Whitney Minnich Real Estate and Community Updates

Where Buying Beats Renting in Savings March 6, 2019 For average-sized homes, buying a home is usually a better deal than renting, says a new study by LendingTree, an online lending resource, which compared monthly rental and mortgage payments for homes in the 50 largest U.S. metros. “Renting can be the best option if a person is not planning on staying in one area for a very long time or does not have enough cash for a down payment,” LendingTree notes in its study. “But buying a home can be a good long-term investment.” Researchers found that Miami, Orlando, Fla., and Virginia Beach, Va., are the metros where rent payments are the most expensive when compared to mortgage payments. Median mortgage payments are, on average, $215 cheaper than median rent payments in these metros. Four of the top 10 metros where monthly rents are higher than monthly mortgage payments were located in Florida. A recent Harvard University study found that too few rental units and lo...

What’s Your State’s Rate? Find Average Mortgage Rates By State February 13, 2019 Mortgage rates can vary across the country. LendingTree, an online loan marketplace, analyzed just how much mortgage rates could vary across state lines. The average offered interest rate for all 50 states is 4.84 percent and the average offered loan amount is $224,297, the study found. But homeowners in California, New Jersey, Washington, and Massachusetts tend to snag the lowest interest rates. The average interest rate in California is 4.74 percent, followed by 4.75 percent in New Jersey and 4.76 percent in Washington and Massachusetts. On the other hand, homeowners in New York, Iowa, and Arkansas tend to have the highest mortgage rates. In New York, the average mortgage rate is 4.96 percent, followed by 4.93 percent in Iowa and 4.92 percent in Arkansas. “Potential buyers should never forget that they can often save money by shopping around before settling on a loan,” Lendi...

You Don’t Always Need a High Credit Score to Get a Great Rate February 4, 2019 Buyers don’t necessarily need an 800-plus FICO credit score to get the best rate on a mortgage. Depending on the market, some buyers with a 700 FICO score could get nearly as an attractive mortgage rate as an applicant with an 800-plus score, according to a new analysis for the  Washington Post  completed by LendingTree. The analysis was based on more than 1 million actual loan offers during 2018. Lenders turn to FICO scores—which range from 300 to 850—to assess a borrower’s risk. The general rule of thumb has always been that the higher the applicant’s score, the less the risk of default, and therefore, the lower the interest rate the lender would charge. For example, as of last week, a score of at least 760 on a $300,000 fixed-rate 30-year mortgage could get an average mortgage quote of 4.14 percent. But a borrower with a credit score of 620 would get a 5.73 perc...

Where You’ll Find the Most Competitive Buyers January 16, 2019 You can find the most competitive buyers in Denver, Los Angeles, and Portland, Ore., according to a new analysis by LendingTree, an online loan marketplace. Buyers in these cities have higher than average credit and the ability to put down a larger down payment, making them highly competitive in a multiple-offer situation. LendingTree analyzed the 50 largest metro areas and examined competitiveness by the share of buyers shopping for a mortgage before identifying the house they want, the average down payment percentage, and the percentage of buyers who have good or excellent credit (above 680). A more competitive buyer tends to have higher credit and the ability to put down larger down payments, researchers note. In general, the most competitive buyers live out west, researchers found. Of the 10 most competitive cities, only two—St. Louis and Boston—were not located in a western state, LendingTree n...

Most Popular Cities for Millennials to Call Home December 26, 2018 Millennials are choosing to plant roots in Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh at higher rates than in any other of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, according to a new report by online marketplace LendingTree, which analyzed mortgage requests from January to November. “While millennials are often stereotyped as adolescents, the reality is that this generation is well into adulthood, with most between their early 20s and mid-30s,” according to the study. “This means that many of them are actively pursuing careers, having children, and buying homes.” In Salt Lake City, millennials made the majority of total purchase requests—51 percent—between Jan. 1 and Nov. 25 this year. In Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, the percentage was 48 percent, according to the study. On the other hand, the fewest mortgage requests from millennials during the same time period were in Tampa, Fla., Las Vegas, and Miami...

How Does Your State Rank in Down Payments? Share November 1, 2018 The average down payment for a home is decreasing, which could be good news for those looking to buy. Prospective buyers may need to save less money for a down payment, according to a new study by LendingTree. The average down payment amount for U.S. homes dropped in the third quarter by nearly 10 percent, falling from $52,480 to $47,265, the study shows. However, the overall average down payment percentages for conventional 30-year, fixed-rate purchase mortgage offers stayed about the same—about 18.05 percent. LendingTree ranked states based on their average down payments. Lowest average down payments (by percentage): Alaska Average down payment percentage: 15.41% Average offered down payment: $36,476 Average offered loan amount: $236,643 West Virginia Average down payment percentage: 15.44% Average offered down payment: $21,415 Average offered loan amount: $138,...

Average American putting less money down when buying a home California down payment percentage remains highest October 26, 2018   Alcynna Lloyd The average down payment on a U.S. home fell in the third quarter, according the latest data collected from digital loan sourcing site  LendingTree. Each quarter, LendingTree compares average down payment percentages and conventional 30-year, fixed-rate purchase mortgage offer amounts across the country. They found that the average down payment decreased nearly 10% in the third quarter — falling from $52,480 to $47,265. According to the report, despite a decrease in payment amount, down payments as a percentage of purchase price remained relatively the same. The report indicates that the average down payment percentages for conventional 30-year, fixed-rate purchase mortgage offers rose 0.03 percentage points, inching forward from 18.02% to 18.05%. Furthermore, the average loan amount offered...