First-time homebuyers are struggling to buy
in this recovering real estate market, the Sun Sentinel reported last week.
Although prices are affordable and mortgage interest rates are at an all-time
low, first-timers are facing competition from banks who have tightened lending
requirements and investors who are cash buyers.
Sellers
prefer cash or even buyers that have pre-approved conventional loans because
they are weary of FHA loan transactions. Even when these first-time buyers put
down offers on a home over the list price, they often lose it to cash buyers.
Today’s first-time buyers also face a shortage of available homes.
First-time buyers accounted for roughly a third of all home sales nationwide in May, according to the National Association of Realtors. Ideally, the percentage should be 40 percent or more, said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the Realtor trade group. It is conventionally first-time buyers that stimulate confidence in the real estate market.
First-time buyers accounted for roughly a third of all home sales nationwide in May, according to the National Association of Realtors. Ideally, the percentage should be 40 percent or more, said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the Realtor trade group. It is conventionally first-time buyers that stimulate confidence in the real estate market.
To
compete in a tight market, first-time buyers should be pre-approved by a lender
for a specific mortgage amount so they can act quickly the moment a home is
listed for sale, real estate agents say. Read the full article at: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=2&id=277883
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