After over a year of moderating home prices, it appears home value appreciation is about to reaccelerate. Skylar Olsen, Director of Economic Research at Zillow, explained in a recent article: “A year ago, a combination of a government shutdown, stock market slump and mortgage rate spike caused a long-anticipated inventory rise. That supposed boom turned… [Read More]
Interest Rates Over Time [INFOGRAPHIC]
Some Highlights: With interest rates hovering at near historic lows, now is a great time to look back at where they’ve been, and how much they’ve changed over time. According to Freddie Mac, mortgage interest rates are currently hovering near a five-decade low. The impact your interest rate has on your monthly mortgage payment is significant…. [Read More]
How Trusted Professionals Make Homebuying Easier to Understand
In the spring, many excited buyers get ready to enter the housing market. Others continue dreaming about the homes they’d like to buy. The truth is, many potential buyers continue to dream longer than they need to, simply because they’re confused about the homebuying process. Thankfully, working with a trusted real estate professional can help… [Read More]
Early Burnout Could be Good
Most of us understand the expression “burning the candle at both ends” to mean working so hard that you burn yourself out. Normally, that wouldn’t be a good idea unless it is intentional. If the candle is your mortgage and the strategy is to get it paid off early, being “burned out” would be a… [Read More]
Forced Savings
Most of the big banks have a voluntary program available that transfers $100 each month from your checking account to your savings account. In five years, the account owner would have over $5,000 because of a type of forced savings. Similarly, when a person buys a home with a standard amortizing loan, each month, a part… [Read More]