Market Trends

01 Nov 2019

When’s The Best Time To Buy A House?

Real Estate

If you happen to want to move to a hot market for home sellers, here is some advice. Go looking for a home to buy when it is freezing outside or the weather is otherwise severe. Buying a home is both about finding one you like and beating out others if the market has buying competition. Days On Market To find out the competition for a particular market, check the median number of days that a home is listed on the market before it sells. This is called the "days on market." In a hot seller's market, the median number of listing days may be very low. The national average days…

09 Oct 2019

By Mortgage Blog Content

The Most Popular Cities For Relocating To Get A Better Deal On A Home

Real Estate

Many people are looking to buy homes, not across the street, not somewhere else in town, but in other parts of the country. The motivator for this is that there are significant differences in the median prices for home sales in different parts of America. This is not a result of the places being undesirable. Many of the places with excellent values in home prices are very desirable. In these nice cities, the lower prices are more about the local economy, the cost of living, and the availability of homes for sale. Popular Cities For Relocation A study done by REALTOR® identified the most popular cities that people search for when…

08 Oct 2019

By Mortgage Blog Content

New FHA Financing Available For Condo Buyers That Has A Low Down Payment

Real Estate

Condominium owners and buyers have previously been at a disadvantage when trying to use the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) support to get a home mortgage. Single-family homes could get better FHA mortgage deals than condominiums. In October 2019, this changes. New FHA Condominium Financing As of October 15, 2019, FHA loan availability is extended to condominium buyers. This is important news for first-time buyers who frequently purchase a condominium. First-time buyers appreciate FHA loans because they only require a very modest 3.5% down payment. FHA loans were strongly curtailed after the real estate market collapse in 2008. Since 2009, most condos did not qualify for FHA loans. The problem was that…

02 Oct 2019

By Mortgage Blog Content

How To Create A Home-Buying Partnership

Real Estate

Many want to have a home, yet find it difficult to afford one by themselves. Some people are forming home-buying partnerships to buy a home and live in it together. Here are some considerations for those interested in forming a home-buying partnership. A home-buying partnership is a legal and personal relationship that is similar to having a permanent roommate. It has the feeling of being married to the other person in a legal way, not in a romantic way. Like any business partnership, there are advantages and disadvantages. Advantages Of A Home-Buying Partnership Buying a home is easier when sharing the responsibility with another person. In an equal partnership, the money…

26 Sep 2019

By Mortgage Blog Content

Case-Shiller: July Home Price Growth Hits Lowest Pace in 12 Years

Market Outlook

Case-Shiller's National Home Price Index reported U.S. home prices grew by 3.20 percent year-over-year in July; as compared to year-over-year home price growth 0f 3.00 percent posted in June. Cities with the highest rates of year-over-year home price growth were Phoenix, Arizona with 5.80 percent year-over-year home price growth. Las Vegas, Nevada had 4.70 percent year-over-year home price appreciation and Charlotte, North Caroline bumped Tampa, Florida from the top three cities with home price appreciation of 4.60 percent. Tampa, Florida posted 4.50 percent year-over-year home price growth in July. Home Price Growth Stalls In West 14 cities had higher home price gains than in June and Seattle, Washington was the only…

24 Sep 2019

By Mortgage Blog Content

Expanding Opportunities For Home-Buying In ‘Opportunity Zones’

Mortgage

Opportunity Zones were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to encourage investors with capital gains on other investments to invest that money in low-income and undercapitalized communities. They get a reward of deferring capital gains tax. They avoid a portion of it altogether if they keep the investment for five years or longer. What started with a trickle of a few Opportunity Zones scattered around the country is now a deluge with over 3,000 approved Opportunity Zones approved in just about every part of America. 4,700 more areas may also qualify. Opportunity Zones Expanded Dramatically The very generous definition of Opportunity Zones not only includes poorer areas but…