October 2015

Keeping Current Matters, 10/23/15

Some Highlights:

• 36% of Americans think they need a 20% down payment to buy a home. 44% of Millennials who purchased a home this year have put down less than 10%.
• 71% of loan applications were approved last month
• The average credit score of approved loans was 723 in September (the lowest recorded score since Ellie Mae began tracking in August 2011).

Jim Buchta, StarTribune 10/14/15

There were more buyers than sellers in many parts of the Twin Cities last month, boosting prices and closings in what’s been the best fall market in a decade.

During September, there were 5,114 home sales with a median sale price of $222,000 in the 13-county metro area, according to data released Tuesday by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. That was a 12 percent increase in sales and a 8.3 percent increase in prices compared with last September.

The market was strong all through the spring and summer and near-perfect weather for house shopping kept it that way as fall arrived.

“The warm season and good rates continue to keep the market active,” said Kevin Sharkey, president/owner of Better Homes and

Keeping Current Matters, 8/26/15

Some experts are advising that first time and move-up buyers wait until they save up 20% before they move forward with their decision to purchase a home. One of the main reasons they suggest waiting is that a buyer must purchase private mortgage insurance if they have less than the 20%. That increases the monthly payment the buyer will be responsible for.

In a recent article, Freddie Mac explained what this would mean for a $200,000 house:

However, we must look at other aspects of the purchase to see if it truly makes sense to wait.

Are you actually saving money by waiting?

CoreLogic has recently projected that home values will increase by 4.3% over the next 12 months. Let’s compare the extra cost of PMI