Cabarrus and Iredell projected to lead with double-digit jump in percentage of households.

Despite the economic downturn that has slowed home building locally and nationwide, Cabarrus and Iredell counties in North Carolina can expect solid housing growth over the next five years, a Bank of America official said.

Cabarrus is expected to lead a four-county region with a projected 18 percent increase in its number of households through 2013, said Ken Bernardo, a senior vice president with the bank. He is the bank’s Cabarrus County market president and a mortgage sales manager.

Iredell will have a healthy increase of slightly above 17percent, well ahead of projections for Rowan and Gaston, the two other counties for which Bernardo released projections at a gathering of about 100 members of the Lake Norman Home Builders Association last week.

Gaston County can expect a 6percent increase in its number of households and Rowan County a 4percent increase, Bernardo said. He didn’t say what his projections were based on. Efforts to reach him later were unsuccessful.

Bernardo told the homebuilders that Cabarrus and Gaston will lead the study area in projected housing purchases this year; he projects there will be 6,500 home purchases in Cabarrus, 4,800 in Gaston, 3,900 in Iredell and 2,200 in Rowan. He said 40percent of sales are projected to be in the $50,000-to- $100,000 price range.

Bernardo told the Observer the projections were good news for an area that’s no longer immune to the national housing slowdown.

Several homebuilders at the gathering said many in their profession are relying on remodeling projects to stay afloat.

Elliot Eisenberg, senior economist for the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, urged those attending to contact their congressional delegations to assist the industry.

Too much is at stake for local communities, he said, to forgo federal action.

Eisenberg, keynote speaker, said the new-home construction industry, taken as a whole, generates more jobs in the Charlotte region – 18,300 – than anything but Carolinas HealthCare System and the former Wachovia, now Wells Fargo.

“Had I done this report a couple of years ago, that number would have been double,” Eisenberg said of the new-construction jobs.

Source – Joe Marusak of charlotteobserver.com
jmarusak@charlotteobserver.com

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8 Ways to Improve Your Credit

Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are a big factor in determining if you’ll qualify for a loan and what loan terms you’ll be able to qualify for.

1. Check for and correct errors in your credit report. Mistakes happen and you could be paying for someone else’s poor financial management.

2. Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. However, transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score.

3. Don’t charge your credit cards to the maximum limit

4. Wait 12 months after credit difficulties to apply for a mortgage. You’re penalized less for problems after a year

5. Don’t purchase big-ticket items for your new home on credit cards until after the loan is approved. The amounts will add to your debt.

6. Don’t open new credit card accounts before applying for a mortgage. Having too much available credit can lower your score.

7. Shop for mortgage rates all at once. Too many credit applications can lower your score, but multiple inquiries from the same type of lender are counted as one inquiry if submitted over a short period of time.

8. Avoid finance companies. Even if you pay the loan on time, the interest is high and it will probably be considered a sign of poor credit management.

To obtain a complete copy of the publication, “knowing and understanding your credit” visit http://www.homebuyingguide.org

5 Factors That Decide Your Credit Score

Credit scores range between 200 and 800. Scores above 620 are considered desirable for obtaining a mortgage. These factors will affect your score.

1. Your payment history. Whether you paid credit card obligations on time.

2. How much you owe. Owing a great deal of money on numerous accounts can indicate that you are overextended.

3. The length of your credit history. In general, the longer the better.

4. How much new credit you have. New credit, either installment payments or new credit cards, are considered more risky, even if you pay promptly.

5. The types of credit you use. Generally, it’s desirable to have more than one type of credit – installment loans, credit cards and a mortgage, for example.

For more on evaluating and understanding your credit score, go to http://www.myfico.com

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