How To Become
A Homeowner Today
The Housing Alliance and Car Credit Tampa have teamed up to bring you the information you need to make a house buying decision today.
- Learn about the status and future predictions of the US housing market.
- Receive valuable information that could save you thousands of dollars.
- Get Involved in our US Department of Housing and Urban Development approved HomeTRACK Online courses.
Learn More
Outlook of The Market
- Inventory shortages, price hikes, and overwhelming uncertainty have rocked the US housing market.
- A new record high in average home prices was set in 2023 at $436,000, and mortgage rates climbed to as high as 6.89%.
- The market may be bleak for potential buyers at the moment, but there are some glimmers of hope hiding beneath grim numbers.
What Do We Do Now?
- Every home purchase is a deeply personal decision, based on factors that make your situation, goals, and plan completely unique.
- Caution is the name of the game for anyone considering such an important purchase right now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that now is the wrong time for you to buy.
Option 1: Hunker down and keep building credit
– The market is just too hot and too pricey right now for many to financially endure. For these folks, the best move is to hunker down, and keep building credit while we all wait and hope for better market prospects down the road.
Option 2: Make a plan and seize the day
– If you do have the ability to handle the extra financial woes of being a buyer in today’s market, it may not be the best move for you to hunker down as well.
– Prices and mortgage rates may seem high right now, but if buying is still a viable option for you then it may be worth considering biting that bullet now, rather than risk whatever changes the market brings us later.
– Renters who can manage to buy a home may want to do so despite the harshness of the 2023 housing market, with the average 2-bedroom apartment in the US renting for $1320.
- If the current market is too hot for you to safely consider buying a home, there are still steps you can take towards achieving that goal one day.
- One of the most important steps you can take towards future home buying is improving your credit score. The Housing & Education Alliance has a number of resources dedicated to helping you improve your credit, including a downloadable credit guide and financial counseling services available here.
- Beyond building your credit, your best move is to further amass the other tools at your disposal - wealth and information. You should do whatever you can to further educate yourself on wealth building techniques and the details of the house buying process.
- Your first step should be to register for the award-winning course HomeTRACK Online and HomeTRACK en Español. This award-winning course covers many important topics including budgeting, improving your credit score, how to choose a lender, realtor and mortgage, who is on your home buying team and their roles, understanding closing documents and much more.
For The Buyers
How Much Home Can You afford?
Mortgage Loan Calculator
Enter a "0" (zero) for one unknown value above.
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- If you have the capital and the plan to make home buying work for you despite the market, then there are lots of things you can do to improve your position. For you too, your best weapon is information, and the Housing & Education Alliance has plenty of it to help you find the best deals possible in today’s market.
- One of the best tools we can offer you is our home buying guides. These guides can help you through everything from calculating what kind of mortgage plan you can afford, to how to negotiate the closing steps with an agent or seller.
- Another great tool we offer is Our HomeTRACK Online course. These courses are approved by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and not only can they teach you the ins and outs of the home buying process, but they can also qualify you for substantial down payment assistance after completion.
- You can learn more about this exciting class that will demystify the homebuying process at www.hometrackonline.org
- A HUD certified housing counselor can be your best resource and will ensure you will avoid predatory lending practices.
Develop Your Plan
- The housing market is not good for buyers right now, it hasn’t been for some time and the odds are that it will get worse before it gets better. But the odds are also that it will get better, and whether it makes more sense for you to make a plan and take your chances now, or hunker down and wait for better conditions to develop, you can always keep building, keep learning, and keep striving towards the goal of home ownership.
- Look into resources that can help you, such as the home buying guidesprovided by the Housing & Education Alliance, or the classes, counselors, and funds approved by HUD. Though the housing market is definitely set against you right now, there are still ways to make it work, and there are still ways to become a homeowner.
