With the national housing bust still rippling through the economy, the battered real estate market is offering up tempting incentives for consumers to jump in. Home prices at the national level have plummeted more than 32 percent since 2006, presenting real estate shoppers with some outstanding bargains. What’s more, President Barack Obama’s stimulus package included a tax credit worth up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers. Then there’s the mortgage market. After the Fed announced plans beginning last fall to buy up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities and long-term treasury bonds, mortgage rates dropped to all-time lows. But consumers looking to take advantage of these attractive rates—through refinancing a mortgage or buying a home—are often left with puzzling questions: What direction are mortgage rates headed from here? Is now the best time to refinance? To answer those and other burning questions, U.S. News surveyed a handful of experts and compiled a list of seven simple steps to snag a dirt-cheap mortgage.
Click here to read the full article…
