IN Millcreek Summer 2014 | Page 34

REAL ESTATE ERIE Crunching Numbers While the good news may be that the housing market is on the upswing, the not-so-great news is that interest rates are too. According to bankrate.com, the interest rate for a 30-year fixedrate mortgage on November 20, 2013, was 4.30; it was 4.50 on January 29, 2014. The interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage November 27, 2013, was 3.47, but rose to 3.56 on January 29, 2014. And, because of new mortgage laws put in place after the nation’s foreclosure crisis a few years ago, mortgages are harder than ever to get, with credit scores and debt-to-income ratios being closely scrutinized. While it’s a common belief that if interest rates rise, housing prices fall to make the house more affordable, that’s simply not true. In fact, rising interest rates often reflect a stronger economy. So, while there is no direct correlation between interest rates and home prices, long-term rate fluctuations can have an effect on the volume of home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. The association says that higher interest rates can have a negative impact on home sales, though prices can move according to the relative supply and demand and have generally increased in declining sales markets. The good news for potential buyers is that there are a number of products on the market designed to accommodate different types of financial situations, so it pays to do some research and educate yourself on what might be available to you. Local Living According to www.trulia.com, in Erie, the average price per square foot was $78, a decrease compared to the same timeframe last year. The median sale price for a home from the period of October 2013 to January 2014 was $98,500, which is based on the sale of 218 homes. This is a 14-percent price decrease compared to the same period of time from the previous year. In addition, the number of home sales decreased by more than 11 percent. House Hunting: There’s an App for That In today’s society, we rely on smartphones for just about everything – for talking and texting, updating our status on Facebook, taking pictures of the kids’ latest adventures and pinning new recipes on Pinterest. So, it seems only fitting that we begin our search for a house with the help of our smartphone too. According to www.appadvice.com, there are many free and low-cost apps that will help you find the home or apartment of your dreams, all with just a click of a button, and do practically everything for you except sign the papers. Finding the Right Home in the Right Neighborhood Realtor.com – This app covers it all, from rental listings to homes for sale and employs all of the standard filters that a potential buyer or renter would want and use. The disadvantage to using this app is that it only includes listings by agents, so you will not find many, if any, listings by owners. The app’s bonus, however, is that users can “draw” their desired search area, and the app is constantly being updated. 32 724.942.0940 to advertise | Millcreek