Some Highlights: Many potential homebuyers believe they need a 20% down payment and a 780 FICO® score to qualify to buy a home. This stops many people from even trying to jump into homeownership! Here are some facts to help take the fear out of the process: 71% of buyers who purchased homes have put

    Some Highlights: The National Association of REALTORS® surveyed their members for the release of their Confidence Index. The REALTORS® Confidence Index is a key indicator of housing market strength based on a monthly survey sent to over 50,000 real estate practitioners. Practitioners are asked about their expectations for home sales, prices, and market conditions. Homes across the country

Homeownership is the Top Contributor to Your Net Worth Many people plan to build their net worth by buying CDs or stocks, or just having a savings account. Recently, however, Economist Jonathan Eggleston and Survey Statistician Donald Hays, both of the U.S. Census Bureau, shared the biggest determinants of wealth, “The biggest determinants of household wealth [are] owning a home and having

What FICO® Score Do You Need to Qualify for a Mortgage? While a recent announcement from CNBC shares that the average national FICO® score has reached an all-time high of 706, the good news for potential buyers is that you don’t need a score that high to qualify for a mortgage. Let’s unpack the credit score myth so

  Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Mortgage Bankers Association are all projecting home sales will increase nicely in 2020. Below is a chart depicting the projections of each entity for 2019, as well as for 2020.As we can see, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Mortgage Bankers Association all believe homes sales will increase steadily over the next year. If you’re a homeowner who has

5 Reasons to Sell This Fall Below are 5 compelling reasons listing your home for sale this fall makes sense. 1. Demand Is Strong The latest Buyer Traffic Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that buyer demand remains strong throughout the vast majority of the country. These buyers are ready, willing, and able to purchase…and are

Experts Predict a Strong Housing Market for the Rest of 2019 We’re in the back half of the year, and with a decline in interest rates as well as home price and wage appreciation, many are wondering what the predictions are for the remainder of 2019. Here’s what some of the experts have to say:

Contributed by Rick Ryan Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 4, 2015. Housecall continues to share this piece due to ongoing requests and reader interest. Landscaping is one of the most important ways to increase your property’s value quickly. In fact, a gorgeous landscape design can increase the value of your home by at

Fla. Realtors Pres. Sain: “Like the weather, July was a hot month for Fla.’s housing market.” Statewide existing single-family sales up 10.4% year-over-year, median price up 5.1% to $268K; condo sales up 4.3%, median price up 4.4% to $188K. ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s housing market reported more closed sales, more pending sales and higher median

Many buyers are wondering where to find houses for sale in today’s market. It’s a true dilemma. We see an increase in buyer demand, but the supply available for purchase isn’t keeping up. The number of new housing permits issued prior to the great recession increased for 15 years until 2005 (from 1.12 million in