As we get started with 2009, one cannot overlook all of the opportunities that are being presented in the housing market, whether it be to buy your first home, to venture into real estate investments, or even just to refinance your existing mortgage; it is all there right now. The first time home buyers have possibly the most incredible opportunity with the combination of affordable prices, interest rates that haven’t been this low for decades, and the various tax incentives. It really is too much to pass up! Investment opportunities haven’t been this great in decades either. With the combination of such low prices and the healthy demand for rental housing, investing in our local housing market is a sound and prudent investment. Refinancing your existing mortgage could make lots of sense now as rates are now in the low 5’s and in some cases, have dipped into the 4’s. Every 1% drop in your interest rate will save you approximately $128 on your monthly payment for every $200,000 on your mortgage.
 
The Fresno Association of REALTORS® has recognized that 2009 presents many new opportunities and is taking advantage of them as well. One of the ways they are doing this is through their new Real Estate talk show, Welcome Home Radio, on Saturday mornings from 9:00-10:00 on KYNO 1300AM. The new show is a partnership between KYNO Radio and the Fresno Association of REALTORS®. The purpose of the show is to provide a resource for Real Estate information to our local community. We intend to provide Real Facts and Real Stats on our local housing market. The weekly show will provide a wide variety of Real Estate experts on different topics. Being that it is a call-in show, between the guests and myself as the host, we should be able to answer most real estate related questions. The Fresno Association of REALTORS® intends to be the voice of Real Estate to the local community and this radio show is another way that we are reaching out to the public to help during a confusing time in the housing market. With year end statistics and predictions for 2009 being quoted, it can be difficult to follow and understand what is truly relevant to our local community. A great example of this is a few months ago, the headline news stated that October home sales were down 1.5% from the previous year. This statistic was true nationally, but at the state and local level, October home sales had more than doubled from 2007. In fact, in the Fresno/Clovis market for October 2008, there were 632 new purchasers compared to 295 the year before. It has often been said that Real Estate is like the weather: it is what is happening locally that affects us the most. If it is snowing in Michigan, it could be warm and sunny in California.
 
For more information on all of the opportunities available, consult your local Realtor®.