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TH E M R EP O RT | 53 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T DATA THE LATEST The Best Time to Sell Is Spring, Report Says Homes sell faster and for more money during the spring. H ome listings in late spring can sell nine days faster and with a 1 percent increase in price, per a analysis Zillow released in early March. "With 3 percent fewer homes on the market than last year, 2017 is shap - ing up to be another competitive buying season," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Markets such as Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Denver experienced a 1.5 to 2.5 percent boost to the final asking price for homes listed last May, and Zillow says those markets should experience similar results this year due to low inventories. Besides inventory, Zillow cred - ited spring as being the best time to list a home due to favorable weather conditions. Accordingly, sellers in states such as Texas, California, and Florida do not see much of a difference based on when they decide to list their homes since these regions experi - ence climate changes. In 20 of the 25 largest metro areas, April or May have shown to be the best months for listing. Gudell added, "Many home buyers who started looking for homes in the early spring will still be searching for their dream home months later. By May, some buyers may be anxious to get settled into a new home—and will be more willing to pay a premium to close the deal." Listings made through Zillow on Saturdays averaged 20 percent higher views on the market than listings made earlier in the week. Likewise, listings on Fridays received 14 percent higher views than Monday's listings. In its February Market Hotness Index, Realtor.com also predicted that low inventories will lead to quick sales dur - ing the spring—so quick that Realtor.com reported the market has already gotten a jump on the trends that will continue throughout the spring. Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist for Realtor.com said, "The spring buying season is off to a booming start. Not only is the season starting a month early, February is also expected to see the fastest-moving inventory in a decade, as well as the highest home prices the month has ever seen. In addition, this year is shaping up to be even more of a seller's market than last year." Credit Score Is in the Eye of the Beholder Age, gender, and parenthood tend to impact consumers' perceptions of their own credit. M any Americans' perceptions of their credit scores tend to be unaligned with the reality, a recent survey by Car- dRatings.com suggests. Differences in age, gender, and other factors affect how consumers view their credit scores, and the differences are occasionally drastic. Men are more likely than wom - en to believe they have a good credit score, a difference of 58 percent versus 45 percent. The re- ality is, according to CardRatings and Experian, women tend to have slightly higher credit scores. According to the study, women have less missed mortgage pay - ments than men, a difference of 8.1 percent, and they have 3.7 percent less average debt. Between generations, millennials (aged 18-34) are much more likely to believe that they have little credit, bad credit, or no credit. Fourteen percent of millennials have little faith in their credit, compared to 2 percent of those aged 35 and up. This is caused mainly by student debt, which averages in at $37,172, according to CardRatings and Student Loan Hero. The crippling debt experi - enced across the board by recent college grads largely shapes millen- nials' perceptions of their credit. The older people are, however, the more likely they are to believe they have excellent credit. Seventy- three percent of those aged 65 and older describe their credit score as excellent. CardRatings attributes this to experience. Older people are most likely to have learned from their financial mistakes. People without children under 18 are more likely to believe they have an excellent credit score than those with children under 18. Like millennial college grads with debt, those with children tend to have additional financial burden. He set our course. Encouraged us to succeed. Lit up our lives. The 6,000+ associates of CoreLogic celebrate the life of Anand Nallathambi, our CEO, our leader and our friend. In Loving Memory ANAND NALLATHAMBI Leader, Mentor, Friend 1 9 6 1 - 2 0 1 7 Photo courtesy of Eugene Garcia / The OC Register / ZUMA Press