Dip In Mortgage Rates Helpful To Prospective Buyers

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BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Earlier this year, worries on Wall Street sent the nation's housing market into a tailspin.

But now, some of the lowest home loan rates in history could start turning these tough times around.

"This is the lowest I've ever seen them," said Dianne Payne of Magna Bank in Brentwood.

At the bank, Payne said, "We're making loans. It's business as usual and I hope the consumers understand that."

And Payne wants people to know why a dip in mortgage rates is such big news.

"We've been in a six-percent market for quite a while, then it kind of dipped to 5.5 percent; 4.5 percent is going to be historical," she said.

That rate could be low enough to jump start a sagging housing market.

"We've seen a decline and we're on our way up," said Lisa Jackson of Crye-Leike Realtors.
She feels with mortgages available at a great interest rate now's the time to get back in the hunt for a home.

"Our market is so open right now, it's a buyer's market," she said. "There's so much on the market as far as homes that are available."

This mortgage lender doesn't want people to make the mistake of being misinformed about the market.

She said misinformation abounds including that "you have to have 20 percent down or you have to be an astronaut to be approved and you don't."

And that also applies to people already locked into higher-rate mortgages.

"They can have significant savings, $300, $00, $500 a month by refinancing," she said.

Everyone hopes this drop in rates starts people talking about buying again.

"Getting that conversation going between a husband and wife and saying, maybe we ought to think about buying," Payne said. "That's what we're hoping to see a lot more of in the next few months."

Right now, someone with a great credit score could land an interest rate as low as 4.5 percent. But it will vary from mortgage to mortgage.