Dream of homeownership? Well time-is-a-tickin’!

So you have probably heard it a thousand times now, but why rent when you can buy? Don’t miss this (probably) once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy a home of your own with the kinds of opportunities the market is currently presenting you. With the record-breaking affordability and the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, what’s stopping you?

Here are the current statistics:

According to NAR (National Association of Realtors), contract activity on pending home sales has risen in the past 6 consecutive months, a pattern that the market has not seen since 2001. NAR estimates that about 1.8 - 2 million first-time homebuyers have taken advantage of the $8,000 tax credit and the record high affordability of homes.

Buyers are practicing more responsible home-buying principles:

As for mortgages, homebuyers nationwide are staying well within their budgets by only obtaining mortgages that require less than 25% of the household income to pay the monthly mortgage payment. It has not been since 1970 that the national average of the percentage of household incomes to monthly mortgage payments has been this low.

What is to come?

Economists speculate that pending homes sales will continue to rise until the $8,000 tax credit expires on November 30, 2009. They say we should expect home sales to drop off and the economy to level off and begin to rise again in the second quarter of 2010.

So again, ask yourself, why rent when you can buy?