Last time we talked about the homebuyer tax credit, loan limits and making mud pies. Visit our newsletter archive for this and other past newsletters on www.cwcfinancial.com.

First things first - Happy Holidays from all of us at CWC Financial to all of you! We appreciate you and wish you a wonderful 2010.

This month we have a couple of things on the lighter side as well as a couple of things on the serious side of real estate.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy a Home?

Many of our clients ask as our opinion about the current real estate market and whether or not we have hit bottom. Of course, we all think we want to buy when the market bottoms - which we do - but there's more to it than that.

The key issue has to do with time. "How long do you think you will own your next home?" In other words, if we haven't hit bottom, will you own it long enough to recoup any potential losses? Perhaps the more important issue is interest rates. Do you realize that every 1% difference in interest rate is equivalent to about $22,500 for every $100,000 borrowed? Think about it: If you are borrowing $600,000 to buy a home with a 5% 30 year fixed rate loan today, that same loan at a 6% interest rate will cost you an additional $135,000 and at 7% it would be $270,000 over the course of the loan. Therefore, if you are waiting for that $750,000 home to hit bottom, and in the meantime interest rates rise (which they already are), you might see the price drop but a higher rate may cost you more in the long run. Of course, this argument assumes you will own the home for the long haul.

Therefore, it is our opinion that now is a good time to buy a home - the current combination of lower home prices and lower interest rates represent a nice buying opportunity.

Should You Short Sell or Should You Let Foreclosure Happen?

The question of whether one should pursue a short sale or allow a foreclosure is an important question to those confronted with this common problem in today's housing market. This month, we have been given a very good overview of both scenarios from Ben Hamburg. Ben is the Principal of Hamburg Law Corporation in Berkeley, California and is an expert in this area. Click here for Ben's article.

On the lighter side

This video has nothing to do with Tiger Woods but it does have a similar spin - click here.

Click here to see what 45,000 lights and a bunch of technology can do to raise your holiday spirit.

Again, have a great holiday season, be safe, and best wishes for 2010 and beyond.

As always, we welcome you to give us a call or drop us a note anytime so that we can analyze your individual situation and advise what strategy might serve your best interest based on the present market.

Sincerely,Your CWC Financial Loan Team

888-711-5454 Toll Free / 415-454-1130 info@cwcfinancial.com