Mortgage rates see near-rock bottom prices

Posted at: 12/04/2009 7:32 PM
By: Misa Maruyama; Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com

While mortgage rates may be low, one broker says it's still tough to get a loan.

Twenty-five-year-old Christopher Regan just bought a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home for a deal he couldn't pass up.

"This is our first home, and it's kind of exciting," Regan said.

He says an $8,000 federal homeowner tax credit and rock-bottom interest rates sweetened the deal.

"Even at a 6%, or a 6.5%, in my eyes that's still good. It's lower than my car rate," Regan said.

On Thursday, mortgage rates were about 4.71% on a 30-year mortgage. Freddie Mac published the rate, which is the lowest since the mortgage finance company began tracking the data nearly 40 years ago. On Friday, they rebounded to nearly 5% as Wall Street reacted to better-than-expected unemployment numbers.

Many are calling it a buyer's market, but mortgage banker Debbie Bulcock of Albuquerque said gone are the days of the so-called "liar loans," when people didn't have to prove their income.

"They've turned around 180 degrees," Bulcock said.

She says people need to have good credit, job stability, and a cash cushion— and she doesn't think that's a bad thing.

In fact, she says lowering standards is what got us into the mortgage mess in the first place.

"Just putting them into a position where they can't win. They get a month behind; the late fees stack up, and they can't catch up," Bulcock said. "It's not a good thing to put somebody in that position."

Realtors say the Albuquerque area real estate market is rebounding as the number of homes sold in October increased nearly 40% compared to the year before.

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