New-Home Pipeline Takes Another Hit

Fewer new homes are being built across the country, despite 

desperate calls from the housing industry to build more. New-home starts plunged to the lowest level in more than two years in December, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

New-home construction dropped 11.2 percent in December and is now at the slowest pace of construction since September 2016. Housing starts have dropped 10.2 percent over the past year, with decreases in both single-family and apartment construction.

Looking back, the December drop in housing production correlated with the peak increase in mortgage rates and corresponding decline in builder sentiment,” says Greg Ugalde, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “During that time, builders adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach as demonstrated in the rise of single-family and multifamily units that were permitted but not under construction.”

The housing market may get a boost from lower mortgage rates in recent weeks.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been dropping, averaging 4.35 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Single-family home building mostly stagnated last year. Builders have consistently blamed rising costs of construction materials, labor costs, and a shortage of buildable lots for curtailing construction.

Residential building permits, a gauge of future construction, eked out a 0.3 percent increase in December compared to November, reaching an annual pace of 1.326 million. (December saw 1.078 million starts.)

Looking ahead, we expect single-family production will be relatively flat in 2019,and multifamily starts will level off as well,” says NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “The biggest challenge facing builders this year will be ongoing housing affordability concerns as they continue to grapple with a shortage of construction workers, a lack of buildable lots and excessive regulatory burdens.”

But Pending home sales rebounded in January as all four major regions of the U.S. saw an uptick in contract signings. 

So what are you waiting for? CALL or TEXT Today 801-809-9866 There’s no substitute for the expertise of Carriene Porter @ Precision Realty & Associates LLC.com, that can help you home in. 

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3 Things We Love, 3 Could Live Without

About the 2019 New American Home

Panoramic desert views from your perch in the infinity pool—with a built-in hot tub. A smart toilet that warms up the seat when you enter the bathroom. A state-of-the-art kitchen with gleaming appliances that looks like a Pinterest board come to life. Welcome to The New American Home, 2019 edition.

The National Association of Home Builders unveiled its 36th showcase house this week during its annual convention in Las Vegas. The 8,226-square-foot property in Henderson, NV, was built to highlight the latest innovations in design, efficiency, technology, and an array of luxe amenities. If you're sufficiently wowed, the home is for sale for a cool $6.5 million.

Listening to "Live from Las Vegas, it's 2019's must-have home features and design trends; Joanna Gaines' Anthropologie collection" at 

We took the opportunity to tour the one-story home and get an inside peek at what the future holds. But while there's a lot to love in the five-bed, 4.5-bath contemporary home, there were a few things that didn't quite hit the mark.

So what did we love? Here are our faves:

1. Views, views, views

2. The outdoor-indoor flow

3. The master bathroom

Clearly, there's a lot to love about this home. And, of course, we'd take it in a heartbeat. But no home is 100% perfect.

I had a few relatively minor quibbles. Here are a few things we'd fiddle with if we had free rein.

1. The masculine aesthetic

2. (Some of) the colors

3. The showpieces

We want to be clear: This house is freaking cool. It is The New American Home, after all—a space where designers and builders have free rein to do whatever the heck they want, stuff that nobody's done before. That's why there's a floating bed (above) and a floating wet bar, both attached by cantilevers. The innovation is out of this world.

But in a few instances it all felt a little...gimmicky. Yes, that bed is ultracool. But it's not practical. There's no storage, nowhere to hide your junk—and imagine the dust bunnies that are likely to collect under it. In the end, we would have been just as awed without as many bells and whistles. But we definitely wouldn't turn this place down.

According to 2019 design forecasts, luxe master bathrooms have risen to the top of home buyers' wish lists.Are you ready for fine your Dream Home" There’s no substitute for the expertise of Carriene Porter @ Precision Realty & Associates LLC, has access to a vast database of information with recently listed and recent sold to help you home in. CALL Today 801-809-9866. 

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Who We R

Helping consumers understand why working with a REALTOR® is the best choice for this life. A real advocate. A real, trusted professional who is committed to their clients’ futures and neighborhoods just as much as they are.

The REALTOR® Code of Ethics isn’t just words on a page, but is a pledge of honesty, integrity, professionalism, and community service. Partnering with a REALTOR® delivers the peace of mind that comes from working with a real person. 

Here's Our Story:

That's Who We Are, There’s no substitute for the expertise of a Realtor® Carriene Porter @ Precision Realty & Associates LLC, has access to a vast database of information with recently listed and recent sold to help you home in. CALL Today 801-809-9866. 

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Before You Buy a House

How to Improve Your Credit Score: If you're hoping to buy a house soon, one little number you'll want to bring up 

to snuff is your credit score. Your credit score is a numerical summary of your credit report, a detailed document outlining how well you've paid off past debts—to your credit cards, college loans, and any place you owe money.

Lenders check your credit score as a way to gauge whether to give you more credit in the form of a home loan. If your credit score is high, you're considered creditworthy, which bodes well for your chances of getting a good mortgage. If your credit score is low, though, lenders might worry whether you'll default on your home loan, and deny you a mortgage (or charge you a premium for it).

In other words: A good credit score is key to the home-buying process. Here's more on who calculates your credit score, how to get a free credit score check, what counts as a good credit score, and some ways to improve your credit score fast. 

