Home prices today in your area are likely the cheapest they have been in years. Mortgage rates, too, are hovering around all-time lows. Meanwhile, the cost to rent is around the same it has been and will likely grow year-after- year.

In fact, since 1986 it’s never been this cheap to own a house as compared to the cost of renting.

Mark Zandi with Moody’s Analytics explains the long-term benefits of owning rather than renting:

“I think the arithmetic is such that if you plan to live in your home five or more years, then you should really consider buying a single-family home in most parts of the country at this point in time. Prices have fallen so far, that single-family housing now is very, very attractive; very affordable [...] and it’s now even attractive relative to renting.”

Several buyers are still waiting for the market to hit “bottom.” Those folks might miss the boat entirely … especially if they are in financial positions and personal situations to invest in a home right now.

The fact that not more people are “jumping in” has many housing experts “puzzled,” thinking that a monumental shift in buyer behavior is underway. One theory is that younger professionals are opting to spend their money renting condominiums and apartments in expensive cities — where “homes” are virtually obsolete — until their futures are more certain.

Whatever the case may be, the fact of the matter is that there are incredible real estate deals available throughout the nation. And most of them can be found on Foreclosure.com right here.

Catch them while you can.

That’s the opportunistic approach that many investors in major real estate markets such as Detroit, Mich., Las Vegas, Nevada, Miami, Fla., Phoenix, Ariz., and Tampa, Fla., are taking as home prices plunge at or below 2002 levels.

Foreclosed homes and other discounted distressed deals are being “snapped up” with a quickness, “forcing down” collective home prices and “thinning the supply of homes” by as much as 13 percent, according to BusinessWeek.com.

In fact, the report reveals that 35 percent of previously-owned homes purchased in March 2011 were done so with cold-hard cash, indicating that investors are hoping to buy low today and sell high someday in the future.

Mike Shannon, an agent who specializes in Detroit-area foreclosures, marvels at the recent surge in buyer activity:

“It’s like a feeding frenzy when a home goes on the market now. We’re getting a few dozen offers on some homes in a matter of days.”

If you’re not interested in “swimming with the sharks” or just don’t have cash at your disposal to compete with investors, remember that there are several programs such as Fannie Mae’s “First Look” that give traditional buyers the first crack at scoring a fantastic foreclosure deal.

To search foreclosed homes for sale in your area today free for seven days check out Foreclosure.com … before it’s too late.

No, we’re not talking about anything illegal.

But with these historically-low home prices, it might feel as though you pulled a fast one on a bank if you’re able to negotiate a great deal.

It’s no secret that banks repossess homes when borrowers default on their mortgage loan payments. And when these distressed homes fail to sell at public auctions, the banks take them back and list them as real estate-owned (REO) properties for sale.

Banks are motivated to sell their REO homes quickly, which means that they are often willing to part with them at significantly reduced prices.

So how do you go about planning your own real estate heist? Money.MSN.com provides a basic outline:

1. Learn how to recognize a deal when you see one
2. Be preapproved for a loan
3. Be ready to pounce
4. Bid as high as you’re willing to go

The most important thing that you need to do is your homework, which will give you the confidence to move fast on a deal that’s right for you without any second guessing.

To search for bank-owned homes for sale in your area right now click here.

Homebuyers these days are so fussy, in fact, that they “walk out of well-priced houses solely because of relatively minor imperfections” such as:

• The kitchen appliances are by different manufacturers
• There are no granite countertops
• A carpet needs to be replaced, or the color doesn’t match their furniture
• Wall colors are “wrong”

Most of these complaints seem trivial, but perhaps more alarming, fixable … for relatively modest costs, too.

As a result, buyers are “missing out” on excellent deals. Minor imperfections that “would not have bothered shoppers during the previous two decades.”

It’s clearly a buyer’s market these days and the rest of us are just living in it.

To find foreclosed homes for sale near you click here.

Get ‘em before they’re gone!

CNBC Real Estate Reporter Diana Olick today reports that bank-owned foreclosures (also known as REOs) and short sales — both of which fall under the distressed real estate umbrella — accounted for nearly 50 percent of all home sales in Dec. 2010.

