To successfully purchase a home today, you will need a down payment of at least 3.5 percent of the purchase price. Gone are the days of no down payment alternatives, down payment assistance and seller-offered programs to come up with the money needed to buy a home. Instead, let’s look at the five ways you can come up with a down payment to seal the deal. Read more here.
Buyers
In a dramatic about-face for the housing market, sellers are now calling the shots. A survey of more than 2,000 Americans found that 33% of the 365 who were searching for a home have been on the hunt for more than a year and many were willing to make compromises on where they live or the type of home they would buy in order to close the deal. Read more here.
Home purchase contracts in New Jersey soared in April, recording a 28% increase compared to one year ago. Given that the pace of sales rose by 23% in April-2012, purchase demand has expanded by an astounding 58% over the past 2 years. The “buy now, pay less” mood among home buyers is creating a sense-of-urgency that is likely to raise purchase demand in 2013 to pre-recession levels last seen in 2006.
The New York Times says: Americans are in a buying mood, thanks largely to the housing recovery. Housing prices rose in every one of the 20 cities tracked, continuing a trend that began three months ago. Similar strength has appeared in new and existing home sales and in building permits. Read more here.
The housing market is heating up, yet many house hunters are not prepared to take on the biggest purchases of their lives.
When it comes to mortgages, homebuyers answered basic questions about terms, how to choose a lender and financing wrong nearly one-third of the time, according to an April survey of more than 1,000 current and prospective homeowners by real estate website Zillow. Read more here.
This property is located at 28 Heritage Way in Belle Mead and is where you’ll find me this Sunday from 1-4. It sits on a quiet cul-de-sac and has had several recent improvements. Well worth a look-see. For more info, click here.
Home appraisals can make or break a sale or refinancing. In particular, low appraisals are a big problem for many would-be buyers and refinancers as home values have started to stabilize and rise in most markets. Click here to read what you can do.
While sellers sometimes make emotional mistakes, the reality is that a hot market like today’s creates massive competition among buyers, and can lead to a slippery slope of decision-making that leads to later regrets. Let’s take a look at the most common real estate regrets revealed in this new Trulia report, and what they can teach today’s home buyers about making real estate decisions they feel good about in the long run. Read more here.
Befor you jump into a 30 year mortgage, check out whether you can afford a shorter term loan – it could save you thousands of dollars in interest of you do. Read more here.
Contemporary Coolness, this Sunday,
at 15 Carsdale Court, Belle Mead, NJ
Be there or be square. For more info,
Livingston Johnson 