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Frequently Asked Question❓ 

How do I know if I can afford a mortgage or loan?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter

Rent prices are finally calming down.

Rent prices are finally calming down. According to Zillow's September rent report, renting is the most affordable it's been in four years, with a typical rental now requiring 28.4% of the median household income, down slightly from a year ago. Nationwide, asking rents averaged $1,979 in September, up just 2.3% from a year ago, a far cry from the sharp increases seen during the pandemic.

This improvement is largely due to a construction boom: builders finished more new apartments last year than any year since 1974, providing more options and easing competition for housing. Cities like Austin, Denver, and San Antonio are seeing rents drop the fastest after years of massive increases. Meanwhile, stricter building codes in places like New York and San Francisco mean rents are still rising by 5% or more a year. If you’re moving soon, look for deals; more than a third of listings now offer some kind of concession, like a free month’s rent, the most Zillow has ever seen. This cooling in rent might let families finally catch their breath after years of painful increases.

Health insurance premiums are headed for their steepest climb in years.

Health insurance premiums are headed for their steepest climb in years. Employers project an average cost surge of nearly 9% for health insurance next year, the biggest spike in more than a decade. For reference, the average annual premium for a family health plan through an employer was more than $25,500 last year, up 24% since 2019, with workers typically paying over $6,000 out of pocket. Most employees will share in these rising costs, either through higher monthly deductions from their paychecks or increased out-of-pocket expenses if they need care. Some larger companies, like Boston Consulting Group, continue to cover all workers’ premiums, but this is the exception, not the rule, and few extend such benefits to families.

Meanwhile, people buying coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplace could face especially steep increases as pandemic-era tax credits are set to expire, which might more than double premiums for many. With health care getting more expensive, it will be more important than ever for business owners to monitor their rising costs and employees to understand how much of the burden will fall on their monthly budgets.

Millions of federal student loan borrowers are finally getting the forgiveness they were promised.

Millions of federal student loan borrowers are finally getting the forgiveness they were promised. The Department of Education had paused this forgiveness earlier in the year, leaving over 2.5 million people in limbo as they waited to see if their student loans would finally be canceled after years of payments. Initially developed in the 1990s, repayment plans like the original Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan and the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plan set payments to a portion of discretionary income and forgive the remaining balance after a set time, usually 20 or 25 years.

The latest agreement, hashed out with the American Federation of Teachers, ensures that borrowers in Income-Contingent Repayment and Pay As You Earn plans will be able to get forgiveness, as prescribed by law, and they will not face hefty taxes when their loans are erased if they qualify in 2025. This tax benefit is significant as forgiven student loan debt can otherwise be considered taxable income. This is a direct win for teachers, nurses, and millions of working families trying to build savings, buy homes, or start businesses without debt hanging over them.

Your Advisor's Edge Team

💡 Answer to the Question:

Buying a home is a big decision and a long-term investment of time and money. It’s important to consider more than just the monthly interest payments in evaluating the affordability of a home, including recurring property taxes, maintenance costs, and the initial down payment. The upfront cash needed includes bank fees and a down payment of some percentage of the home value, usually at least 10%. The monthly and upfront costs increase with the value of the home. When evaluating whether we can afford the monthly costs of a mortgage or loan, it’s a good idea to calculate how much of our monthly income will need to go toward these payments. Most lenders like to see a debt-to-income ratio of less than 36%. We don’t want the monthly payments to strain our other finances.

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