The 47 percent share is up from 44.5 percent in Nov. 2010.

Low interest rates, as well as delayed sales agreements that were finally pushed through after “robo-signing scandal” concerns were alleviated, are the primary reasons behind the major spike.

Thomas Popik of Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance explains:

“There were signed purchase and sale agreements, and those closings were delayed until the paperwork was reviewed. The major servicers pulled from the market houses that had been listed, and buyers were found. Once those transactions went back on, then they closed, and that’s what bumped up these December statistics so much.”

Keep in mind that home sales are typically down during the holidays, which makes this news even more remarkable because real estate business was actually up 12.3 percent (seasonally adjusted) to close 2010.

To search foreclosed homes and short sale listings for sale in your area click here.

Be sure to hurry … the distressed real estate market is fast and furious. The best deals don’t last long!

That’s the assessment from Jamie Dimon, who is the CEO behind one of the largest money-lending financial institutions in the nation, J.P. Morgan Chase

He explains via MarketWatch.com:

“It is a big mess, it has cost us a lot of money. Unfortunately, the only way to do it right is name by name by name…. We will do as many as we can. There is a lot of paperwork. The paperwork is different in every single state…. There were multiple checks and balances and there may be mistakes made in the foreclosure process, but they are very few and boy, when we find them, we try to make up for them right away.”

It’s nice to hear that big banks area learning from their mistakes revealed through the recent robo-signing scandal and are still working feverishly to correct them sooner rather than later. And fix them the right way … even if it means it may cost more.

Each foreclosure case needs to be scrutinized and airtight before heading to the auction block — there’s just too much at stake. That’s the way it should have always been and should remain indefinitely.

But Dimon cautions that because each case needs to be scoured with a fine-toothed comb, and because foreclosure laws are different (and changing) state-by-state, it could take “years before this plays out.” No more cutting corners.

If nothing else that gives distressed homeowners and their families more time to figure out their next moves, perhaps literally, which isn’t a bad thing, at all, considering the difficult circumstances.

Foreclosure is the ultimate contradiction: It’s horrible for those who have to endure it yet fantastic for those who can capitalize on their misfortune.

It’s the way things have always been and will continue to be seemingly forever.

Wall Street Journal today published a great story about the “Faces of the home foreclosure crisis,” which highlights all sides of the process, including the first-time homeowners who were able to buy a home that they otherwise never thought they could afford just two years ago.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Sands of Seattle, Wash., recently scooped up a $300,000 lakefront home, saving nearly $70,000 on the final purchase price. It’s a far cry from their former “cramped $600-a-month studio apartment.”

Mr. Sands, naturally, is thrilled about the buy:

“This is a freaking dream house…. We wouldn’t have been able to afford a house if the market hadn’t dropped…. It should be an inspiration to any other people like us. Being able to buy a home is one of the most important decisions you can make.”

Indeed, the housing nightmare really is a dream for some. And in a struggling economy, which has forced way too many families out of their homes, it’s good to know that it at least opens the door for other deserving folks.

To search foreclosed homes for sale in Seattle and elsewhere throughout the nation click here.

Major banks and mortgage companies are joining forces and giving back in select communities, revitalizing distressed homes and selling them — and in some cases giving them away outright — to nonprofit organizations and local redevelopment agencies.

In turn, according to an Associated Press report, low- and moderate-income families who would otherwise be priced out, or beat to the punch by cash-laden investors, are achieving the American Dream of homeownership at prices they can afford.

Rebuilding Together in Phoenix, Arizona, is just one of many nonprofits that is taking advantage of the $7 billion program, which is part of a federally-funded initiative that returns homes back to local community members.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., as well as Wells Fargo, are among the lenders that are participating in the program. These lenders work with companies like  Honeywell International Inc. to renovate and ensure the homes are in good shape before turning them over to the various nonprofits and redevelopment agencies.

In the past two years, Chase has donated and/or sold about 1,200 homes through the program, while Wells Fargo donated about 200 and sold “hundreds more at a discount.”

For more information about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program click here.