The time to act is now!!!

Out of the recent economic gloom, some good news was reported this week, Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped for a third straight week to the lowest level since the summer of 2005 as worries intensified about the current economic slowdown. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday of last week that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.69 percent this week.

It marked the second week that 30-year mortgages have been below 6 percent and the third straight weekly decline since rates closed out 2007 at 6.17 percent. This week’s average was the lowest since 30-year mortgages were at 5.66 percent the week of July 14, 2005.

Other types of mortgages also showed declines this week.

Rates on 15-year mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, dropped to 5.21 percent this week, down from 5.43 percent last week.

Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages declined to 5.40 percent, compared to 5.63 percent last week while rates on one-year ARMs fell to 5.26 percent, down from 5.37 percent last week.

It marked the first time that the 15-year rate has fallen below one-year adjustable-rate mortgages in seven years.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Thirty-year mortgages carried a nationwide average fee of 0.5 point while 15-year mortgages had a fee of 0.4 point. The five-year and one-year ARMS both had fees of 0.6 point.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages stood at 6.23 percent while rates on 15-year mortgages were at 5.98 percent. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.04 percent and one-year ARMs were at 5.51 percent this time a year ago.

All of this, combined with the Fed rate cut this week should help the battered real estate market by making it much cheaper to buy a new home. For those who have been sitting on the sidelines, in apartments or in rental houses, now is the time to act. There are great houses on the market at unbelievably low prices AND now you can get a great mortgage rate. You risk missing the market, if you wait too long, trying to time the market to buy the perfect house at the lowest rate. One or the other will be gone by the time you move. It’s time to stop dreaming and start acting on that new home. See me today and let’s get started!