It's easy to ignore your credit score. After all, it's not something that comes up that often in day-to-day life. But, if you're thinking about buying a house, it's important to check yours sooner than later. Why? Well, according to one new analysis, it could save you money. Your credit score is among the factors that determines your mortgage rate, which then determines how much your monthly mortgage payment will be. A better credit score will get you a lower rate and a smaller mortgage bill, which will save you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. In fact, the data showed a borrower with a credit score between 760 and 850 would pay nearly $300 a month less than a borrower with a score below 640 would for the same house. Over the life of a 30-year fixed-rate loan, that adds up to just over $100,000. In other words, a lot of money. That's why it's important for buyers to check their credit score early on in the home buying process. Knowing your score, and fixing any errors on your credit report, can potentially save you a lot of money on your mortgage. (source)

When a buyer has their offer accepted by a home seller, a contract is signed. The transaction isn't closed, though, until after the details of the home's sale and financing have been worked through. During that process, the home's sale is considered pending. Typically, there are several weeks between signing a contract and closing, which is why contract signings are considered an important indicator for the housing market. After all, most signed contracts lead to closed sales, so they're a good predictor of future sales numbers. That's why the National Association of Realtors tracks them each month with their Pending Home Sales Index. In June, the index fell 8.6 percent. It's now down 20 percent from where it was last year at the same time. NAR chief economist, Lawrence Yun, says rising mortgage rates are behind the decline. “Contract signings to buy a home will keep tumbling down as long as mortgage rates keep climbing, as has happened this year to date,” Yun said. “There are indications that mortgage rates may be topping or very close to a cyclical high in July. If so, pending contracts should also begin to stabilize.” Yun expects sales to fall in 2022 but begin rising again next year. (source)

Home prices have been increasing at an accelerated pace for years now. That's great for homeowners but an obvious challenge for buyers, who could likely use some relief. Fortunately, they're starting to get it. The number of homes available for sale is improving and the added inventory should begin to correct some of the imbalance that's been driving prices higher. According to one recent analysis, it's already started. The latest S&P Case-Shiller Indices – considered among the leading measures of U.S. home prices – shows price increases are slowing. S&P's National Composite Index found home prices increased about one percent less in May than they did in April. But though the increases weren't as big as the month before, they were still significant. “The market's strength continues to be broadly based, as all 20 cities recorded double-digit price increases for the 12 months ended in May,” Craig J. Lazaara, S&P's managing director, said. “However, at the city level, we also see evidence of deceleration. Price gains for May exceeded those for April in only four cities.” The fact that the majority of the included cities saw slower increases in May is a big change from earlier this year when all 20 were accelerating. (source)

The rate of new home construction is an important housing market indicator. It not only says something about the economy and buyer demand, it also tells you something about where home prices are headed. If new home construction is rising, inventory is improving and – with more homes available for sale – price increases are more likely to moderate. That means every prospective buyer benefits when more new homes are built, since the added housing supply helps keep prices in check. So what's currently happening in the new home market? Well, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's monthly measure of new residential construction, the number of new homes completed in June was nearly 5 percent higher than it was last year at the same time. That's good news for home shoppers. Similarly, the number of permits to build new homes rose from last year, increasing 1.4 percent year-over-year. But while housing completions and building permits are up over last year's pace, they both declined from where they were in May. That could be an indication that construction in the near term is beginning to slow. (source)

The housing market is in transition. For years, there's been a shortage of homes for sale and an abundance of buyers. But elevated buyer demand – fueled, in part, by historically low mortgage rates – slowed this spring when mortgage rates increased and caused some buyers to hit pause on their buying plans. Affordability conditions have become more challenging. That much is true. But, in some other ways, the market's gotten better for buyers. In fact, summer home shoppers may actually be able to benefit from the market's recent changes. How so? Well, for one, options. The inventory of homes for sale is improving. That not only provides buyers with more homes to choose from but also means there will likely be less competition and fewer bidding wars. Time on market has also improved. Buyers will find they have a little more time to make decisions, since there are fewer buyers competing for the same homes. With homes for sale lingering longer on the market, buyers will finally get some relief from the stressful pace of the past few years. Put simply, the housing market is rebalancing but changing conditions don't necessarily mean bad news for buyers. (source)

