Apr. 17, 2007 - A Good Credit Rating for Purchasing Real Estate

I recently read a great article by Eric Bramlett, an Austin, TX Realtor in which he takes a look at the spending habits of people with great credit scores. It seems they all had 7 habits in common.

1. Never Pay Cash - The only way to make your purchases (and payments) known to the big three bureaus is to pay with a credit card. I'm dating myself here, but I remember standing in line at a grocery store behind someone purchasing an item under $10 with a credit card and thinking that they probably couldn't afford to pay cash. This is no longer the case! These purchases are known to credit card companies as "micro-purchases" and can boost your score. Use it for movie tickets, soft drinks, and gum.

2. Never Use a Debit Card - Debit cards will not build your credit score. In addition, if you lose your debit card, you aren't protected against fraudulent purchases as you are with a credit card.

3. Pay Off Your Balance(s) - Try not to carry ANY balance. Pay them off every month.

4. Put Yourself on a Bill Payment Schedule - Make sure you are consistent. Schedule one day each month to pay your bills.

5. Consistently Request Higher Credit Card Limits - If you consistently borrow money and pay it off, credit card companies will easily raise your credit limit. It is best to have the balances of your cards below 35% of the cards limit. Higher limits make you eligible for special promotions on occasion.

6. Never Close a Credit Card Account - The age of your credit card matters to credit bureaus. If you over spend and have difficulty paying off a card, but eventually do get it paid, you lose the history of paying off on that card if you close the account.

7. Never Rent - The biggest impact on your credit score is the purchase of a home. A first-time home buyer after they close on their new home will see their credit score jump around 50 or more points within a few months.

Apr. 5, 2007 - 2006 Ithaca Area Real Estate Statistics

The Ithaca Board of Realtors has just released the Annual Statistics Report for Residential Properties to its members. There were no big surprises. The real estate market in Ithaca has remained fairly steady over the past 12 months as the statistics bear out. Traditionally, the market value of homes in Ithaca continues to increase, albeit only slightly some years. This is possibly because of the transient nature of our residents due to the college population.

Tompkins County saw 1,041 closed sales in 2006 (there were 1,040 closed sales in 2005). The average selling price was $193,506 in 2006 and $184,026 in 2005. The average selling price to list price was 96.8% last year, and 96.6% in 2005, and the average days on the market was 61 in 2006 and 55 in 2005.

The Belle Sherman School District saw the most closed sales, followed by the Dryden Central School District and then Caroline. By dollar volume, Cayuga Heights came in first, followed by Belle Sherman and then Lansing Central.

If you have any questions about sales of properties in areas of interest to you, I'd be happy to talk to you!