering trading up to the larger dream home. I believe the low interest rates will remain for most if not all of 2009, however when Spring hits it will bring with it a significant increase in Buyer activity. Couple this with historically low interest rates and we could be looking at a very competitive market beginning in April.
If you are considering moving into your dream home or a larger home, now is the time.
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