Refer CNBC April 13, 2018. It is the perfect storm: Rising home prices, rising mortgage rates and rising demand are colliding with a critical shortage of homes for sale.

And all of that is slamming housing affordability, which is causing more of today’s buyers to overstretch their budgets. This year, affordability — a metric based solely on the amount of the monthly mortgage payment — will weaken at the fastest pace in a quarter century, according to researchers at Arch Mortgage Insurance.

The average mortgage payment, based on the median-priced home, increased by 5 percent in the first quarter of 2018 nationally and could go up another 10 to 15 percent by the end of the year, according to their report.

Researchers looked at the median-priced home, now $250,000, and estimated price gains this year of 5 percent in addition to mortgage rates going from 4 percent to 5 percent on the 30-year fixed. Other studies that factor in median income also show decreasing affordability because home prices are rising far faster than income growth.

That is a national picture – but all real estate is local, and some markets will see affordability weaken more dramatically. The average monthly payment in Tacoma, Washington, is estimated to increase 25 percent this year, given sharply rising prices. In Baltimore and Boston, it could rise 21 percent in each. Philadelphia, Detroit and Las Vegas could all see 20 percent increases in the average monthly payment.

“If mortgage rates and home prices continue to rise as expected, affordability will get hammered by year-end as demand continues to outstrip supply,” said Ralph DeFranco, global chief economist-mortgage services at Arch Capital Services. “A strong U.S. economy combined with a housing shortage in many markets means that there is little hope of any price drop for buyers. Whether someone is looking to upgrade or purchase their first home, the window to buy before rates jump again is probably closing fast.”

Barely a decade after home values crashed epically, they are now hovering near their historical peak, accounting for inflation. Prices are being driven by record low inventory of homes for sale. Home builders are still producing well below historical norms, and demand for housing is very hot. The economy is stronger, which is giving younger buyers the incentive and the means to buy homes.

Stretching budgets and pushing limits

Maryland real estate agent Theresa Taylor said the supply shortage is hitting buyers hard. She is seeing more clients stretch their budgets to win a deal amid multiple offers.

“People are having to escalate offers on top of rates going up. I’m seeing it in all price ranges,” said Taylor, an agent at Keller Williams. “I am seeing it when I’m getting five offers, and people are trying to package up an offer where they’re pushing their limits.”

Buyers are taking on much higher debt levels today to be able to afford a home. In fact, the share of mortgage borrowers with more than 45 percent of their monthly gross income going to debt payments more than tripled in the second half of last year. Part of that was because Fannie Mae raised that debt-to-income threshold to 50 percent, but clearly there was demand waiting.

CoreLogic considers a market overvalued when home prices are at least 10 percent higher than the long-term, sustainable level. High demand makes the likelihood of a national home price decline very slim, but certain markets could see prices cool if supply grows or if there is a hit to the local economy and local employment.

In any case, the more homebuyers stretch, the more house-poor they become, and the less money they have to spend in the rest of the economy.

With no relief in either inventory or home price appreciation in sight, the housing market is likely to become even more competitive this year.

At some point, however, there will come a breaking point when sales slow, which is already beginning to happen in some cities. Home prices usually lag sales, so if history holds true, price gains should start to ease next year.

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

There is a bill pending before the Florida House of Representatives to extend daylight savings time well into the winter months. This, of course, would be good for our primary product – tourism. Many people have a dislike for time change. There is evidence that changing the clocks causes a spike in car accidents, strokes, and heart attacks. In general, folks seem a bit “pissed off” with the time change. What does this mean for real estate? Why should you not buy or sell real estate today?

Even mild changes to sleep patterns can affect human capital in significant ways. The impact of losing an hour of sleep is wide ranging with a disruption to most people’s circadian clocks. As a result of the disruption, the vast majority of people are a bit “off” while they adjust to the new time change.

How does this impact real estate? Real estate transactions are highly emotional whether one is selling a house or an apartment building. It is rarely regarded just as a “business transaction”. With the emotions involved in a real estate transaction and the general “off” feeling people have after the time change emotions are heightened.

