Whidbey Island Real Estate Information
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Buying Your Home – Is the Time Right?
March 4th, 2013 at Mon, 4th, 2013 at 3:41 pm by Rick Schutte
Wondering about the possibility of buying your home in the current housing market?
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released this week confirmed other recent reports of growth in the real estate market. Spurred on by historically low interest rates in the final quarter of 2012, home buyers saw more housing affordability and relatively stable home pricing throughout the United States, making it possibly the right time for you to buy your home.
According to the HOI, gains in home affordability rose from 74.1 % to 74.9% in the final quarter of 2012, making homes affordable to median income earners in the United States. The current median income is $65,000.
North Carolina Home Builder and NAHB Chairman Rick Judson explained why this was good news for potential home buyers. “The most recent housing affordability data should be encouraging to many prospective home buyers,” Judson said. “Because it shows that homeownership remains within reach of median-income consumers even as most local markets appear to be on a recovery path.” Judson also shared results of the recent NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index which noted that 259 out of 361 metro real estate areas qualify as improving.
NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe also remarked on this news, saying, “It is noteworthy that affordability remains historically high thanks to favorable mortgage rates even as national home price indexes show some rise in values.” Crowe shared that the median price of new and existing homes in that same quarter was still up, at $188,000.
The top housing markets for affordability included Ogden-Clearfield, Utah; Dayton, Ohio; Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida.; Syracuse, New York; Fairbanks, Alaska; Cumberland, Maryland; Springfield, Ohio; Monroe, Michigan; and Mansfield, Ohio. As you consider your home buying options, these areas may be of interest to you.
Find out more and see housing market updates online at the National Association of Home Builders.
Rick Schutte Rick is the owner/designated broker of Coldwell Banker Koetje Real Estate and Koetje Property Management. He has been involved with the real estate industry on Whidbey Island for over 32 years. He is a past president of the NWMLS as well as a current board member of the North Puget Sound Association of Realtors. He has been designated by the National Association of Realtors as a Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager as well as a Graduate of the Real Estate Institute. Rick can be reached at 360-675-5811 or cbk@WhidbeyRealEstate.com You can also check out his website at http://www.cbkoetje.com
More articles by Rick Schutte >
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