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If you’re planning to apply for a mortgage, one of the first steps in preparing for the homebuying and mortgage process is to know your credit profile. This new article from U.S. News highlights the reasons, along with four other signs that you should check your credit report today.
Getting a home loan requires going through a rigorous application process, including a careful review of your credit by the prospective lender. Checking credit reports before you submit your application can give you a sense of your chances of getting approved and what your interest rates might looks like. Your report can help you think more realistically about what homes you can afford.
“Your credit history may impact the interest rate or the amount of money you can borrow in relation to your income,” says Arlene Maloney of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
If you pull your credit report and find that it has some black marks, you’ll be able to adjust your borrowing – and house-hunting – expectations accordingly.
If you’re selling your home this year, Redfin’s National Market Tracker has some excellent news for you.
Home sales across Redfin markets increased at a rate of 5.4% in April compared to a year earlier, and the median sale price rose 6.5% year-over-year to $275,700. April was the third month in a row that prices grew above 6%, a sign that demand is putting more upward pressure on prices.
Strong homebuyer demand is favoring sellers, with 21% of homes sold above asking price, an increase of 0.3% compared with last April and the first year-over-year increase in 19 months. Typically, this rate peaks in June, meaning we could see an even more competitive market this year than at the peak of 2013. On average, homes sold in 31 days, two days faster than this time last spring. More than a third of all new listings sold in less than two weeks.
According to the National Association of Realtors, a “sizeable pent-up demand” for homes is heightening expectations for existing home sales in 2015. This article from The Wall Street Journal reports on some of the highlights from the NAR’s mid-year forecast.
Existing homes sales this year are expected to hit levels not seen since just after the peak, in 2006, driven by strong job growth, low interest rates and a gradual loosening of lending standards, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the realtor association, said in his mid-year forecast that he expects home sales to end up around 5.3 million in 2015, a significant pick-up from 4.9 million sales in 2014.
Mr. Yun said that early results this year point to a pick-up in home sales, including sales in the first few months, foot traffic at homes on the market and strong job growth. Buyers who have been kept out of the market by low wages and strict lending standards are likely to start coming back.
One of the many myths about the brain is that it has two distinct halves: the left brain is more practical and analytical, while the right brain is more creative and colorful. The same distinction can be found within our cities, and it’s not a myth. This article from CityLab highlights a new study that takes a detailed look at the kinds of neighborhoods that are home to high-tech industries versus those that foster vibrant arts, cultural and music scenes. What makes some places more innovative than others? How do certain neighborhoods come to specialize in different types of creativity?
The study, published in the journal Regional Studies by my Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) and University of Toronto colleague Greg Spencer, asks: To what degree do these two main types of innovative activity prefer urban versus suburban neighborhoods?
The main finding of the study is that these two types of activities – science-based versus creative industries – are based in very different kinds of locations. The science-based firms and industries are out in the suburbs, along highway interchanges, and in newer, low density suburban campuses. The creative industry locations are much more urban, dense, closer to the core of the city, walkable, mixed-use and often served by public transit. Creative workers are more likely to live in or near the neighborhoods in which they work, while science and engineering workers live farther away and are more likely to commute by car.
A new Urban Land Institute-commissioned survey of young Americans’ housing preferences found that half of millennial respondents rent their homes, and that they remain as resolute as in past years to eventually own a home. This article from The Wall Street Journal offers some interesting insight into the survey results.
More millennials are renting now than were five years ago, but most of them still aspire to live in single-family, detached homes in the near future. The number of respondents renting their homes is up markedly from the results in 2010, when 37% of respondents were renters. The survey found that 70% of millennials anticipate owning a home by 2020. That’s a tad higher than the 67% who said in the 2010 survey that they foresaw being homeowners by 2015.
Many economists, housing analysts and home builders posit that millennials, also called Generation Y, will start buying homes and moving to the suburbs. Yet many forecasters just can’t say for certain if that will start in earnest this year, next or five years from now.