Negotiating is not productive typically when emotions are high on either side of the transaction. High emotions overtake logic and reason, which are the cornerstones of an effective negotiation. With daylight savings time increasing emotions in general, today is definitely not the best time to kick off the negotiations on a real estate transaction.

What should you do? Wait a few days or a week for the time change to settle in. Obviously not every negotiation can be delayed, so if you need to negotiate a transaction remain cognizant about the heightened emotional state of the participants and adapt your negotiating style to accommodate.

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

You probably know that mortgage rates are going up. After of many years of amazingly low interest rates, things are beginning to move up. There are positive signs that home buyers can take to heart.

New survey data indicate that many buyers remain optimistic about the housing market. Consumer confidence numbers from the University of Michigan also suggest that buyers feel more positive about their prospects. That’s despite their belief that rates and prices will likely rise. This confidence is a good sign, even though buyers expect tighter financing and inventory.

Get the latest facts. And crunch the numbers. You may learn that you’re better positioned to buy a home than you think—even if rates and prices climb this year.
Among the survey’s key findings:

•Only 6 percent of buyers said they would cancel their plans if mortgage rates surpassed 5 percent. This suggests that most buyers can handle slight rate increases. It also implies that buyers are putting rates in proper perspective: that even a rate close to 5 percent is still near historical lows.

•21 percent would look in other areas or buy a smaller home if rates exceeded 5 percent.

•25 percent said rates going over 5 percent would have no impact on their plans.

•Over three in four (77 percent) expect home prices in their area to rise in the next year.
The good news here, said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson in a prepared statement, is that “Still-low interest rates somewhat offset high prices for some buyers.” Redfin reported that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate exceeded 4 percent in January and has been slowly going up; rates hovered below 4 percent in late 2017.

However, “there are still many more buyers than the current housing supply can support, with no major relief in sight,” added Richardson

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

If you haven’t worked with a mortgage broker before, you may not be familiar with what they are all about. Here’s some information from NerdWalet April 13, 2016

What is a mortgage broker?

A mortgage broker acts as a middleman between you and potential lenders. The broker’s job is to work on your behalf with several banks to find the best mortgage lenders who best fit your needs with the lowest rates. Mortgage brokers have a well-developed stable of lenders they work with, making your life easier.

Mortgage brokers are licensed and regulated financial professionals. They do all the legwork — from gathering documents from you to pulling your credit history and verifying your income and employment — and use the information to apply for loans on your behalf with several lenders in a short time frame.

“Mortgage brokers are licensed financial professionals. They gather documents, pull your credit history, verify income and apply for loans on your behalf.”

Once you settle on a loan and a lender that works best for you, your mortgage broker will collaborate with the bank’s underwriting department, the closing agent (usually the title company), and your real estate agent to keep the transaction running smoothly through closing day.

How does a mortgage broker get paid?

Like most sales professionals, mortgage brokers charge a commission for their services. They typically charge a “loan origination fee,” which is about 1% of the loan amount and is paid by the borrower at closing.

Sometimes, though, mortgage brokers negotiate no-cost loans so you don’t have to shell out extra money up front; the broker will instead be paid by the lender after the loan closes. However, choosing a no-cost loan to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses means you’ll pay a higher interest rate, which costs more over time.

So what makes loan officers different from mortgage brokers? Loan officers are employees of a lender and are paid a set salary (plus bonuses) for writing loans for that lender. Mortgage brokers, who work within a mortgage brokerage firm or independently, deal with many lenders and earn the bulk of their money via commissions. The larger the loan amount, the higher the broker’s commission will be.

What are the benefits of using a mortgage broker?

For starters, a mortgage broker acts as your personal loan concierge and does all the work for you. The broker applies for loans with different lenders on your behalf, finds the lowest mortgage rates, negotiates terms and makes the approval magic happen.

Most mortgage brokers have relationships with several local, regional and even national lenders, and they can tap those connections to get some loan fees waived for you. A mortgage broker will give you accessibility and one-on-one attention you likely won’t find when working directly with a loan officer at a large bank.

