The growing US economy is making homebuyers feel more confident in splashing the big bucks for a home. The luxury segment of the housing market – the top 5% of all residential sales – has gained by double-digit percentages in 19 major markets and sales at $1 million or more are up 13% year-over-year.
Source: More people want to buy a luxury home as economy grows
More than 5.5 million US homes are underwater, representing 10.5% of all homes with a mortgage. ATTOM Data Solutions says that while many of the hottest housing markets have seen the share of underwater homes drop, there are some markets that are still struggling to recover from the financial crisis.
Your clients may know the Do’s, but how about the Don’ts?
Your clients are probably making these mistakes thinking it will help them get approved. Share these tips with your clients, they’ll be glad you did.
1. Don’t Pay Off Collections or “Charge Offs”. If you want to pay off old accounts, do it through escrow, making sure that the debt is yours. Request a “letter of deletion” from the creditor.
2. Don’t Close Credit Card Accounts or it may appear that your debt ratio has gone up. It 
also affects other factors in the score, including credit history.
3. Don’t Max Out or Over Charge Credit Card Accounts. Keep your balances below 40% of their limit during the process. Pay down balances if possible.
4. Don’t Consolidate Your Debt. When you consolidate all of your debt onto one or two credit cards, it will appear that you are “maxed out” on that card and you will be penalized.
5. Don’t Do Anything That Will Cause A Red Flag To Be Raised By The Scoring System. This includes adding new accounts, co-signing on a loan or changing your name or address with the bureaus.
You can now lock your interest rate while you shop for your new home. Even without a formal offer on a property, Lock & Shop gives you rate security with 60 or 90 day rate locks. If the rates improve as you shop, you can float down to the better rate.
Along with the Lock & Shop, you can submit an approval with conditions to make your offer strong in a competitive market.
Introducing New 3% Down Program with No Income Limits.
Make home ownership a reality for more of your borrowers. Check out HomeOne and all of our other low down payment options today.
Home prices gained 6.9% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to a year earlier and were 1.7% higher than in the last quarter of 2017. The FHFA released data Thursday showing a seasonally adjusted annual rate of increase of 0.1% for March, based on mortgage data from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Home prices gained 6.9% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to a year earlier and were 1.7% higher than in the last quarter of 2017. The FHFA released data Thursday showing a seasonally adjusted annual rate of increase of 0.1% for March, based on mortgage data from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
An overwhelming majority of Americans (85%) have a financial regret including student loans, credit card debt, and a too large mortgage. A new survey conducted at the start of May reveals the financial decisions made by more than 1,000 people which they now wish they had done differently.
Source: Most Americans are ‘home loan happy’ new survey reveals
The Federal Reserve’s governing board has released its decision on interest rates while acknowledging that inflation is closing in on its target without indicating any intention to veer from their gradual path of interest-rate increases.
“Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to run near the committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective over the medium term,” the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday in Washington. “The committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant further gradual increases in the federal funds rate.”
Source: Fed announces rate hike decision
Cities in the West, led by Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, drove a further increase in home prices in February according to a leading index. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller NSA Index, which covers all 9 census areas, was up 6.3% year-over-year from 6.1% in January. There was a 6.5% rise for the 10-City Composite (up from 6% in January) and a 6.8% rise in the 20-City Composite (from 6.4%).