Taking advantage of falling prices, buyers have stormed back to the market, surging the sales of previously owned homes in July, due to lower interest rates and a tax credit for first-time homeowners.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of existing home sales rose 7.2 percent in July from June, whereas the sales of condos and single-family homes each rose for the month. It was the largest monthly gain since the group began tracking existing home sales in 1999.
Mortgage debt has become more appealing for some buyer due to the federal first-time home buyer tax credit, which expires Dec. 1, especially combined with lower home prices and lower interest rates, but the president of Bills.com, Ethan Ewing, has cautioned buyers to be aware of the new changes to mortgage borrowing.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are two very large government-sponsored enterprises that purchase mortgages from the lenders that originate home loans. The U.S. mortgage industry largely follows rules established by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These both back nearly half of all U.S. home loans.
It is not possible to recover the US economy unless house prices are allowed to fall to such levels that can be easily paid by an individual on a normal salary. Housing “affordability” programs are the prime evil of the economy due to which debt is encouraged; this makes prices higher, not lower.
True Affordability
What true affordability means is not more debt but it rather means lower prices. More debt has been created by the government’s false affordability programs that can ever possibly be repaid. Credit rating agencies are speaking falsely about the value of this debt, scaring off investors.
The economy will work again when house prices finally fall to affordable levels, instead of investing on financial speculation, there will be investment based on real production, jobs will be created, and people will earn and spent money.
