Buying your first home can be a financial challenge. You might need cash for a down-payment, closing costs, mortgage insurance and all the typical moving costs and repairs. Here are some of the many programs that help first-time buyers afford their first home: Fast Fact A RealtyTrac survey in 2016 found that homebuyers using down-payment assistance loans saved an average of $17,776 over the life of their first home mortgage. Down Payment and...

By Cicely Wedgeworth | Dec 5, 2017 Millennials are quickly ascending in the world of real estate, taking out the greatest share of all new mortgages and buying up the most homes in the lower price tiers—but they’re taking on way more debt to do it, according to a new analysis of mortgage origination data from Optimal Blue by realtor.com®. The realtor.com economic team examined records for over 3.2 million mortgages originated from January...

As the race for the 2012 Presidential Election gets rolling, a new survey from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows what is on voters’ minds. Topping the list of concerns for voters is the importance of homeownership and the ease of obtaining it. The survey showed that American voters “strongly value homeownership and would oppose efforts to weaken or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction or diminish a federal...