Sally Forster Jones

Had to share the story EXTRA did on my listing in Bel Air:

Many homeowners can be thankful that the big wave of adjustable mortgage resets may turn out to be not nearly as bad as economists anticipated. In fact, according to many mortgage experts, lots of homeowners may actually see their ARM payments stay the same or even shrink thanks to a drop in rates to all-time historical lows.

However, in the middle of November key underlying interest rates climbed enough to make headlines in the Wall Street Journal. That may indicate that over the next few weeks and months we will finally see the rise in mortgage rates that economists have been forecasting. My recommendation to anyone thinking of refinancing is to consider doing it now. By procrastinating in hopes that rates might drop a little more you may lose a rare opportunity to lock in one of the best mortgage deals in history.

It is far better to risk a fraction of a point in savings than to take the much more substantial gamble that rates could make a quick and substantial move upward. That would leave you with less to gain from refinancing and I would rather see you begin your new year on a totally optimistic note.

For starters, the Los Angeles Times reported that home foreclosures in California declined 23 percent in October compared to the previous month. The change may be because many lenders imposed a foreclosure moratorium, but even if it is short-lived it still helps the housing market at a time when California real estate - especially locally - was already picking up steam under its own power.