Seasonal Housing Market Trends and Travel Credit Card Tips

Learn how to take advantage of seasonal housing market trends and enjoy travel credit card rewards — even in small cities.

1:03 This Week in Your Money: Seasonal housing market trends can have a big impact on homebuying (or selling!), which is why NerdWallet data writer Liz Renter joins today’s episode to discuss the latest patterns. She talks with hosts Sean Pyles and Liz Weston about the fluctuating trends of home prices, inventory and sales, with a focus on how they’ve shifted over the past few years — including with the impact of the pandemic. They discuss how rising interest rates may influence the housing market in 2023 when it comes to prices, inventory and homeownership feasibility. The Nerds evaluate the pros and cons for buyers and sellers in the second half of 2023, including potential benefits of larger down payments and shorter mortgages.

10:57 Today’s Money Question: Travel Nerd Sam Kemmis joins Sean and Liz to answer a listener’s question about how to maximize the benefits of travel credit cards, particularly for those based in smaller cities with limited amenities. They discuss the perceived value of airport lounge access, when it makes sense to use points instead of paying cash and how to maximize benefits when flying out of smaller airports. They also offer insights into how to approach airline loyalty, and they wrap up the discussion by sharing their personal tips for traveling through small airports and small towns.

25:19 Takeaway Tips: In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: seasonal housing market trends, home prices, housing inventory, homebuying, home sales, mortgage loan interest rates, homeownership, the real estate market, travel credit card rewards, small airports, maximizing credit card benefits, travel tips, airport lounge access, frequent flyer miles, and buying flights with points instead of cash.

To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com.

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