Getting preapproved for a mortgage is one of the best ways for someone to improve their odds of a seller taking their offer seriously and, ultimately, accepting it. While getting preapproved is a good thing to do regardless of where one is house hunting, it matters more in some cities than others.
What preapproval means, is that lenders review a person’s credit score, verify their financial history, and create a detailed analysis of how much they can borrow. It differs from prequalification in the sense that it is more in depth. Preapproval can help set someone apart from another buyer who is not preapproved. If two offers are made on a house and one of them comes from a buyer who is preapproved while the other is not, many sellers will be more likely to go with the preapproved buyer as it shows the seller they have the ability to buy.
As a general rule of thumb, the quicker an area’s properties sell, the more important it is to get preapproved. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise to hear that the top three cities where is it most important to get preapproved are San Jose, San Francisco, and Denver, NerdWallet reports. The average number of days a house is listed on Zillow in San Jose is 43.9 and the age of the housing inventory in days is 29.9, giving it an average score of 36.9, a full point lower than second place San Francisco. Other cities on the list are Dallas-Fort Worth (5), Seattle (6), Austin (9), and Portland (10).
California, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, Texas, and Tennessee are the states with the most cities in the list of the 175 fastest-selling U.S. markets, making preapproval in these states very important, as well.
For a full look at the top 10 cities were preapproval matters most or for a breakdown of each of the six states with the most cities in the list of the 175 fastest selling, click the link below.
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