3 Reasons Why Now The Best Time To Buy A Home

(MoneyWatch)  Despite the fact that homes have lost more than a third of their value over the past three years, the vast majority of Americans want to be homeowners, according to the latest Fannie Mae Housing Survey.

Which is really good news for Realtors, mortgage lenders, professional home inspectors, and anyone else associated with the real estate industry.

And yet, I have to agree: This is a great time to buy a home. Why?

3 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Buy A Home

While it is harder to get financing than it was several years ago (when all you needed was a pulse instead of all the paperwork that's required today), there are at least 3 reasons why now is the best time to buy a home:

1. Home Buyer Tax Credits. As long as you have your paperwork done by April 30 and can close by June 30, and you qualify, you'll could eventually pocket up to $8,000 for a first-time home buyer tax credit or $6,500 for a long-term homeowner tax credit.
2. Mortgage Interest Rates Are At 40-Year Lows. Just because you could have had a 30-year fixed rate loan at 4.75 percent last November and this past February doesn't mean you shouldn't try to refinance now that interest rates are just over 5 percent. This is still an amazing interest rate for the long-term and if you don't refinance now, you'll soon wish you had.
3. Home Prices Are At Generational Lows, Too. Right now, home prices are in a state of fluctuation. They're rising (slightly) in some areas and falling in others. But just because home prices might fall before they rise again shouldn't keep you from making an offer on a home as long as you find the right house at the right price on the right terms.

I truly believe that we'll look back on these years as an optimal home buying opportunity. I've been spending my off-blog hours (some of my Other 8 Hours, for those of you familiar with the fabulous work of my MoneyWatch colleague, Robert Pagliarini) thinking about how everyone can take advantage of the trends and opportunities that are available for real estate buyers and investors at the moment.

But perhaps I'm a bit biased. Next week, my new book, Buy, Close, Move In!, will be published, and it's all about how to navigate the now-uncertain waters of the real estate and mortgage world.

Read More:

• Housing Market Predictions for 2010: How Good Will It Get?
• Prefabulous+Sustainable: Why Prefab Green Homes Are The Future Of Home Building
• Tax Credit Daze: Why It Might Take Months To Get Your Home Buyer Tax Credit Cash
• Are You In Loan Modification Hell? Join The Club
• Home Sales, Prices Falling
• 2010 Will Start With Strong Home Sales. But What Happens After The Home Buyer Tax Credits End?
• Jon+Kate Plus 8 Finally Sell Their Starter Home
  

Ilyce R. Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and the upcoming Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com.