Due to lower interest rates, somewhat lower home prices, increased inventory and host of other reasons, the U.S. home prices are going up. It appears that underwriters are also helping the boom and many see easing of underwriting standards to some extent. Competition among home buyers for trophy properties are also seen increased activity recently and many real estate experts expects to continue the trend well into the remainder of 2014.
One area still contributing to the boom is investors buying properties and foreign buyers. They both are paying with cash.
First time homebuyers as well as homebuyers should be careful not to get into the frenzy buying and bid higher prices and paying a very high price that they may not be able to sustain in the long run. They need to understand all of the commitments such as yard maintenance involved in running a home. Also, if you are not ready to buy a home with a sufficient down payment in hand, watch the market and look for deals. Renting a home for a while before buying will give you better picture of running a home. Take control of your finances because lenders will be looking carefully into it and calculate important debt to income and other ratios.