“The Great Recession has not dimmed Generation Y’s preference for single-family homes, mostly detached,” wrote Leanne Lachman, the survey’s co-author.
What school will your child attend? What do the numbers say about the school? And what’s the school’s reputation? According to this new article from U.S. News, these are three of the most important questions you should get answers to when searching for the best new home and community for your family.
The school numbers you should look for when assessing school quality are test scores. But these aren’t the only important numbers. The school’s graduation rate and teacher-to-student ratio may also shed light on quality. You can also call the school or peruse its website, where test scores may be posted.
A school’s general reputation is important, too. If everyone speaks highly of a school or trashes it, there may be reasons. If you’re new to the area and haven’t established social connections, you can always tap neighbors for their opinions. You could also see if the principal will meet with you, since there’s no substitute for seeing a school in person when trying to assess it.
If the staff is friendly and accommodating to your needs, that’s a good sign. If the library is sparsely stocked or the classes seem to house 40 students to one teacher, those can be red flags. You might also pick up important information on this tour, including whether school buses service your area and what extracurricular activities are available.
Your real estate agent can only help you so much in your search for a home near a good school. Due to fair housing laws designed to prevent discrimination, agents and property managers can’t offer their opinions on schools. Once you find a school you’re interested in, you can certainly ask your real estate agent to only show you homes in that particular district.
BUILDER sister company Metrostudy has released its first quarter 2015 Home Building Outlook, forecasting relative strength for new home construction and sales for the remainder of the spring season and into the summer.
The report singles out Denver and Austin as two of the best overall new home markets, based on the health and new home sales forecasts in both cities. And the southern U.S. dominates in terms of sales volume, with the largest new home markets expected to be Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.
The report asserts that U.S. Housing Starts are expected to hit 1.1 million this year, with 715,000 of those being single family homes. Multi-family housing starts are expected to increase to 385,000 as the rental market continues to exhibit strength.
New Home Sales are expected to increase 18.8% to 519,000 this year, up from 437,000 in 2014.
This month, as college seniors are graduating and stepping out into the real world, some of their most important life lessons are still to be learned – mostly about how to handle their finances. This article from U.S. News offers six crucial tips for college graduates on how to provide themselves with a more solid financial future.
One of the most important things to do is to start building your credit now. Many credit scoring models factor in your age of accounts, so it’s beneficial to start using credit as soon as you can. Luckily, building your credit can be easy if you learn what factors affect your score and develop good habits such as paying your bills on time, not using all the credit you’re granted and spacing out applications for more credit.
Don’t be afraid or ashamed of debt – student loans can actually help build your credit history as long as you handle them responsibly. The key is to know your options and make a plan for attacking your loans.
If you have credit card debt, it may be prudent to make minimum payments on your other loans while putting more money toward paying off your cards, as they probably have higher interest rates. This could save you money and shorten the amount of time it will take to pay off your debt.
And the learning shouldn’t stop when you leave school – especially when it comes to topics that could impact your financial life. If you don’t know what a 401(k), credit report or W-4 is, now’s the time to start learning. Don’t wait until these terms apply to you. Instead, proactively read up on how you can improve and grow your money.
What do you give the mother who already has everything for Mother’s Day? Here’s an idea she might treasure: the gift of peace and quiet. This article from Bankrate offers some creative suggestions on how to find the right place in your home to create her very own mom cave.
First, it should be a retreat, a separate room to relax and read. Interior designer Amelia Kait Masterson suggests incorporating a cozy sectional sofa, throw pillows, blankets, artwork, a fireplace and natural light.
It could be a studio to let your creativity shine. Key elements of a creative room are a comfy chair, good light, a table where you can work, and a place to organize and store supplies.
Remember: This is your room, your rules. Whether you are married with kids, live with roommates or are on your own, your own tricked-out sanctuary can stand out from the rest of your home.
