This Month in Real Estate for February 2012 has been released!

Home sales in January were on pace to have 4.6 million homes sell in 2012, up from the pace of 4.4 million in December. The median home sale price was at $165,000, up $1,000 over January 2012 This Month in Real Estate. The average interest rate dropped slightly to 3.88% from 3.91% last month.

The top news, presented by Jay Papasan, adds onto last month’s topic of what buyers are looking for in a home to the eco-friendly things buyers would like to see. They are:

1) Double Paned Windows

2) Energy Efficient Appliances

3) Upgraded Insulation

4) Efficient Heating & Cooling Systems

5) Solar Power

In News You Can Use with Bryon Ellington, he discusses your credit report, and what you can do to manage your numbers and keep them as high as they can be. Your credit scores often have a large part in determining loan rates, loan availability, and loan terms.

Things to do to keep your credit shining or improve your credit score:

A) Be consistent and punctual with payments.

B) Keep your balances low.

C) Don’t take out more credit cards than you need.

D) Be careful of opening or charging to accounts if you are under contract (talk to your mortgage lender before opening accounts or making significant purchases!)

E) Watch your credit-to-debt ratio. (Don’t take on too much debt!)

For more information on how to buy a home in Baltimore, contact me. I would be happy to help!