Loans are pretty affordable right now – if you qualify!  Here’s a quick snapshot of today’s 30 year rates with a 30-day lock:

FHA 4.75
VA 4.875
Conforming 4.75
USDA 5.00

Given these extraordinary rates, I think there are three things that prevent qualified buyers from jumping at this time: low consumer confidence, fear of job loss, and fear of paying too much for a house.  To me, the biggest fear of these is the fear of job loss.  The number of jobs being lost each month is slowing, but not so much where people aren’t nervous, according to MSNBC.com.

Over the past three months, the economy has shed a net 188,000 jobs a month, down from a pace of 700,000 monthly early this year. As jobs continued to disappear the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October, up from 9.8 percent in September.

If you do feel secure in your job, but worry instead about paying too much for a house – you can overcome this.  There are at least two ways you won’t overpay:  1) make sure your agent runs a price comparison of other homes in the area, and 2) get it appraised.  Appraisers are being super careful now not to overvalue homes.

What do you say?  Have you been thinking about buying?