Another perk: Some banks and lenders work exclusively with brokers, and that positions you to get qualified for certain loan products if your mortgage broker has a good relationship with those lenders.

You’ll also save time by using a mortgage broker; it can take hours to apply for different loans, and then there’s the back-and-forth communication involved in underwriting the loan and ensuring the transaction stays on track. A mortgage broker can save you the hassle of managing all those daunting details.

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

Refer CNN 12-14-17 In the new tax cut law before congress, the mortgage interest deduction threshold — dropped to $500,000 in the House and left untouched in the Senate — would be set at $750,000.

Refer Bankrate 12-02-17 Taking a mortgage interest deduction at tax time has long been touted as a means of encouraging homeownership, but soon you may no longer able to.

Under current law, homeowners can itemize and deduct the interest paid on their mortgages up to the first $1 million, if their loan is used to buy or improve a first or second home. The Tax Foundation says this is the third-most popular itemized deduction, and real estate industry professionals say it’s a much-needed incentive to encourage homeownership.

But with the Republican tax reform bill on brink of passing Congress, the mortgage interest deduction may be changing soon, and it could have major implications for your taxes.

What they want to change

The version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by the House reduces the amount of mortgage interest that can be deducted from your taxes from the first $1.1 million of your loan to the first $500,000. It also would put an end to allowing a mortgage interest deduction on a second home, which the current law permits.

Advocates for these changes say it will encourage more people to use the standard deduction, which the new plan aims to increase, and thus simplify things at tax time. Homebuilders and realty associations decry these changes, saying that it will discourage homeownership, which in turn could have a negative financial impact for many.

“Our major concern is less incentive to buy a home, which could mean lower homeownership rates in America,” says Lawrence Yun, economist for the National Association of Realtors. “Given that home values have always provided an opportunity to build wealth, we may see greater wealth inequality in the future.”

What this change could mean for you

If the House’s version takes hold, halving the mortgage interest deduction is more likely to benefit future homebuyers in less expensive areas. But in major metropolitan areas, homes under half a million dollars are harder to find, and the change is likely to penalize those who can afford pricier housing.

The Senate’s version of the act, which is still being ironed out, preserves the deduction on the first $1 million paid on mortgage interest. However, it eliminates the deduction you can currently take for interest paid on home equity debt. This version is less likely to disrupt the status quo.

Geographically skewed

In 2017, nearly 10 percent of all purchase loans were over that $500,000 threshold. That works out to about 215,000 purchase loans so far in 2017, according to Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of ATTOM Data Solutions.

If you’re in the market for a home, you’ll probably be in the 90 percent who spend under the threshold. But that will depend on where you live.

“It will disproportionally impact certain areas. Certain homeowners need to be cognizant of this,” says Blomquist.

For example, most major metropolitan areas and coastal regions are pricier to live in than other parts of the country and are less likely to have homes priced under $500,000. Blomquist cites California as an example, where as many as 31 percent of the mortgage loans in the state are for amounts above that $500,000 threshold.

Is this a big deal?

Although real estate groups and the home-building industry have argued vociferously against changing the mortgage deduction, it’s likely that any change isn’t going to make or break your decision to purchase a home.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect how consumers are going to buy homes whatsoever,” says Michael Seward, owner/broker of a real estate company in Palmer, Massachusetts. “When people buy a home they don’t do so because they’re getting a mortgage deduction.”

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net

If you have been watching the news, you have heard about proposed tax reform, and the fact that they may remove the mortgage interest deduction. You may be wondering how this is going to affect the housing market. Forbes says that the real state industry is going to be just fine. Refer Forbes Nov 6, 2017. The process of tax reform has officially started with the release of the first draft of the House tax reform bill, dubbed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. The National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders almost instantly came out in opposition to the plan because of two changes that will limit the deductibility of mortgage interest. NAR President Warren Brown said, “The nation’s 1.3 million Realtors® cannot support a bill that takes homeownership off the table for millions of middle-class families.” Yet, contrary to their worries, the real estate industry will be just fine under the proposed reforms.

