During the recession of 2009, the number of Gulf Shores home buyers depending on down payment assistance from family members or friends tripled. It’s estimated that roughly 21% of homes were purchased by homeowners using a gift or a loan as their down payment. Let's look at why that need may still exist. Gulf Shores […]
Gulf Shores Home Buyers Wary of Rising Rates
Rising mortgage rates are the biggest worry for prospective Gulf Shores home buyers. Bigger than rising prices and the lack of available inventory, according to a survey released recently by Trulia. The survey suggested that rates — which remain below 5% — aren't likely to be a deterrent to Gulf Shores home buyers just yet. […]
Many Gulf Shores Home Buyers Remain Clueless
Gulf Shores home buyers have been flocking to the market in droves this past year, trying to take advantage of affordable prices and record-low mortgage interest rates while they still can. When it comes to applying for a mortgage — the most important aspect of the home-buying process — recent surveys found that about one […]
Gulf Shores Home Buyers Turned Off By Many Listings
Even with this full-fledged seller's market underway, many Gulf Shores home buyers are running from some listings. Call them turnoff listings, or whatever you want to call them. For one reason or another, Gulf Shores home buyers are turned off by these homes. Often times it's due to being overpriced, excessive restrictions on access to […]
Foreclosed Gulf Shores Home Buyers Want Back In
Many previously foreclosed Gulf Shores home buyers are now wanting back in to the home market. In what economists call "The Boomerang Buyers", many who lost their homes to foreclosure are now wanting to buy again. With more and more people who previously lost their home to foreclosure getting back in to an already crowded […]
Gulf Shores Home Buyers Worried About Prices
Nearly three quarters of potential Gulf Shores home buyers believe home prices will increase in their neighborhood in the next twelve months, twice as many as in the first quarter. Despite forecasts that prices will increase less in 2013 than this year, buyers are more concerned by rising prices than the overall economy. Thirty-three percent […]
Foreclosure Backlogs Could Hurt Gulf Shores Home Buyers
Backlogs in foreclosure processing are causing delays in home-price improvement and could wind up affecting the cost of a mortgage, thereby hurting Gulf Shores home buyers wanting to get a mortgage. As unpleasant as it is for everyone involved, when a borrower can’t — or decides not to — make payments, the more quickly you […]
Bidding Wars Among Gulf Shores Home Buyers
As foreclosures have taken a sudden nose dive, it appears that bidding wars have begun to break out among Gulf Shores home buyers, as well as home buyers in markets all over America. It would seem that the long awaited “bottom” in the Gulf Shores real estate market has already passed, meaning, if you were […]
Gulf Shores Home Buyers Need Higher FICO Scores to Qualify
Gulf Shores home buyers are needing higher and higher FICO scores these days in order to qualify for a mortgage. Very few Gulf Shores home buyers sporting credit scores below 620 are able to obtain loans. On the bright side, more are putting down less than 20 percent. According to the February Realtor Confidence survey […]
Special Loan Programs For First Time Gulf Shores Home Buyers
For first time Gulf Shores home buyer’s, the loan process can be extremely intimidating. When you’re buying a home for the first time, you will likely be bombarded with advice from family members, co-workers, and friends, much of which is either inaccurate or not applicable to your particular needs. Acquiring first-hand knowledge of the loans […]