It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the sales price is not the only factor that determines what the monthly payment will be. In fact, the impact of higher interest rates can easily nullify any benefit of waiting for a lower price.

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The median price of an existing, single-family home in California rose for the seventh consecutive month in September to $296,090, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ most-recent sales and price report. Home sales also increased in September, rising 2.1 percent compared with August. If home sales maintain their current pace, 530,520 units will be sold in California in 2009.

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There is a lot of speculation of what house prices are going to do in the next 12 months. And, when many other elements that all influence what is about to happen to the property market are considered it still does not give us a clear idea of what the future will be.

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Image by Getty Images via Daylife Despite home buyers being advised to issue down payments of at least 20 percent, many home buyers are finding that smaller down payments result in better interest rates—but also higher payments. Rules put in place in late 2008 by Fannie Mae and similar rules adopted by Freddie Mac are [...]

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Changes to the Truth in Lending Act took effect last month, requiring lenders to provide certain disclosures about mortgages fees and helping borrowers make better-informed loan choices.

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HSH’s latest two-month forecast for mortgage rates is in. While rates trended higher than we thought they would during the last forecast period, “Our expected range of movement was pretty good, but rather than moving to the lower end of the scale, we moved to the upper side instead.”
Here’s just a taste of our latest [...]

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Image by Gojca? via Flickr When shopping for a home, the natural tendency of any buyer is to want to pay the lowest price possible maybe even buying a foreclosure. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the sales price is not the only factor that determines what the monthly payment will be. In [...]

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Image via Wikipedia By paying your bills on time, making at least your minimum payment due on your credit card each month (I recommend using a card’s Auto Pay feature), and staying within your credit limit, you’ll earn a good credit rating that will help you get the things you need in the future, like [...]

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