At this point the House Republican tax reform proposal does three things that the real estate industry doesn’t like. First, it limits the mortgage interest deduction to $500,000 (down from a million) and to primary residences only. Second, it doubles the standard deduction, which would reduce the number of households that would need to bother with the mortgage interest deduction. Finally, the plan places some more stringent limits on who can claim the capital gains exclusion when selling a house and how often.

Each of these changes somewhat limits the tax advantages that have been conferred on homeowners, especially homeowners who use debt to finance their home purchases. To listen to the lobbyists for the real estate industry, these changes will be the end of the industry, plunging the housing sector back to the depths it experienced in the recent recession. Yet, the math just doesn’t add up on those claims. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

About 64% of Americans own a house. Roughly two-thirds of those homeowners have a mortgage. Only 6% of all mortgages are for $500,000 or more. Put all those numbers together and you will find that home builders and realtors think their world is ending over policy changes to the mortgage interest deduction that impact only about 2.5% of American households. Plus, existing mortgages are grandfathered in, so anyone who purchased a home expecting the deduction will continue to enjoy it. The number who won’t take advantage of itemized deductions anymore is somewhat larger, but still a small minority of households as many homeowners already used the standard deduction.
While it is certainly true that there are some locations where a significantly higher share of home buyers will be impacted, it is also true that the mortgage interest deduction is not being restricted in a vacuum. Yes, a few million American households may soon only be able to deduct interest on the first $500,000 of new mortgage debt. However, these are high-income households and they will likely find themselves paying less in taxes overall under the Tax Cuts and Job Act as currently proposed.

Similarly, doubling the standard deduction means fewer people will itemize, meaning fewer will use the mortgage interest deduction. Importantly, those households that stop itemizing are doing so because the newly enlarged standard deduction provides them a lower tax burden. Households that have more after-tax income have more money to spend on houses, mortgage payments, and everything else in the economy.

Housing is not being made unaffordable by the proposed tax reform since the vast majority of Americans will receive a moderate tax cut under the plan. Home builders and realtors seem concerned that a few rich Americans might not buy as expensive houses without as big a tax break, even though they will have more disposable income. I think they are wrong. Americans, particularly higher-income ones, like to buy stuff, especially expensive stuff, and will likely continue to buy expensive houses. If there is some adjustment in home buying demand on the higher end, high-end home builders can build more homes that are slightly less expensive. The world is not ending.

The key driver of demand for housing (rental or owner-occupied) is the number of households and the money those households have available to spend on housing. Tax reform will have no effect on household formation unless it is positive. Tax reform looks likely to leave at least 90% of Americans with more after-tax money to spend, so demand for housing (and everything else) should grow, not shrink. Housing depends much more on disposable income, the health of the job market, and Americans’ confidence in the economic future than it does on tax breaks. Don’t listen to the real estate industry; they will be just fine if the Tax Cut and Jobs Act passes.

Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

Both the tax proposal from Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the plan from President Trump keep the mortgage interest deduction – the MID – intact, so isn’t that good for real estate? If the MID remains in place then isn’t everything wonderful on the real estate front?

In a word, no.

The issue with real estate and tax reform is very simple: what homeowners see as a benefit the government sees as an “expenditure.”

Your deduction versus Uncle Sam’s expenditure:
According to the Treasury Department, “tax expenditures are defined by law as ‘revenue losses attributable to provisions of the Federal tax laws which allow a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from gross income or which provide a special credit, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability.’” In the period between FY2016 and FY 2025 major federal “expenditures” – what you and I call tax deductions – include such goodies as tax-free employer-funded medical plans ($2.74 trillion), capital gains ($1.06 trillion), mortgage interest ($948.5 billion), and property taxes ($486.9 billion).

“Right now real estate write-offs for mortgage interest and property taxes top $100 billion a year, while the government budget runs on an annual deficit, and adds to the country’s $19 trillion debt,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president at Ten-X.com, the online real estate marketplace. “As you might guess, that $100 billion looks mighty attractive to the folks on Capitol Hill.”

The Trump and Ryan tax reform proposals treat residential real estate write-offs in two ways: The property tax deduction vanishes while the MID is made toxic, a deduction you most likely won’t want to touch.