In a competitive market, homes for sale don't last long. A listing can appear mid-week and have multiple offers by the weekend. Because of this, recent home buyers have had to move quickly. There's no time to linger or deliberate when there are other buyers ready to make a move. That can be challenging. But fortunately for summer home shoppers, the housing market's frantic pace may be slowing. In fact, new numbers show homes for sale are starting to spend more time on market. The improvement is small but the trend is moving in the right direction. According to the data, during the last week of June, homes were selling three days faster than they were last year at the same time. That improved to two days during the first week of July and, by the week ending July 9, it was just one day. In other words, homes are spending a little more time on market than they were even a few weeks ago. Still, buyers need to be prepared. While the trend is positive, homes continue to sell quickly, especially good ones. (source)

The number of homes for sale has recently showed signs of a rebound after hitting historic lows during the pandemic. The additional listings are obviously welcome news for prospective home buyers. But while there have been signs of improvement, listings remain low. In fact, according to one new survey of Realtors, too few homes for sale is still the leading factor holding their clients back from buying a house. In other words, the low supply of homes ranks as an even bigger hurdle than high home prices and the recent spike in mortgage rates. “In the last year, Realtors continued to navigate a challenging housing market and cited the biggest factor holding back the housing market was tight inventory,” Jessica Lautz, NAR's vice president of demographics and behavioral insights, says. But while conditions have been challenging, buyers have persevered. Last year, for example, 6.12 million existing homes were sold – the most since 2006. (source)

Unless you're buying a newly built house, you're going to be shopping for home that is likely decades old. That can mean charm and character. It can also mean renovations and home improvement projects. As a home buyer, how much you're willing to take on will depend on things like your budget and DIY skills but also, according to one new survey, how much inconvenience you're willing to endure. The survey found most homeowners believe home improvement and renovation projects always take longer than originally estimated. In fact, among respondents, 55 percent of men and 49 percent of women feel having work done on the house, even if you're hiring it out, means committing to an indefinite schedule of contractors, dust, and chaos. Fortunately, despite some negative expectations, the vast majority of Americans have confidence in their ability to oversee a home renovation, with 74 percent of participants saying they'd be comfortable taking one on. It's something to consider. After all, how comfortable and willing you are to manage a project may become a big factor when deciding on which house to buy. (source)

The best way to get a feel for whether or not a home for sale fits your needs is to see it in person. Nothing beats actually walking through a house to get a sense of its layout and how it would accommodate your life. That's why, when buyers find a listing they're really interested in, they typically schedule a time to go see it before deciding whether or not to make an offer. How many showings a listed home garners is an excellent indicator of how many buyers are interested in it. Which is why measuring the average number of showings per listing is an effective way to gauge how much competition today's buyers should expect when shopping for a house. Put simply, when the number of showings per listing is high, competition and bidding wars are more common. So how many showings are listings getting on average these days? According to one recent analysis, the number of showings per listing has begun to fall. In fact, average showings dropped to 7 in May from 8.49 the month before. That's down about 13 percent from last year at the same time. It's also a sign that the market has slowed and buyer activity this summer isn't quite as intense as it was last year. (source)

Home prices had already been increasing by the time the pandemic started. After it began, though, prices shot up even faster than before. Since then, double-digit, year-over-year increases have been common in a lot of markets. But, according to the latest S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index – which covers data through the end of April – the rate of increase has finally showed signs of slowing. The data found that, while prices continue to increase at a higher than normal pace, the rate of increase is now decelerating. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P, says the market is strong but showing signs that it may begin to normalize soon. “We continue to observe very broad strength in the housing market, as all 20 cities notched double-digit price increases for the 12 months ended in April,” Lazzara said. “In contrast with the past five months, when prices in most cities accelerated, in April only nine cities saw prices rise faster than they had done in March.” Lazzara expects the trend to continue, with price increases moderating in the months to come. (source)