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Blog entries tagged with "affordability":
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Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers
and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and
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What's the next step? 
With interest rates low, many renters are starting to think about purchasing a home of their own. While simple rental cost vs. mortgage cost comparisons can be very attractive, buying a home is a serious commitment, and there are many factors to consider:
The first step in buying a home is determining how much home you can afford.
Then you can look in towns and neighborhoods that have the most appealing homes in your price range.
The NJ Star Ledger "By the Numbers" web site can facilitate the search. with neighborhood breakdowns like this … (0 comments)
Land of Big Sky ~ Three Mountain Ranges and the Charm of a River Community! This land of ours, Shasta County is a haven of beauty and affodability for all lifestyles. From Nature's Bounty of the Wild Lands, Hiking and camping to fishing and boating, we have it all. Come for … (2 comments)
Amazing days in Calgary ... I love the light in the sky this time of year. Schools out ... or nearly out ... and Stampede is coming. Oh yea!
Inundated by a constant barrage of bad news over the past 12-18 months, the average consumer has really taken it on the chin. With soaring gas prices, rising unemployment, and price declines in the average consumer's largest investment, their primary residence, it has certainly been a rough ride. The cherry on top for the consumer's … (1 comments)
There was a very interesting blog on Zillow yesterday that talked about how much money the average family has left over every month after paying the mortgage, in different cities around the country. Check out Zillow’s chart: Source: Zillow.com
Austin Habitat for Humanity needs more land to build affordable homes. Austin struggles with affordability, so charities like Habitat are needed to create more home owners. Habitat for Humanity offers affordable housing to low income families. The charity uses volunteers to rehab these newly acquired foreclosed properties or in extreme cases, … (0 comments)
One of San Diego's most affable citizens and favorite weather forecaster, Loren Nancarrow, refers constantly to our area's microclimates. His nightly forecasts include the outlook for each of our many regions. Locals know and visitors learn quickly that temperature and weather conditions vary in our county from north to south, and … (0 comments)
I wanted to provide you with some great news that surely should add some hope in the air and put a few more thousand families a little bit closer to homeownership. Many of you might recall last December, when virtually all of Northern Virginia (and over ½ of the country), … (0 comments)
According to a recent Wall Street Journal news article April 2008 may mark the bottom of the housing market. Their analysis is based on reviewing variances from the standard debt service coverage ratio of 28% lenders use to qualify mortgage prospects.
Fighting Fannie/Freddie’s Declining Markets Policies MORe staff worked closely with NAR Financial Services Manager Jeff Lischer earlier this month urging an NAR response to several recent policies enacted by Fannie/Freddie. Policies which, when taken as a whole, are crippling our local marketplace. Today, NAR released the following statement in a Government … (2 comments)
Affordability is the principal reason people invest in Oklahoma real estate. Homes start at $50,000 for 3 bedroom, 1000 square foot homes. … (0 comments)
<http://htaindex.cnt.org/> This website was written up in the Washington Post Real Estate/Business section today, Sunday, April 13, 2008. It is an interesting tool to show buyers average cost of homeownership, renting and transportation costs in a particular area on a map. 
Here are the latest statistics from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors for Maple Grove. The chart explains itself, but in a nutshell, there were 4.3% less single family homes on the market in January this year than last year.
In January, many homes had their listing expire only to wait … (0 comments)
With so many markets taking a hit with the economy... Atlanta continues to offer home buyers FABULOUS opportunites to enjoy home ownership without breaking the bank. Atlanta's affordability index makes this a bargain. common sense appreciation hasn't hurt this market. Home values are holding their own. … (0 comments)
This morning in the Washington Post (Monday, Feb. 11, 2008) a really interesting editorial by Michael Hall was published. The link for this editorial is:
The Fed rate cuts, glut of homes on the market
and overall price reductions will certainly jump-start market activity
throughout the country, but it still seems to me that more and more people have
already been squeezed out of the housing market and it breaks my heart to know
that so many people who really want … (2 comments)
In the Kitsap County real estate market, we have been monitoring how affordability has improved for conforming conventional borrowers as a result of the reduction in median sales price and rates. Affordability for that class of buyer (admittedly limited) has improved to mid 2004 levels with the reduction in median sales … (1 comments)
Before You LookIt is important that you understand how much you can afford or are willing to pay before you go out and look for a new home. But what do you do before you are ready to speak with a Realtor and/or mortgage professional?
