Home shoppers can now filter homes by
different buying power categories to only see the homes they can
afford
SANTA
CLARA, Calif., Aug. 4, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- With interest rates constantly changing and
home prices at all-time highs, understanding what you can afford
has never been more important. To give buyers a more objective view
of their budget, Realtor.com® has introduced a new
buying power tool to help home shoppers see whether a specific home
is "affordable," "a stretch," "difficult" or "out of reach." It
uses a home a shopper's specific financial details, current
mortgage rates, taxes, insurance and HOA fees to determine if the
monthly payments will be comfortable.
Buying power labels now appear directly on home listings on
Realtor.com®, making Realtor.com® the first
national home search site where shoppers can filter their search by
selecting their desired affordability range.
Recent Realtor.com® surveys found that more than
two-thirds (68%) of shoppers were surprised by what they could
actually afford for their first home. Additionally, 32% of recent
buyers found it difficult to understand how changing mortgage rates
affected their monthly payments and 62% were surprised by closing
costs. Realtor.com®'s affordability calculator and
buying power tool can help prevent these unhappy surprises during
the home buying process.
"There is nothing more disappointing than falling in love with a
home only to realize that you can't afford it, and nothing more
exciting than realizing you can afford that dream home. However,
there are many factors that go into affordability," said
Colleen Coyle, vice president,
product management, Realtor.com®. "We introduced this
tool to help shoppers better understand how much home they can
afford and if specific homes fit their budget given their personal
financial situation. This tool is especially important right now
with rising interest rates – which can add hundreds of dollars to
monthly payments and impact buying power."
A home's affordability is more than just the asking price. Many
first-time home buyers don't realize the added costs of things such
as HOA fees, taxes and insurance, not to mention closing costs,
which can really add up. Realtor.com®'s new buying power
features give home shoppers the opportunity to input their monthly
income, debt payments and savings to determine their budget. Users
can save this information to their buyer profile and then search
only for homes that fit that budget.
To calculate buying power, visit the
Realtor.com® affordability calculator and enter
your income, monthly debt payments and available funds. By saving
this information to your profile, listings on
Realtor.com® will include an affordability label –
"affordable," "a stretch," "difficult" or "out of reach." Users can
also filter their search by homes that are within their desired
affordability range.
To learn more, visit:
https://www.realtor.com/homemade/new-buying-power-tool-shows-what-homes-are-affordable-vs-a-stretch
About Realtor.com®
Realtor.com®
makes buying, selling, renting and living in homes easier and more
rewarding for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the world
of digital real estate more than 20 years ago, and today through
its website and mobile apps is a trusted source for the
information, tools and professional expertise that help people move
confidently through every step of their home journey. Using
proprietary data science and machine learning technology,
Realtor.com® pairs buyers and sellers with local agents
in their market, helping take the guesswork out of buying and
selling a home. For professionals, Realtor.com® is a
trusted provider of consumer connections and branding solutions
that help them succeed in today's on-demand world.
Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS,
NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual
license from the National Association of REALTORS®. For more
information, visit Realtor.com®.
Media Contact
nicole.murphy@move.com
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SOURCE Realtor.com