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Here’s a couple of articles you might find interesting. For more info please contact my colleague Tom. I think you’ll find that now’s a great time to buy.

From Active Rain:
“The bigger problem that continues to persist is the expectancy of rates to drop. Last week after the meeting that is all you [...]

Courtesy sfgov.org.
MEDIA ALERT — I-280 N/B KING STREET EXIT TO BE CLOSED SATURDAY MARCH 28 – WEDNESDAY APRIL 1ST (WEEKDAY MORNING COMMUTE HOURS EXCEPTED) and I-280 S/B KING STREET ENTRANCE TO BE CLOSED SUNDAY MARCH 29 from 1 PM – 4 PM FOR FILMING OF TV PILOT IN SAN FRANCISCO
NORTHBOUND TRAFFIC ON I-280 WILL [...]

From Stratfor
After experiencing the worst repeated month-on-month declines since the 1982 recession, U.S. housing starts jumped dramatically in February — up 22 percent at an annualized rate to 583,000 units, according to U.S. Commerce Department data released Tuesday.
The current recession is a truly global phenomenon that has enervated economies the world over. It started in [...]

By JAMES R. HAGERTY, Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve is going to extraordinary lengths to push down long-term interest rates, including home-mortgage rates. But those hoping mortgage rates will fall sharply from current levels, already historically low, may be disappointed.
Mortgage firms Thursday were quoting rates averaging 4.75% on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, according to Zillow.com, a [...]

By Tom Balk – tom@afirealestate.com
1 – Currently the FHA and Fannie Mae conforming limits are BEING RAISED BACK UP TO $729,750 in most Bay Area Counties. This is a temporary increase for 2009 only.
2 – Federal Tax Credit up to $8,000 (or 10% of the sales price, if lower) is available to all First Time [...]

For bond traders, expectations were running high that the Fed would offer new programs or expand existing bond buy-back programs. And the Fed delivered on both counts in a huge way. In a new move, the Fed said they would spend up to $300 billion during the next six months to buy long-term Treasury bonds. [...]

This is a long term chart showing the last recession low in 2002. Once the 2002 low (7200) was broken, the Dow quickly sank to 6594 today. From what I’ve read, the market is becoming very oversold. In the next few days we could get a large move down (capitulation), and then a quick move [...]

via SF Realtor Advantage Online
S.F. Real Estate Rebounding—A Channel 5 News Story
The lead story yesterday on the six o’clock news on Channel 5 (the local CBS affiliate station) was a report by Emmy Award-winning political editor Hank Plante on the rebound in real estate sales that has [...]

via John Burns Real Estate Consulting
Since we began tracking the data for the major MSAs in 1981, there has never been a better time to buy a home. The median income household needs only 27% of their income (an all-time low) to qualify for the median-priced home, and that household is also only paying 3.3 [...]

Via the Contra Costa Times

By Eve Mitchell
STAFF WRITER

Posted: 03/02/2009 04:09:56 PM PST

Thinking about buying new home in today’s beaten-down real estate market? You could end up with as much as $18,000 in government tax credits stemming from proposals to jump-start the economy.A state tax credit worth up to $10,000 started Sunday as a way to encourage [...]

Housing Rescue Plan: (effective Wednesday, March 4th)
Refinance affects approximately 8 million homeowners with loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and those who have little or no equity to refinance into a new fixed rate loan at a reduced interest rate.  To be eligible, homeowners’ must be current on their payments and cannot have [...]

Via the Associated Press
By CHI-CHI ZHANG – Feb 12, 2009
BEIJING (AP) — Beijing lawyer Ying Guohua is heading to the United States on a shopping trip, looking not for designer clothes or jewelry, but for a $1 million home in New York City or Los Angeles.
He expects to get a bargain. Ying [...]

Via the San Francisco Chronicle
(02-26) 19:20 PST — California is offering a big carrot to people who buy brand-new homes in coming weeks: a $10,000 state tax credit for new-home buyers who close escrow starting Sunday.
With the housing sector in near-collapse and construction starts at record lows, home builders hope the credit helps them clear [...]

Gorgeous Central Richmond Condo boasting nearly 2200 sq.ft. of living space with four bedrooms and three full bathrooms. Highlights include a large master suite with a walk-in closet and a master bath with an extra-large marble tub. The large contemporary kitchen with breakfast nook has stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, generous cabinet space and [...]