Property taxes:
Under the tax reform proposals now on Capitol Hill, the property tax write-off would be completely gone. The 35-page Ryan plan states “to simplify tax filings further for middle-income families, this Blueprint reflects the elimination of all itemized deductions except the mortgage interest deduction and the charitable contribution deduction. These two provisions help accomplish two important goals that strengthen civil society: homeownership and charitable giving.”

Not to be outdone, the Trump proposal says, “we are going to eliminate most of the tax breaks that mainly benefit high-income individuals. Home ownership, charitable giving, and retirement savings will be protected – but other tax benefits will be eliminated.” According to CNBC, the one-page Trump plan “would eliminate tax deductions, with only a few exceptions, including the mortgage interest and charitable contribution deductions.”

What neither plan does is save property tax write-offs, a big expense, especially in high-cost states such as New York, New Jersey, and California. This is a problem for taxpayers who want the deduction and it’s also a problem because without federal write-offs there’s nothing to offset state and local tax increases. In the past politicians might have been able to say, “yes, we’re raising property taxes but that also means a bigger deduction for homeowners” while under the new plans – if one passes – local officials will only be able to glumly say “we’re raising property taxes and simply put you’ll have less money in your pocket.”

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

I’m sure you have seen the stories on the news about the Equifax breach. Equifax is one of the oldest and largest credit-monitoring companies, aggregating information on over 800 million consumers.  The company provides detailed information about personal credit and payment history of individuals, indicating whether they are eligible to receive a loan.  In order to provide a full credit report, Equifax houses an enormous amount of sensitive data, such as full names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates and sometimes driver’s license numbers.

Last week, Equifax revealed their data had been compromised during a cyber-security breach which occurred mid-May through July 2017.   Hackers gained access to personal information on 143 million American consumers.  Equifax also confirmed at least 209,000 consumers’ credit card credentials were taken during this attack.   This means that the opportunity for identity theft has tremendously increased for the majority of American residents.

We understand the seriousness of this attack and need you to realize how important it is to take action immediately and be pro-active so identity theft does not happen to you.

How can I be proactive? Help!

First, monitor your credit report for any suspicious activity.  Check to see if new accounts have been opened that you did not open, late payments on debt you do not recognize or fraudulent charges made on a card.  You can check your credit report free, once a year here.  If you suspect identity theft, contact the credit card company’s fraud department immediately.

For extra protection, freeze your credit with the three major credit bureaus.  This is the best way to prevent identity theft.  Once accounts are frozen, you will not be able to open new lines of credit or have your credit checked without lifting the freeze.  Contact each bureau immediately to freeze your account.  Or, request a freeze online.  Note: You will not be able to freeze your credit if you are currently pending a large purchase or financing activity.
•               Equifax:  1-800-349-9960
•               TransUnion:  1-888-909-8872
•               Experian:  1-888-397-3742

Equifax is offering free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to all who may have been impacted, for one year.  You may also enroll in Equifax’s program to see if you are one of the millions affected by the hack.  To get started, enroll here to begin.  The enrollment process must be completed by November 21, 2017.

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

Bet you thought the days of taking money out of a house were over, after the real estate crash. But with home values on the rise in America, cash-out mortgage refinances (frequently referred to as “cash-out refis”) are also surging.

But while more and more homeowners are taking cash out of their homes, they’re doing so in a rather cautious manner. In fact, some analysts say they’re pulling the most conservative amounts in American history.

Some of this is no doubt a conservative, cautious reaction to some very hard lessons learned by many prior to the historic housing crash of the previous decade, when millions of borrowers fell woefully “underwater” on their home loans and home prices plummeted. The end result was millions of homes landing in foreclosure, sometimes resulting in entire subdivisions and communities morphing into “ghost town” status.

Of course, lending standards have tightened since then, but borrowers themselves are also inherently more risk-averse in 2016.

The activity level, however, is quite high.

According to Black Knight Financial Services, a full 42 percent of mortgage refinances in the fall of 2015 involved borrowers taking cash out of their homes. That marked the highest such figure since 2008, per the Black Knight data and analytics division.