Boost Your Credit Score in a Jiffy With These 5 Tricks

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Credit score basic No. 1: Who calculates your credit score? Credit scores are calculated by three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

Credit score basic No. 2: How is your credit score calculated? The main variables that go in your credit report that make up your credit score are the following:

• Credit payment history 
• Debt-to-credit utilization 
• Length of credit history 
• New credit accounts 

Credit score basic No. 3: How to get a free credit score check. Have no clue what your credit score is? You can get your free credit score online at CreditKarma.com

To dive into more details on what determines your credit score—as well as any problems dragging your credit score down—you'll need to get your full credit report. You can get a free credit report once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Credit score basic No. 4: What is a good credit score? A credit score can range from 300 to 850; 850 is a perfect credit score. Wondering where most people stand with their credit scores? The average credit score hovers around 695. 

Credit score basic No. 5: What credit score do you need to buy a house? While it varies by area and type of loan, generally lenders will look for a credit score of 660 or higher to grant a mortgage.

Got bad credit? There's still hope: Federal Housing Administration loans allow borrowers with credit scores as low as 500 to qualify for a mortgage with a 10% down payment; their credit scores must hit 580 to snag loans that require only 3.5% down payments. (Here's more on the minimum credit score you need for a home loan.) 

Credit score basic No. 6: Why to check your credit score long before you buy a home. It's important to check your credit score many months before you buy a home. The reason? It takes time to improve your credit score. 

How to improve your credit score—and how long it'll take. Here are some sneaky yet totally legit ways you can improve your credit score in record time.

Credit score booster No. 1: Check for credit score errors. For starters, a low credit score may not be entirely your fault. One in four Americans actually finds errors on their credit file, according to a Federal Trade Commission survey on Americans' credit scores. Credit score errors are common because creditors make mistakes with reporting.

Credit score booster No. 2: Pay down your credit debts. Paying down your debt is the thing you can do that could have the biggest—and fastest—impact on your credit score.

Credit score booster No. 3: Get your credit bills current. You hopefully already know that you have to pay your bills on time to get a good credit score. If you’re already late on a payment, pay that puppy ASAP for a quick credit score boost.

Credit score booster No. 4: Open a new credit card account. Opening a new credit card account can help improve your credit score in two ways.

First: “If you open up a new card, which increases your total outstanding credit line, your credit utilization should improve,” George says.

Second: If you have only one type of credit card or a small loan, opening another type (like a store card) can help your "credit mix," a term the credit bureaus use to indicate whether a person can handle different kinds of credit accounts.

Estimated time it'll take to improve your credit score: One to two months.

And while you're at it, make sure to keep all your credit cards open, whether you use them or not. As long as they aren't charging you any annual fees, that is. The reason? Closing accounts might increase your credit utilization ratio, which won't be good for your score.

How long does negative info remain on your credit report and affect your credit score?

This depends on what the credit issue is. For instance, credit delinquencies will typically remain on your credit report for seven years. Bankruptcies will remain on your credit report for 10 years. Credit inquiries—where someone pulls your credit report like a lender or credit card company—remain on your report for two years.

Does paying your noncredit-card monthly bills improve your credit score, too?A Whole New Credit Score Is Coming, The light at the end of this credit score tunnel released in April 2019, you will be able to add utility and telecom payment histories to your credit score. UltraFICO: See the difference? 

Watch: What's the Magic Number? The Credit Score You Need to Buy a Home

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So what are you waiting for? There’s no substitute for the expertise of a Realtor® like Carriene Porter @ Precision Realty & Associates LLC.com, Or a lender like George Andersen that can help you home in. CALL Today 801-809-9866. 

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Rates May Sprout Early Spring Buying

Are You Prepared? A Whole New Credit Score Is Coming 

Yet here's some info that may have slipped past your news feed: In October 2018, the Fair Isaac Corp. (the creators of FICO) announced a whole new scoring method called the UltraFICO. 

This new scoring method is expected to be more widely released in April 2019.

FICO vs. UltraFICO: What's the difference?

Your traditional FICO score looks only at the money you borrow from lenders (e.g., through credit cards, and car and college loans). FICO scores generally do not factor i

The UltraFICO, in contrast, does look at your banking behavior, adding it to the mix along with more traditional metrics like your credit card payments. UltraFICO examines your checking, savings, and/or money market accounts (which are similar to savings accounts but offer a higher interest rate in exchange for maintaining a higher balance), and reports on details such as the following:

Your account history: How long have you had these accounts? The longer the better.

Your account balance: According to the UltraFICO website, it's looking for “a healthy average balance.” It doesn't spell out exactly what that means, but it suggests that consumers with a balance of at least $400 over a three-month period should fare well with this new scoring system.

Your account activity: Do you regularly pay your bills through your bank account? If you don't, you may want to start, since that will be considered, too, particularly how often you pay your recurring bills (e.g., cellphone and utility bills).

If you show responsible financial behavior in these accounts, this could improve your credit score. If you have imperfect credit or no credit but you have a positive banking history, your score may see a nice boost.

If Down payment is a challenge, Utah Housing Down payment may be able to help . 

Don't forget to Completing a Loan Pre-Qualification you'll be on your way to locking in your interest rate and giving assurance to prospective sellers that you mean business. Pre-qualification is easy and can be done via email or over the phone and speak to George Andersen at 801 550-1382.

Still Not quite ready to buy a home? You may qualify for the Lease with a Right to Purchase program. Call me and I'll give you the details on how you may qualify to get into the home you want, get settled and then purchase it when you are ready! If you prefer a more personal touch, CALL 801-809-9866 today or Visit us at Precision Realty & Associates LLC.

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