CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingTree®, the
nation's leading online loan marketplace, has released the findings
of its study on where homebuyers will face the fiercest competition
to achieve their dream of homeownership in 2018.
We've been hearing for years about competitive housing markets,
but with low levels of housing inventory and rising home prices,
almost any market can be competitive. What it really comes down to
is the competition among buyers. That's why LendingTree ranked the
top 100 Most Competitive Homebuyer Markets based on the house
hunters who are putting more money down, have high credit scores
and start loan shopping before home shopping.
LendingTree looked at 1.5 million purchase mortgage loan
requests that came through the LendingTree marketplace in the 100
largest cities in 2017. The study ranks cities using three
criteria:
- The share of buyers shopping for a mortgage before
identifying the house they want. Buyers with financing in place
are more appealing to sellers and can compete with cash
buyers.
- Average down payment percentage. Having a higher amount
of money saved for a down payment can enable you to borrow more
money or be offered a lower interest rate, allowing you to make a
stronger offer.
- Percentage of buyers who have prime credit (above 680).
Borrowers with higher scores have more financing options to make
more competitive offers. The cities/markets below are ranked for
2018 using the criteria noted above, including the relative data
used to determine the ranking along with the market's overall rank
from the prior year.
Key Findings:
California markets dominate
the top 10.
Six of the top 10 most competitive housing markets are in
California. San Francisco and San Jose lead the rankings in 2018, with a
vast number of credit-worthy and well-heeled borrowers making it
one of the most challenging markets for prospective home
shoppers.
Some 60 percent of home shoppers applied for a mortgage before
identifying a house. The two cities also came to the table with the
highest average down payment of any region, at 19 percent.
Furthermore, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Bay Area shoppers had prime
credit scores, above 680.
Tech industries are key.
The strength in the Bay Area may be attributed to the
concentration of high-paying technology jobs. This also applies to
Seattle, which came in at No. 7,
and Portland at No. 9.
Go west. When you get to the water, keep going.
The top 10 are all in western states. If you go further west you
get to Honolulu, another top 10
city. The rest of the country comes into play with Boston at No. 11, also a technology hub.
The opposite to being the most competitive is not a bad
thing. Here are the most accessible cities:
At the other end of the list are three cities where less than
half of home shoppers apply for their mortgage before house
hunting; the average home shopper offers a down payment of just 12
percent and less than 40 percent of shoppers have prime credit
scores. This is great news for buyers in Youngstown, Ohio, McAllen, Texas, and Scranton, Pa., and other accessible cities,
which are often in rustbelt and southern states, as homeownership
is accessible to a larger part of the population.
Regardless of the level of competition in your area, being a
well-prepared buyer increases your odds of securing that dream
home. The most significant of the three variables is having
financing in place, giving homebuyers a leg up on the competition
and reducing delays in the process. Buyers with less cash available
for a down payment or those with less than perfect credit should
start the loan process even earlier to get pre-approved before
house hunting. Homebuyers across the credit or down payment
spectrum should check their credit scores beforehand, know what
they can reasonably afford, and shop around for multiple loan
offers since interest rates vary between lenders – regardless of
whether they are in the hottest, or most accessible housing markets
in America.
For more information on the study, visit
https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/most-competitive-housing-markets/.
About LendingTree
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is the nation's leading online loan
marketplace, empowering consumers as they comparison-shop across a
full suite of loan and credit-based offerings. LendingTree
provides an online marketplace which connects consumers with
multiple lenders that compete for their business, as well as an
array of online tools and information to help consumers find the
best loan. Since inception, LendingTree has facilitated more than
65 million loan requests. LendingTree provides free monthly credit
scores through My LendingTree and access to its network of over 500
lenders offering home loans, personal loans, credit cards, student
loans, business loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, auto
loans and more. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of LendingTree,
Inc. For more information go to www.lendingtree.com, dial
800-555-TREE, like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter
@LendingTree.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Megan Greuling
704-943-8208
Megan.greuling@lendingtree.com
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lendingtree-ranks-most-competitive-homebuyer-markets-300584588.html
SOURCE LendingTree