Some Highlights:‘Millennials’ are defined as 18-36 year olds according to the US Census Bureau.According to NAR’s latest Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the median age of all first-time home buyers is 31 years old.More and more ‘Old Millennials’ (25-36 year olds) are realizing that homeownership is within their reach now!
The media has extensively covered the rise in mortgage interest rates since last fall (from 3.42% last September to the current 4.1% according to Freddie Mac). However, a less covered aspect of the mortgage market is that requirements to get a mortgage have eased while rates have risen.The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) quantifies the availability [...]
A recent report released by Down Payment Resource shows that 65% of first-time homebuyers purchased their homes with a down payment of 6% or less in the month of January.The trend continued through all buyers with a mortgage, as 62% made a down payment of less than 20%, which is consistent with findings from December.An [...]
There are many benefits to homeownership. One of the top benefits is being able to protect yourself from rising rents by locking in your housing cost for the life of your mortgage.Don’t Become Trapped Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com, reported on what he calls a “Rental Affordability Crisis.” He warns that,“Low rental vacancies and a lack of new rental construction [...]
When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price for it with the least amount of hassles along the way. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is actually getting their homes sold.In order to accomplish all three goals, a seller should realize the importance [...]
Some Highlights:“The majority of millennials said they consider owning a home more sensible than renting for both financial and lifestyle reasons — including control of living space, flexibility in future decisions, privacy and security, and living in a nice home.”At 93%, the top reason Millennials choose to buy is to have control over their living [...]
Some industry experts are claiming that the housing market may be headed for a slowdown as we proceed through 2017, based on rising home prices and a potential jump in mortgage interest rates. One of the data points they use is the Housing Affordability Index, as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).Here is [...]
Traditionally, spring is the busiest season for real estate. Buyers come out in force and homeowners list their houses for sale hoping to capitalize on buyer activity. This year will be no different!Buyers have already been out in force looking for their dream homes and more are on their way, but the challenge is that [...]
There are some homeowners that have been waiting for months to get a price they hoped for when they originally listed their house for sale. The only thing they might want to consider is... If it hasn't sold yet, maybe it's not priced properly.After all, 15,014 houses sold yesterday, 15,014 will sell today and 15,014 will sell tomorrow.15,014!That is the average [...]
A survey by Ipsos found that the American public is still somewhat confused about what is required to qualify for a home mortgage loan in today’s housing market. There are two major misconceptions that we want to address today.1. Down PaymentThe survey revealed that consumers overestimate the down payment funds needed to qualify for a home loan. [...]