In order to achieve any goal, one must first have the Desire and Determination to reach that Goal. We all have goals, whether we acknowledge them or not. Everytime we say or think, "I wish ....." "I'd like to ....." or "I want ..." we are creating a goal. Now, these goals … (0 comments)
Authored by: Laurie Mindnich October 20th, 2007 
I had an interesting conversation with a seller whose home I held open. Her home has been listed for some time and she has reduced the price but has had no offers and is getting concerned. She was close to tears today, lamenting that if she can't get enough proceeds from … (4 comments)
Good morning all.
Brian Hutchinson of the National Post has written an article about the affordability challenges facing Vancouver home buyers today. Its a fairly typical story of a fellow and his wife who didn't buy into the real estate market 3-5 years ago and now find that they are priced out of the market. … (2 comments)
According to the California Association of Realtors, housing costs have doubled since 1999. In 1999 a first time buyer with a yearly income of $75,000 spent 19% of their income on housing by paying a monthly payment of $1200. Whereas the median household income was $60,000 and 24% of income was utilized … (0 comments)
Could the soft market possibly be due to a decline in housing affordability? Possibly... This coming fall will mark the one year anniversary of the housing markets fall from grace. The more optimistic predictions had this fall as being the beginning of the road to recovery! I sure hope so. Most … (2 comments)
The President has announced new initiatives to assist borrowers who may be in trouble with mortgages that are considered to be high-risk type of loans. Federal Housing Administration - FHA - is planning to help the borrower/homeowners who have a good credit history, but possibly won't be able to or cannot … (0 comments)
This development is planned for Fall 2007 although I have yet to see anything happening on the site. It is located right off 12th off of Nix Dr. across from the car wash on the Heights of Hood River. The homes planned are near the Indian Creek Trail and provide easy … (2 comments)
Reading an article on Yahoo discussing the least affordable real estate markets makes you wonder how we got into this mess in the beginning.
I recently made a presentation to Realtors on ways to move listings. My opening comments focused on the fact that while I am not a Realtor, I wanted to share notes taken from watching many successful Realtors. I wanted them to be successful and that perhaps by considering some of the oldies but goodies … (1 comments)
According to a recent article: Most Affordable U.S. Real Estate Markets on Forbes.com, if you're not struggling with mortgage payments or constantly checking out options to refinances, there is a good possibility that you live in an affordable U.S. real estate market. Affordability was calculated based on the ratio of median … (2 comments)
A potential client I was speaking to the other day got me thinking about what we CAN afford in terms of monthly mortgage payments and what we SHOULD be paying. 
Affordability is sustaining the housing market in Tennessee. These are the findings of the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER).
Something has been puzzling me about the South Florida Market stats in the last few months. There is a lot of noise around town about affordable housing and yet the properties under $250,000 are still on a free fall in the wrong direction.
A home is typically the largest purchase you will make in your lifetime, and for most Canadians this means obtaining a mortgage. The amount of your mortgage will determine the size and location of your new home - not to mention the size of your payments. So how do lending institutions … (0 comments)
Two NC Cities Named in Forbes 10 Least Overpriced Markets 
We all know that the woes of the subprime market has now made it difficult for a good number of the population to obtain mortgages. Most of the 100%, no money down, no credit needed financing are now disappearing. 
There are three key facts to note about current interest rates. These facts are based on the data the Federal Reserve has published on the internet for the period from April 1971 to February 2007. The statistics are for 30-year fixed mortgages. 
In 2006 45.8% of homes sold were in the price range of 100-160K dollars. Let's look at what that might buy you. 100K could buy you an older home in Bryan that has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a two car garage with over 1200 square feet, it won't be terribly … (0 comments)
Can you keep your American dream?
Build a Plan of Action and Get Ready Buying a home will probably rank as one of the biggest personal investments one can make. Being organized and in control will contribute significantly to getting the best home deal possible with the least amount of stress. It's important to anticipate the steps … (0 comments)
Certainly a rising inventory is affecting our market here in Florida, but so are rising property taxes and insurance rates. Using "generalities", last year my property taxes and insurance on this home were $756/month. For a new owner this year those costs would be $1,688/month (or with the insurance quote from … (5 comments)
I spent way too much time deciding to which blog I should post this, but I think I can tailor it better to this crowd.
I have been teaching and volunteering within the community over the last 12 months now. Over the last few weeks, however, I have really come to realize how important this has become to my students...both past and present.