Homes of the Napa Valley

Serving the North Bay community for over 20 years

707-257-6000
Christine Hannah, Broker /Owner Ca BRE # 01273087

Is there a link between your income and your credit score?

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Is there a link between your income and credit score?

We do know that income, net worth, or available assets DO NOT factor into your credit score. In fact, FICO promotes sound information for consumers who want to understand what goes into their score and work to improve it, and they explicitly state that your income will not have any effect on your FICO score.

However, if we flip that question around, we suddenly have a more interesting conversation.

While we know that your income doesn’t determine your score, does your credit score have some sort of bearing on your net worth?

Several studies actually show that there is a correlation between high credit scores and high net worth’s or incomes.

One of those studies was based on data released by the Federal Reserve Bank, no less. They lined up the data on median family income (MFI) compared to median credit scores. Read more…

Bidding Wars Abound… How Long Will They Continue in Napa Valley?

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Bidding Wars Abound… How Long Will They Continue? | Simplifying The Market Just like with any product or service, the law of supply and demand impacts home prices. Any time that there is less supply than the market demands, prices increase. In many areas of the country, the supply of homes for sale in the starter and trade-up home markets is so low that bidding wars have ensued, and the busy spring-buying season is just around the corner. CoreLogic recently conducted an analysis on national home prices at the time of sale for their January 2018 MarketPulse Report and found that a third of homes sold for at least list price.
“The share selling above list price was almost three times the trough in January 2008 and represented more than one-fifth of total sales.”
Many markets in the western part of the country and around major cities are experiencing higher shares of homes selling above list price.
“San Francisco had the largest share of homes—76 percent—that sold for at least the list price, and Seattle and Los Angeles followed with 63 and 51 percent, respectively. Miami had the lowest share—16 percent—of homes selling at or above the list price.”
Increased demand during the spring and summer months, the traditionally busier seasons for real estate, will no doubt influence how many homes continue to sell over list price. This should not be seen by sellers as permission to overprice their homes, though. Buyers are becoming more and more educated, especially those who have been searching for their dream homes for a while now while waiting for new inventory to come to market. Realtor.com gives this advice:
“Aim to price your property at or just slightly below the going rate. Today’s buyers are highly informed, so if they sense they’re getting a deal, they’re likely to bid up a property that’s slightly underpriced, especially in areas with low inventory.”

Bottom Line

In Napa without a large wave of new listings coming to market, buyers will continue competing with each other for the homes that are available. If you are thinking of selling your home, now may be the time to do so before more competition comes this spring. Let’s get together to determine the demand for your house in our Napa Valley. Call Christine Hannah, Broker, Realtor at 707-257-6000 to find what is selling or who is buying the Napa Valley.