Jason P. Bernabei, TriCastle Realty
DEL MAR December 26 2011 -- Gooooooood Monday morning SD! Wait a minute… strike that, reverse it. Mulligan… Ah-hem…CHICAGO December 27 2011 -- Gooooood Tuuuuuesday Morning Chicaaagoland!! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and enjoyed some family time, as I am the rest of this week after a long day of flying yesterday. Round these parts, the blow of the end of the Bears play-off aspirations was quickly tempered by a Derrick Rose game-winner over the Lakers in LA on the NBA’s opening night (finally). Hey Chargers fans, the Clippers belong to SD by rights, so maybe… Ah, nevermind. Padres spring training is fast approaching, so that’s something for ya’ll, post-Chargers demise. Anyway, let’s get into it. You don’t even want to hear about the wind-chill off Lake Michigan.
First, right to mortgage rates. Record lows! No this is not some ridiculous online advertisement that has permeated the borders of your e-mail account the last decade-plus, accompanied by dancing pink flamingos or bikini model contestants holding a rate-card displaying “1%!” over her bouncing, digitally animated breasts. It is, actually, and really TRUE. If you are skeptical, you can’t be blamed. When it comes to housing and lending, mass-deception has long been a staple in marketing to the masses. After all, behind the “mortgage rates reach record lows!” ads that have run every single day since 2002ish are the big, bad brokers, and behind that curtain, the bigger, badder banks; profiteers of a decade of housing and lending lawlessness and exploitation. Where I’m going with this picks up where I left off last week. Seemingly behind every silvery-tongued silver lining in this industry that I call home lies the real, actual truth. And the real, actual truth is that historically low rates are all fine and dandy, but they don’t help those who can’t qualify to take advantage of said rates, who can’t qualify for a mortgage, or mortgage refinance. And sadly, but perhaps appropriately, that is a verrry large constituent of those that apply.
So while I could get into all the puff I just read about all the positive strides in housing of late on a certain local realty’s website, or just rehearse and rehash all the “good news” that lines the opinion pieces of the major news outlets, the realist in me has got to take a stand. Rates are grrrreat. Chances of ascertaining a mortgage loan or refi, nnnnot so great for most. Values going back up again anytime soon? A pipedream. So that’s where I find myself rolling into 2012, stuck in the middle with you SD. And HAPPY to be dare wit’ yas (excuse the Midwest accent, it comes back quick upon arrival at Midway)!Nonetheless, if you can qualify to buy, YOU SHOULD DO IT. Despite the recent quote-unquote “productive implementations” by HARP to afford easier access to lending, my gut tells me that parameters to qualify will tighten even further in 2012, not loosen up. You are buying low, low, low, and the market will turn around, and you will gain equity organically, just by owning and making your mortgage payment. It is the way of things, but it is a long way off. Even so, do not discount the opportunity to get a piece of SD at these low, low prices RIGHT NOW. If you can, that is…
Give me a holler today at jasonb@tricastle.com, and check me out and each and every Monday on http://www.tricastle.com/ for more, and tune into "The Realty Insiders" this January to see The Realty Insiders team flip SD.
Jay's Outlook: Cloudy with a hint of sun
Jason P. Bernabei, TriCastle Realty, Carmel Valley home search
