In a recent press release, Zillow stated that the affordability of the nation’s rental inventory is currently much worse than affordability of the country’s home sale inventory. The release revealed two things:
. Nationally, renters signing a lease at the end of the second quarter paid 29.5% of their income to rent
. U.S. home buyers at the end of the second quarter could expect to pay 15.3% of their incomes to a mortgage on the typical home
Furthermore, renters pay more than the average of 24.9% that was paid in the pre-bubble period while buyers actually pay far less than the 22.1% share homeowners devoted to mortgages in the pre-bubble days.
Don’t Become Trapped
If you are currently renting you could get caught up in a cycle where increasing rents continue to make it impossible for you to save for a necessary down payment. Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries explains:
“The affordability of for-sale homes remains strong, which is encouraging for those buyers that can save for a down payment and capitalize on low mortgage interest rates… As rents keep rising, along with interest rates and home values, saving for a down payment and attaining homeownership becomes that much more difficult for millions of current renters.”
Know Your Options
Perhaps you already have saved enough to buy your first home. HousingWire recently reported that analysts at Nomura believe:
“It’s not that Millennials and other potential homebuyers aren’t qualified in terms of their credit scores or in how much they have saved for their down payment.
It’s that they think they’re not qualified or they think that they don’t have a big enough down payment.” (emphasis added)
Freddie Mac came out with comments on this exact issue:
. A person “can get a conforming, conventional mortgage with a down payment of as little as 5 percent (sometimes with as little as 3 percent coming out of their own pockets)”.
. Freddie Mac’s purchase of mortgages with down payments under 10 percent more than quadrupled between 2009 and 2013.
. More than one in five borrowers who took out conforming, conventional mortgages in 2014 put down 10 percent or less.
Bottom Line
Don’t get caught in the trap so many renters are currently in. If you are ready and willing to buy a home, find out if you are able. Have a professional help you determine if you are eligible to get a mortgage.
Debbie Woolard Group
(757) 288-0194
www.DebbieWoolard.com
Excellent Service – Excellent Results
Buyers Agent/Sellers Agent
Our focus is helping people find and exchange dream homes. We are seeking buyers and sellers that desire concierge level service including great communication, extraordinary representation and a continuing relationship for years to come.
You and your referrals will be provided with a great team of professionals to help with each step of the process. We are committed and passionate about negotiating the best possible terms and serving our clients at the highest level. Our goal is to create memorable real estate experiences where our clients become raving fans.
Our clients benefit by having a Certified Negotiation Expert on their side. This provides them with better results, a smoother process and greater satisfaction.
Whether a person is looking to buy or sell a starter home or a multi-million dollar estate, Debbie Woolard produces great results for her clients. She gives clients what they expect and deserve, an experienced realtor skilled in marketing and negotiations.
With Debbie Woolard, you will receive personal service as well as exceptional professionalism. She is well qualified for her work with her strong background of sales and marketing. Having been born here and continuously living in the area, she is familiar with the entire Hampton Roads region.
She has earned the professional designations of Certified Negotiation Expert, Certified Residential Specialist, and e-Pro. In addition she is also a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource with extensive training in short sales and foreclosures. This uniquely positions her to help those in danger of losing their home to foreclosure. It has also proven to be beneficial to the buyers that are seeking to purchase a short sale or foreclosure.
She is well qualified to help professionals, business owners, military personnel and other clients with their real estate needs. She has been selected to work with both the Military Team and Relocation Team. She is consistently producing outstanding results in real estate.
Her first year in real estate she was awarded Listing Rookie of the Year as well as Sales Rookie of the Year. Her sales and loyal following of satisfied clients have grown each year she has been in business. She is in the top 1% of the agents in the area based on sales volume. Her practice continues to flourish thanks to clients recommending her to friends, family members and business associates.
Her clients state that her actions and attitude are best described with the word “integrity”.
Realtors with the Debbie Woolard Group service Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News & Portsmouth with specialist in seller representation, buyer representation, military relocation, first time home buyers, short sales and real estate investment.