According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers the average homebuyer is 44 years old and has a median household income of $86,100; the survey also revealed that debt, increased rents and difficulty obtaining mortgages are prominent factors burdening potential homebuyers. HSH.com recently compiled a list of the salary you must earn to buy a home in 27 metros across the country. The list is built on NAR 2015 third-quarter data for median-home prices and third-quarter average interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages offered by HSH.com. This useful data shows the costs associated with owning a home, including the principal, interest, tax and insurance. Continue reading →

The thriving real estate market in California takes up more than 50 percent of the spots on the October 2015 list of 20 Hottest U.S. Real Estate Markets from Realtor.com®. With cities like San Francisco, Santa Rosa, San Jose, San Diego and Los Angeles on the list, this may be the right time to buy or sell a home in the Golden State. The latest 2016 California Economic & Market Forecast published by the California Association of Realtors® reports that there has been an increase in home sales in 2015. In 2014, sales were down by 7.6 percent but in August 2015 431,800 units sold compared to 395,080 in the same month last year. Continue reading →