Home Truths - home cost information services - Brief Article

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Jan, 2000 by Joan Goldwasser

HOME | What's happening to PRICES in your neighborhood?

CURIOUS ABOUT the price your neighbor paid for the house down the block? Sure you are, but you wouldn't be so gauche as to ask.

Now you don't have to. There's a good chance you can get the magic number on the Internet. Two Web sites--iOwn.com (www.iown.com) and Home Price Check (www .homepricecheck.com)--offer an attic full of home-price data at the click of a mouse. And they're both free.

IOwn, an online mortgage lender located in San Francisco, provides prices for home sales in 31 states over the past 18 months. In addition to letting you search for a specific address, you can check a street map of a neighborhood you're interested in that shows all the houses sold within a radius of ten miles of the address you specify.

Inpho, the Cambridge, Mass., company that gathers and posts data at Home Price Check, claims it provides sales prices for more than 70% of the homes in the U.S., including those in the 50 largest metropolitan areas. Officials say they soon expect to cover 85% of sales. A price is usually posted within four to six weeks after the deal closes.

At either Web site, once you've done a search, you can request an e-mail alert about future sales within the same area.

Beyond idle curiosity--okay, okay, Boston Red Sox superstar shortstop Nomar Garciaparra paid $705,000 for his new home in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston last year--iOwn and Home Price Check can be a good starting point if you're in the market to buy or sell a house. IOwn's map feature provides a quick snapshot of price ranges in a specific neighborhood.

Home Price Check will soon include details taken from property-tax records including the lot size, square footage of the house, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the assessed value and current tax bill. With such data online, it will be easier to decide whether to appeal your property-tax assessment.

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BORROWING: Low loan rates around the U.S.

Philadelphia         LENDER

Fixed-rate 30-year   Commonwealth Bank
One-year ARM         Commonwealth Bank
Home-equity line     PNC Bank
Car loan             Farmers & Mechanics

Nashville

Fixed-rate 30-year   Union Planters
One-year ARM         Regions Bank
Home-equity line     First American
Car loan             Nashville Bank of Commerce

Detroit

Fixed-rate 30-year   National City
One-year ARM         Standard Federal
Home-equity line     First Federal of Michigan
Car loan             National City

Salt Lake City

Fixed-rate 30-year   Zions First
One-year ARM         U.S. Bank
Home-equity line     Draper Bank and Trust
Car loan             Washington Mutual

Portland

Fixed-rate 30-year   U.S. Bank
One-year ARM         Riverview Community
Home-equity line     First FS&L McMinnville
Car loan             First FS&L McMinnville

Philadelphia         RATE/DESCRIPTION (INDEX PLUS MARGIN)

Fixed-rate 30-year   7.38%/3 pts.
One-year ARM         5%/3 pts. (Treasury index + 2.75)
Home-equity line     6.99%/6 mos., $5,000 min. (prime + 0.25)
Car loan             8%

Nashville

Fixed-rate 30-year   7.5%/1.75 pts.
One-year ARM         5.5%/1.5 pts. (Treasury index + 2.75)
Home-equity line     6.99%/6 mos., $5,000 min. (prime + 1.5)
Car loan             7.75%/$125 fee

Detroit

Fixed-rate 30-year   7.38/2.13 pts.
One-year ARM         4.88%/2 pts. (Treasury index + 2.88)
Home-equity line     6.46%/6 mos., $5,000 min. (prime + 1)
Car loan             8.1%/$75 fee

Salt Lake City

Fixed-rate 30-year   7.63%/0 pts.
One-year ARM         6%/0 pts. (Treasury index + 2.75)
Home-equity line     7.49%/6 mos., $5,000 min. (prime + 1.5)
Car loan             8.25%/1% fee

Portland

Fixed-rate 30-year   7.75%/1 pt.
One-year ARM         6.13%/1.5 pts. (Treasury index + 2.75)
Home-equity line     7%/6 mos., $7,500 min. (prime + 1)
Car loan             7.24%

                      TELEPHONE
Philadelphia            NUMBER

Fixed-rate 30-year   800-327-9885
One-year ARM         800-327-9885
Home-equity line     800-523-1792
Car loan             609-387-1150

Nashville

Fixed-rate 30-year   800-342-8493
One-year ARM         615-889-2255
Home-equity line     800-743-3262
Car loan             615-871-7012

Detroit

Fixed-rate 30-year   800-925-9259
One-year ARM         800-466-3800
Home-equity line     800-227-4978
Car loan             800-925-9259

Salt Lake City

Fixed-rate 30-year   800-789-8800
One-year ARM         800-872-2657
Home-equity line     801-571-3141
Car loan             800-756-8000

Portland

Fixed-rate 30-year   800-872-2657
One-year ARM         360-834-2231
Home-equity line     503-472-6171
Car loan             503-472-6171

RATE BENCHMARKS (as of Nov. 16): PRIME: 8.5% 11TH DISTRICT COST OF FUNDS INDEX: 4.61% ONE-YEAR TREASURY INDEX: 5.5%

Survey was conducted Nov. 3. Mortgages are limited to a maximum amount of $240,000. Car-loan rates are for 48-month new-car loans of $16,000 with 20% down. For more cities and updated rates, check www.kiplinger.com; click on "Yields & Rates."