Buyers can find and buy a home in as little as 15 weeks and up to eight months. Once you decide it's time to buy a home, the first step is to get pre-approved for the mortgage. Buyers can get pre-approved in just one day. The home buying schedule can be difficult to predict.
It usually takes between four weeks at least and six months (or more) to buy and close a home. However, it can be faster if you make a strong offer right away in a fast-moving market, or slower if you're struggling to find the right place or if you're still being outbid. According to a Zillow study, approximately half of shoppers searched for less than three months, but 13% searched for between seven months and a year. If the answer is less than five years, you're probably better off renting.
In general, it's best to buy when you have your sights set on the horizon and you're thinking about the long term. Experts largely agree that you shouldn't be a homeowner unless you plan to stay in the house for at least five years. It's essential to consider your financial situation and understand how the purchase will affect your final results each month. If so, this could be a good time to postpone buying a home and save some money, especially for first-time buyers.
First-time buyers can choose from several mortgages with low down payments, and it's getting easier for buyers to qualify. For many first-time homebuyers, it doesn't matter if interest rates are too high, household supplies are too low, or even if they have enough money saved in the bank. In a seller's housing market, there are more interested buyers than available homes and that makes it a difficult time to buy a home, especially for first-time buyers. Every potential buyer's best time to buy a property is different, and the best time to buy a home isn't the same for everyone.
It's important to note that this step may take longer than you might expect, because housing inventory is still scarce. Let's compare today's figures with those from eleven months ago, when buyers were financing their homes with a mortgage. The FHFA mortgage rate discount for first-time homebuyers lowers mortgage rates instantly and automatically for first-time eligible buyers. Elsewhere, you may wait months for the right home to come on the market, or you may be outbid time and time again before an offer is finally accepted.
Congress is currently processing nine homeownership and affordable housing bills to provide first-time programs with tax credits, cash grants and other buying incentives. The percentage of respondents who say that home prices will rise in the next 12 months remained unchanged at 30%, while the percentage that says that home prices will fall fell from 37% to 34%. This represents an annual growth rate of 11.0%, a slowdown from last month's 13.3% growth rate and below the peak growth rate of 18.2% recorded in June. Your home has more time to appreciate and you have more time to spread out all the costs you incur when buying and selling a home.
It is available for low- and moderate-income first-time buyers who purchase a primary home and finance it with a conventional fixed or adjustable rate mortgage.
