As part of its ongoing recognition of American Housing Month, the American Bankers Association Foundation today released an infographic with tips to help buyers overcome increasingly challenging housing market conditions.
Limited inventory, supply chain disruptions, rising interest rates and more institutional investors in the market have made the homebuying process more onerous. The median sales price for a single-family home in the first quarter of 2022 was $428,700, up 16% from the first quarter of 2021, according to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.
The ABA Foundation’s infographic offers five tips for prospective buyers: speed up the process with bank lenders by getting pre-approved for a loan; address problems early by cleaning up credit and paying down debt; build savings to make a larger down payment, which helps to build equity faster, reduce monthly payments and eliminate the need for private mortgage insurance; know the local market and research what similar homes have sold for in the past six months; and set a realistic budget and stick to it.
