The Federal Reserve entered uncharted waters yesterday, lowering the interest rate banks charge each other to almost zero, because banks have been so reluctant to loan money - even with each other.  The Fed also announced that it would do whatever was necessary - including printing unlimited amounts of money - to defrost the frozen credit markets.

So how did everyone react?

The stock market was up, the bond market dropped like an anvil, and, in anticipation of a flood of newly-printed greenbacks, the dollar dropped sharply against foreign currencies.

But in the real estate world, we got what we expected, and a piece of what we needed.  Today, buyers can secure a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for just 4.75%.

NOW who wants to buy Myrtle Beach real estate?

We’ve been asked a number of times over the last few days for our opinion on all the hullabaloo about the mortgage market. With the news inundated by stories about government takeovers and bailouts and weird names like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and mortgage-backed securities… it’s enough for most consumers to just cover their ears, shake their heads and walk away.

As usual… Price & Company Realty to the rescue!

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson made it explicitly clear over the weekend, that the Federal Reserve has absolutely no intention of allowing our mortgage market to implode, and the Fed will do whatever it takes to maintain stability.

2. How to fix the underlying causes of this mess in the first place is something that the next Congress, not the Fed, will have to address.

3. Most importantly, as a result of the Fed’s actions over the weekend, rates on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage dropped significantly.  One large bank went from 6.25% to 5.625%.  Another went from 6.5% to 5.75%.

So… if interest rates were keeping you from jumping into the Myrtle Beach real estate market… now is the time!

I was speaking with a friend yesterday who is pretty high up in the banking/finance world in New York.  He said, “I like your blog, but you have to stop talking about price as your primary focus, and start explaining to your clients the true cost of owning property over the long term.”

Here’s a good example of what he meant.

If you were to purchase a single family home in the Myrtle Beach real estate market right now, you might pay $180,000 for that house. And you might qualify for a rate of 6.75% (according to two lenders this morning). Your principal and interest payment would be $1,116 per month.

But what if you wait until things settle down, and you’re absolutely positive that the market has hit bottom?  Let’s say that you were able to purchase that same house for $170,000 six months from now, but changes in the mortgage market and inflation have pushed rates up half a percent (which, by the way, we fully expect to happen).

Now your principal and interest payment would be $1,112 per month.

Wow. Big savings, huh?

Plus… let’s not forget that in those six months, you’ve either (a) paid six more months of rent (money flushed away forever) or interest on your existing mortgage (mostly money flushed away forever), and (b) not living in the house you really wanted.

And, of course, in those six months you would have also built up approximately $900.00 in equity you still don’t have.

If you really want to buy real estate, stop worrying about price.  Go get pre-approved and lock in your rate now, while rates are still at historic lows.

You can thank me later.