The average cash-out amount was more than $60,000, and the average loan-to-value ratio after the refinance was just 67 percent – which represents the lowest such figure on record. Borrowers also left 33 percent equity remaining in their homes, on average.

Black Knight analyst figures also revealed there were $64 billion in total equity tapped via cash-out refinances over the past 12 calendar months – the highest dollar amount for any equivalent 12-month period since 2008-09, when the American financial crisis truly began to deepen.

Consumers today are saving more than they were in recent years, even though the financial crisis was much deeper and more acute just a few years ago. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the savings rate in December of 2015 actually rose to the highest level in three full years. Spending remained flat during this same period.

The average credit score of borrowers who are opting for cash-out refinances is fairly high at 748 – suggesting many lenders are still quite risk-averse themselves.

The Federal Reserve has also played a strong role here, having kept interest rates at near zero for seven years up until the final days of 2015.

It all adds up to many borrowers deciding to take out home equity loans – but taking only what they need, and often taking out full amortizing loans. This means they start paying back those loans immediately, with monthly principal payments on top of interest.

Also of note is what many of these borrowers are using their home equity loans for. Rather than pricey, exotic vacations or luxury extravagances in the days prior to 2008, the equity is typically being used for necessities like home repairs, medical costs, and education fees. In other words, much more practical and utilitarian purposes than indulgent and extravagant splurges.

As a mortgage broker, we have a variety of innovative and flexible products to present to borrowers who are looking to execute a cash-out refinance on their homes.

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

I’m sure you’ve seen on the news that home prices continue to rise, and that it’s a sellers

Happy family with agent realtor near new house.

market.

Take the latest report from the National Association of Realtors which showed that the median sales price of existing homes rose to $253,800 in May. That’s up 5.8% year-over-year and the highest reading since last June ($247,000).

Given the steady climb in home prices, it’s only natural to wonder what the underlying cause is.

What Causes Home Prices to Rise

Supply and Demand

When it comes to home prices and what causes them to rise or fall, it all comes back to the basic economic principle of supply and demand.

When we’re talking about the housing market, demand refers to the amount of homes desired by buyers, while supply refers to the amount of homes available on the market.

When demand rises and supply shrinks, that’s going to cause home prices to shoot up, as it breeds fierce competition among buyers.

“A recent Zillow report had Las Vegas’ median home price 10.2% higher than last year which beats the national average of a 7.4% increase. Our prices are being driven up by a lack of inventory. Current listings in the MLS are less than a two month supply of homes. Homes that are in good condition, in desirable neighborhoods, and priced right are selling quick.”

What Rising Prices Mean for Homeowners and Homebuyers

Find out what’s happening in your local housing market

It’s important to note that housing markets vary drastically from region to region. While home prices have been rising on average nationally, there are varying degrees of increases and even some places where home prices have fallen.

Figuring out what the situation is in your local housing market is a crucial first step in deciding what kind of action you should take.

NPR recently published an article with an interactive map that lets users see how home prices have fared in different parts of the United States. Take a look at the map to easily get an idea of what has been happening in your neck of the woods.

In all likelihood, home prices in your housing market have gone up and are poised to go even higher. With prices rising and inventory down, we’re seeing that many homeowners think right now is a great time to sell.

In fact, just last week the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment index for June came in at 88.3, which matches the all-time high set in February. According to the report, 39% of Americans said that right now is a good time to sell a home (a new record high) and 30% said that right now is a good time to buy.

Selling your home

So if you’re planning on selling your home right now, it’s very likely that you will have no problem find a buyer. Just make sure to be on the hunt for a house to move to before you list because it’s possible you’ll be done with the sale sooner than you think.

Buying a home

For anyone planning on buying a home, it you will probably get a better deal if you act sooner rather than later. Not only are home prices continuing to move higher, but mortgage rates are also rising.

Ruth Schoenherr is a mortgage broker who will help you find home loans in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Safety Harbor, St Petersburg and Tampa Bay area. For more information, go to her web site at www.ClearwaterMortgageBroker.net.

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