Keith Bailey Realtor Florida Real Estate Blog

  If you’ve owned your house for at least a  couple of years , there’s something you’re going to want to know more about – and that’s home equity. If you’re not familiar with that term,  Freddie Mac   defines  it like this: “. . . your home’s equity is  the difference between how much your home is worth and how much you owe on your mortgage .” That means your equity grows as you pay down your home loan over time and as  home values climb . While it’s true  home prices  dipped slightly last year, they  rebounded  and have been climbing in many areas since then. Here’s why that price growth is good news for you. In the latest  Equity Insights Report , Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at  CoreLogic , explains: “ With price gains continuing to help homeowners build wealth, equity has reached a new high and regained losses that resulted from declines last year . And while the average U.S. homeowner gained over $20,000 in additional ...

  For Buyers First Time Home Buyers Move-Up Buyers Buying Myths If you want to  buy a home , it's important to know how  mortgage rates  impact what you can afford and how much you’ll pay each month. Fortunately, rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have come down significantly since the end of October and are currently under  7% , according to  Freddie Mac  ( see graph below ):   This recent trend is great news for  buyers . As a recent article from  Bankrate   says : “The rate cool-off somewhat eases the housing affordability squeeze.” And  according  to Edward Seiler, AVP of Housing Economics and Executive Director of the Research Institute for Housing America at the  Mortgage Bankers Association  (MBA): “MBA expects that affordability conditions will continue to improve as mortgage rates decline . . .” Here’s a bit more context on how this could help with your plans to  buy a home . How Mortgage Rates Affec...