Learn

Short guides for each step, and what prices did in your city.

GuidesCity pulse

Ready

usually 2 weeks–6 months

How much house can you afford?
Start from a payment you're at ease with, not the lender's limit.
2-min readKnown

Pre-approval

usually 1 day–3 weeks

Pre-approval vs pre-qualification
What the letters mean, what lenders check and how long they last.
2-min readKnown
Is this normal? Approved for more than my budget
The approval is the lender's limit. Your budget sets your price.
1-min readKnown
What a Loan Estimate shows
The 3-page form that lets you compare lenders line by line.
1-min readRule

Search

usually 2 weeks–6 months

How to tour a home like an inspector
What to look at, run and ask for while you tour.
2-min readKnown

Offer

usually 1 day–3 weeks

Earnest money, explained
Who holds your deposit, when it's due and when it comes back.
2-min readRule
Contingencies: what you can walk away from
Your exits from the contract, and the deadlines that close them.
2-min readRule

Under contract

usually 3 weeks–2 months

Appraisal: what happens and how long
Who orders it, when it usually arrives and your right to a copy.
1-min readRule
Is this normal? The appraisal came in low
Your options when the value comes in under the price.
2-min readRule
Is this normal? The underwriter wants more documents
Why lenders ask again near the end, and how to answer fast.
1-min readKnown

Closing

usually 3 days–2 weeks

Closing Disclosure: the three-day rule
Your final loan terms, at least 3 business days before you sign.
1-min readRule
Is this normal? Our closing date slipped
What usually holds a closing up, and what to check first.
1-min readKnown
Wire fraud: the one call that saves you
Confirm every wiring instruction by phone, at a number you trust.
1-min readKnown

Keys

usually 1 month–1 year

Your first 90 days as an owner
Locks, your address, the first payment and the homestead filing.
2-min readRule
Tax appeals and homestead exemptions
File for your exemption, and know when you can appeal.
2-min readRule
Is this normal? Mail and calls after closing
Which offers to ignore, and how to check a real notice.
1-min readRule

Own

usually 1–30 years

When PMI can come off
Ask at 80%, automatic at 78%, and how FHA differs.
2-min readRule
Is this normal? PMI is still on my loan
Check your dates, then ask your servicer in writing.
2-min readRule
Is this normal? My escrow payment went up
Why tax and insurance can raise your payment, and what to check.
1-min readRule

City pulse

What prices did in your city

Ten years of house prices by ZIP, lending, rents, flood and insurance, and official local programs.

Each card: the city's metro house price index over 10 years. Past change, not a forecast.

Albuquerque, NM
+89% · 10 yrs
Albuquerque metro · FHFA · 2026
Atlanta, GA
+101% · 10 yrs
Atlanta metro · FHFA · 2026
Aurora, CO
+75% · 10 yrs
Denver metro · FHFA · 2026
Austin, TX
+76% · 10 yrs
Austin metro · FHFA · 2026

All 50 cities

Each card: the city's metro house price index over 10 years. Past change, not a forecast.

Albuquerque, NM
+89% · 10 yrs
Albuquerque metro · FHFA · 2026
Atlanta, GA
+101% · 10 yrs
Atlanta metro · FHFA · 2026
Aurora, CO
+75% · 10 yrs
Denver metro · FHFA · 2026
Austin, TX
+76% · 10 yrs
Austin metro · FHFA · 2026
Bakersfield, CA
+80% · 10 yrs
Bakersfield metro · FHFA · 2026
Baltimore, MD
+59% · 10 yrs
Baltimore metro · FHFA · 2026
Boston, MA
+94% · 10 yrs
Boston metro · FHFA · 2026
Charlotte, NC
+127% · 10 yrs
Charlotte metro · FHFA · 2026
Chicago, IL
+82% · 10 yrs
Chicago metro · FHFA · 2026
Colorado Springs, CO
+96% · 10 yrs
Colorado Springs metro · FHFA · 2026
Columbus, OH
+115% · 10 yrs
Columbus metro · FHFA · 2026
Dallas, TX
+84% · 10 yrs
Dallas metro · FHFA · 2026
Denver, CO
+75% · 10 yrs
Denver metro · FHFA · 2026
Detroit, MI
+107% · 10 yrs
Detroit metro · FHFA · 2026
El Paso, TX
+92% · 10 yrs
El Paso metro · FHFA · 2026
Fort Worth, TX
+94% · 10 yrs
Fort Worth metro · FHFA · 2026
Fresno, CA
+91% · 10 yrs
Fresno metro · FHFA · 2026
Houston, TX
+57% · 10 yrs
Houston metro · FHFA · 2026
Indianapolis, IN
+109% · 10 yrs
Indianapolis metro · FHFA · 2026
Jacksonville, FL
+110% · 10 yrs
Jacksonville metro · FHFA · 2026
Kansas City, MO
+111% · 10 yrs
Kansas City metro · FHFA · 2026
Las Vegas, NV
+118% · 10 yrs
Las Vegas metro · FHFA · 2026
Long Beach, CA
+79% · 10 yrs
Los Angeles metro · FHFA · 2026
Los Angeles, CA
+79% · 10 yrs
Los Angeles metro · FHFA · 2026
Louisville, KY
+90% · 10 yrs
Louisville metro · FHFA · 2026
Memphis, TN
+82% · 10 yrs
Memphis metro · FHFA · 2026
Mesa, AZ
+117% · 10 yrs
Phoenix metro · FHFA · 2026
Miami, FL
+141% · 10 yrs
Miami metro · FHFA · 2026
Milwaukee, WI
+109% · 10 yrs
Milwaukee metro · FHFA · 2026
Minneapolis, MN
+73% · 10 yrs
Minneapolis metro · FHFA · 2026
Nashville, TN
+114% · 10 yrs
Nashville metro · FHFA · 2026
New York, NY
+89% · 10 yrs
New York metro · FHFA · 2026
Oakland, CA
+55% · 10 yrs
Oakland metro · FHFA · 2026
Oklahoma City, OK
+74% · 10 yrs
Oklahoma City metro · FHFA · 2026
Omaha, NE
+98% · 10 yrs
Omaha metro · FHFA · 2026
Philadelphia, PA
+80% · 10 yrs
Philadelphia metro · FHFA · 2026
Phoenix, AZ
+117% · 10 yrs
Phoenix metro · FHFA · 2026
Portland, OR
+65% · 10 yrs
Portland metro · FHFA · 2026
Raleigh, NC
+106% · 10 yrs
Raleigh metro · FHFA · 2026
Sacramento, CA
+72% · 10 yrs
Sacramento metro · FHFA · 2026
San Antonio, TX
+73% · 10 yrs
San Antonio metro · FHFA · 2026
San Diego, CA
+93% · 10 yrs
San Diego metro · FHFA · 2026
San Francisco, CA
+37% · 10 yrs
San Francisco metro · FHFA · 2026
San Jose, CA
+57% · 10 yrs
San Jose metro · FHFA · 2026
Seattle, WA
+81% · 10 yrs
Seattle metro · FHFA · 2026
Tampa, FL
+138% · 10 yrs
Tampa metro · FHFA · 2026
Tucson, AZ
+99% · 10 yrs
Tucson metro · FHFA · 2026
Tulsa, OK
+87% · 10 yrs
Tulsa metro · FHFA · 2026
Virginia Beach, VA
+82% · 10 yrs
Virginia Beach metro · FHFA · 2026
Washington, DC
+42% · 10 yrs
Washington metro · FHFA · 2026