401(K) Down Payment Tradeoffs | https://debbiewarford.com
Rising home prices make 401(k) funds feel like a fast homebuying shortcut. 401(k) loans can avoid taxes, with interest paid back into your account. Many plans cap loans at 50% vested balance or $50K, whichever comes first. Loans usually require ~5 yr…
Fannie Mae: Mortgage Rates Will Drop To 5.7% By Year End | https://debbiewarford.com
Fannie Mae forecasts 30-year mortgage rates falling to 5.7% by Q4 2026, down from ~6.0% in early 2026. National Association of Realtors expects home sales to rise about 14% in 2026 as lower rates bring buyers back. Single-family housing starts projected…
Cities With the Most Expensive Homes in Texas
The most expensive homes in Texas are primarily in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro, with the highest typical home value in Westlake at $3,085,191. Other costly cities include Highland Park, Westover Hills, and University Park, all exceeding $2…
3 Things That Are Not Going To Happen in Today’s Housing Market
There’s a lot of uncertainty right now and that’s leading to some dramatic headlines. And if you’re thinking about buying a home, that can make you feel a little less sure about your decision. A recent study by CNBC asked homebuyers what they’re most…
FTC Reviews Rental Fee Transparency | https://debbiewarford.com
FTC asked public input on unclear or misleading rental pricing practices. Review covered fees from application through moveout, including ads and disclosures. Possible rule could change how total housing costs get disclosed to renters. Officials said…
Late-Q1: US Rents Increased 0.2% | https://debbiewarford.com
National avg. rent reached $1.7K after a modest MoM gain. Fourth straight month positive growth after flat-to-declining months in late-2025. Yearly rent growth eased to +0.4%, below February and far below year-earlier. All 5 regions posted MoM gains;…
More Options Are Popping Up This Spring
Did you try to buy a home last year, but you ended up pressing pause? Maybe you couldn’t find a home that really fit your needs. Or maybe the ones you liked just weren’t affordable. According to a recent survey from NerdWallet, those were the top two…
Texas Property Tax Appeals: Risk-Free | https://debbiewarford.com
With notices arriving, Texas appeal deadline set for May 15. Exemptions lower taxable value; appeals can also reduce assessed value. CADs can’t raise values because of protests; worst outcome is value confirmed. CADs won’t retaliate later; successful…
Will Mortgage Rates Drop to 5% by 2027? | https://debbiewarford.com
Most forecasts expect mortgage rates to stay between 5.6% and 6.4%, making a return to 5% by 2027 unlikely under current economic conditions. Persistent inflation and global uncertainty are keeping borrowing costs elevated, slowing the pace of any…
The 10 Best Markets for First-Time Buyers This Spring
For a while, buying your first home hasn’t just felt hard. It may have felt out of reach. Not because you weren’t ready. Not because you weren’t trying. But because every time you ran the numbers, they didn’t work. That’s why so many first-time buyers…
