Photo Source: Instagram via @beckiowens
According to Ellie Mae, 60% of women who were listed as the primary borrower in October were single. Men may have made up the larger share of Millennial borrowers overall, but most of them were married; only 42% of men listed as primary were single. Also, women typically closed on their mortgage a couple days faster despite applying with slightly lower FICO scores—and by slightly we mean a five-point difference.
Homes with positive equity are increasing. Nationally, the share of home with negative equity fell to 4.9% in the third quarter of 2017. This speaks to the housing market’s strength and home values rising.
Grand Rapids, MI ranked No. 1 for top 10 housing markets poised for growth in 2018, followed by Nashville, TN. Millennials are keeping the popular Michigan city on the charts, supported by strong employment growth. Many millennials are not afraid to purchase a fixer-upper and are “looking for homes that are cheaper that they can put some sweat equity into.” The city was ranked fourth to watch in 2017. Talk about a grand city.
The BLS Jobs report showed 228K Jobs were created in November, much higher than expectations of only 190K. This is the third highest gain seen in the last year, beat only by October and February. Hourly earnings are up 2.5% year over year and the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%.
