Housing prices are still near record highs in the area, but because of first time buying benefits and low interest rates, it may be a good time to start looking.
Buying a home for the first time can be scary, and there are a bunch of things experts say people are unaware of that can benefit them. Like different government loans and even state programs that you can apply for-- like the ones through the Nevada Housing Division. For some, you only need a 660 credit score, and can apply for up to 4 percent of a down payment, best of all, a lot of these are forgivable after 3 years! If you're a millennial who doesn't own a home, you may be looking at that housing bubble saying "pop...please pop…" but experts say that is very unlikely due to regulations put in place after the big collapse over a decade ago...
“That's not likely to happen right now, the lending guidelines have become so strict that we make sure that you can afford this mortgage in the worst of times. We are not likely to see people default on mortgages in mass when the loan quality has been this high," said Shivani Peterson, Mortgage Adviser for All Western Mortgage.
But even though we won’t see prices go down much, that doesn’t mean it's the wrong time to go house hunting.
"It's definitely possible for everyone to own a home right now, regardless of their budget. They just have to be very open if their budget is lower. And then of course if their budget is higher there's a lot of variety as well," said Keller Williams Real Estate Agent Karla, Chavarria.’
There are even programs that are geared towards those with lower credit scores in the 580 range, which may have similar mortgage rates to what you are paying for your apartment.
“You have to pay for a place to live regardless, you might as well be paying yourself with a mortgage than paying a landlords rent," said Peterson.
Contrary to what you may think, a down payment is not always necessary.
“A lot of people think you need 20% down to buy a home, but that's just not the case and just not the norm. Most people are not putting that much down," said Peterson.
One thing that may be working against you though is the number of houses on the market currently, Chaverria says that the amount of homes on the market is a little on the low side, with about a months’ worth of inventory available. "Patience is key right now, because there's so many houses coming on the market, but then with those houses coming on there are several offers."
Over the past year alone, home prices skyrocketed over 18 percent, sitting at about $540 thousand as the median price, but experts expect that to cool down to a 3-4 percent growth every year. This is lower than the expected rent increase for apartments, which is occurring at about 6 percent.
To contact Karla Chavarria with Keller Williams Group One and find out more on the benefits you can take advantage of as a first time home buyer, you can all her at 775-342-8853 or email her at kchavarria@kw.com. Her license number is S.0192634
