The first half of 2019 surprised housing markets across the country: Mortgage rates fell. That’s the opposite of what the experts had predicted at the beginning of the year, and it’s welcome news for home buyers, sellers and homeowners. Millions of owners could benefit from refinancing at these unexpectedly lower rates. In other ways, housing…
A perfect home can be hard to find these days, especially if you’re a first-time home buyer on a budget. That could be why nearly 60% of home shoppers age 18-34, many of whom may be buying for the first time, say they’re open to a house that needs renovations, according to a 2019 survey…
Mortgage rates have fallen so much lately that millions of homeowners might benefit by refinancing — even if they bought a home just last year. A typical refinancer could save more than $150 a month. Some homeowners have gotten the message: Refinance applications have almost doubled compared to a year ago, according to the Mortgage…
Whether you give a hoot about the environment or not, it could pay to think about energy efficiency when shopping for a home. Newer houses certified by Energy Star — the federal government’s energy-efficiency rating program — use an average of 20% less energy than homes built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, according to the…
Maximizing a home down payment can make sense: The bigger the down payment, the lower the monthly mortgage bill and the better the chance of building equity more quickly. But putting too much down could leave you without enough cash for home maintenance — or anything else. Pinpointing the right amount involves balancing the advantages…
Cities in the Pacific time zone have the least-affordable housing in the country, and the Central time zone has the most-affordable housing. Each quarter, NerdWallet calculates the home affordability for 178 metropolitan areas, matching the list of metros for which the National Association of Realtors publishes median home prices. This quarter, NerdWallet sorted the metro…
Technology is a wonderful thing and, as luck would have it, there’s a bunch of handy smartphone apps created specifically for homeowners! Here are five great ones… iScape If you’ve got outdoor spaces that you’d like to improve, iScape is the app for you! This app uses your phone’s camera to allow you to drag…
Each and every year, major paint companies declare their color of the year. If you’re thinking about a new coat of paint for your home as we get deeper into 2019, here are the colors of the year worth considering! Blueprint by Behr This is a versatile, but bold color choice for a variety of home…
If visiting all of our nation’s amazing national parks isn’t in your budget and/or immediate plans, checking them out on Instagram isn’t a bad consolation prize. Here are some of the best accounts to follow if you’re a fan of wide open spaces and all sorts of creatures. @NationalParksUSA View this post on Instagram A…
It’s going to be a challenging year for home buyers in 2019: They will continue to compete for a short supply of homes. Home prices and mortgage rates are likely to keep moving upward, bruising affordability. But 2019 is likely to bring some welcome developments, too, for buyers and mortgage borrowers. Builders are constructing more…
