Comments about ‘Senate Republicans to push to lower mortgage rates, cut tax rates’

How about doing something about those 30% plus interest rates on credit cards while your at it!

30 year fixed at 4%?!!
Awesome!
My wife and I have excellant credit and started the process of refinancing our home, currently a 30 year fixed at 6.35%.
We would be happy to get it down to 5% and save about $160 a month.
But 4% would be HUGE!!
Hope it happens!

Now thats change I can believe in!!

Senate Republicans want what?? You wretched neo-con fools!! Let the markets be free!!

That would be fantastic! I didnt get into a subprime loan but am still facing layoffs and could use the help.

All for Gov't spending until it might actually help americans.
Were you for the banking bailouts?
How about the currently proposed "Obama Economic stimulas package"?

@Kevin, typical neolib | 5:50 p.m. Jan. 31, 2009

"Were you for the banking bailouts?"

No.

@Way to go GOP!!!!!!!!!!! | 4:40 p.m. Jan. 31, 2009

It's not interest rates that need to come down, it's housing prices. Easy, cheap credit was the problem. And you Einsteins thing more of the same is any kind of a solution?

Ron Paul said it best the other day. The bailouts and stimulus packages are not throwing water on a fire, they are throwing kerosine.

Housing prices need to come back down to income levels. And now with the recession, incomes are falling and going to fall further. House prices are going to fall that much more.

Refinance at 4%? Great. Mortgage a house at 4%, you'll save money perhaps. But not nearly as much money as if you had waited for prices to fall. And they will.

I thought one of the principles conservative GOP stood for was free markets and keeping government out of the free markets! Is this the epitome of hypocritical or what?!

ok, so do you guys know when that 4% rate would take effect for mortgage loans? How long does that entire stimulus package process take? My husband and I are currently trying to buy our first home and now we are hearing of this. Within a week we will have to go to find a loan and 4% would be a blessing like you don't believe! Would it even happen in time for us or will we sign up for a 5% rate and then it would happen right after?

I sent a comment but it didn't show up here so I am retyping it, sorry if there are now 2 of them.
Anyways, I was wondering if I went to get a mortgage loan with my husband Monday, it would of course probably not be lower than 5% which isn't terribly awful but if I signed for a loan and next week they were at 4% I would be slapping myself. Does anyone know if this stimulus idea did get voted on, when that would happen and if it did get approved how long until it would show up at a broker's office?
My husband and I have waited over 3 years for the right time to buy and we saw that the flexible rates were a bad idea so we kept waiting. Now things are finally looking good for the buyer and I just want to make sure that we don't have any regrets or missed opportunities buying our first home.

@bethanne

I'm not financial advisor, but if I were answer the question when is the best time to buy, I'd answer 2010 at the earliest. Not because of rates, but because of prices. That house in the Aves. on the market for $400k sold for 1/4 that 10 years ago. The bubble is over, but what people don't understand is that economics moves in slow motion. Real slow. Those prices are coming down. It takes time for home owners to get it. But people's incomes are going to crash, and they'll have to come down.

Okay, haven't we been cutting taxes for the last 8 years? How did that work out for us? People who are unemployed and can't find a job aren't going to be worried about their tax bill are they? Just sounds more of the same from the Repubs. Been there, done that.

I like these Ideas. Throw out the Obamakajillion stimulous package.

An immediate tax lowering(temporary) would give immediate relief and immediate economic stimulous.

The primary culprit of the recession, is the housing market. Until it recovers, the economy will not. The 4% would be a sweet incentive to get scared buyers buying again, and it could help everyone else with mortgages have more disposable money to actually get the economy going.

And Kevin if you really think it would be better to wait a few more years to buy vs. 4% interest, realize a $200,000 mortgage loan at 4% interest your monthly payment would be nearly $400 less each month than a payment at 7% interest. Home prices would have to come down an additional 28% to make up the difference from a payment standpoint.

If you're paying Cash for a home, you MIGHT be better off waiting, but if 4% really hits, demand will rise and prices won't be dropping any more. Ridiculously low interest rates make a huge difference on affordability on housing.

"Housing prices need to come back down to income levels"

So what's income level? The cost of building a home is still up there and repairing/updating of existing homes is almost that of the lowest income families. How about all of those people that are already upside down in their mortgages? They'd never be able to sell their home and come up with the balance left over. Inflation affects everything, not just a bubble created this. The values of homes can't drop back down to the 20-150k level and be sustained for forever. Homes at those prices would be off the market instantly and then there goes the next bubble when everyone starts building again.

sounds like a great idea, help homeowners, one of Obamas plans is to give [4000] four thousand millon [4 b] to the porn industry that makes sence...If people are waiting for prices to drop to pre 1998 maybe you should keep renting.. 4-5% mortgages will help get inventory gone.. all the new notes will be notes worth having for banks, lets face it if you work at 7-11 you cant buy a 500,000 dollar house, but three years ago you could with all the no income loans and so on... Bushs heart was in the right place wanting everyone to have a chance at home ownership but lets face it not everyone should buy.. there are 2 types of people owners, and renter. thats what makes the world go around... if this goes through they will be good loans because the income is varified...not just stated....

4% interest rate would help a lot of us, but those of us refinancing would have to qualify and I heard that about 40 % of the mortgages out there are upside down. I heard you needed a minimum of 5% equity to get this 4% loan in refi. So a LOT of people will not be able to get this loan. Luckily I live in Houston, and the RE market never had a bubble, so prices are flat, which is good. Also, don't look for home prices going too much lower. You have to think about the cost of a home- labor, lumber, copper, cement..Used homes are selling below replacement value now in some markets. Better check with your homeowners insurance too when you buy a home now, the replacement value is probably WAY HIGHER than what you paid. We just went through Hurricane Ike and a lot of people found out about this the hard way. TARP is suppose to help those upside down in their house...good luck on that one. I am hoping for the 4% mortgage though...I would save about 300 a month.