tonight a night of transformations and great expectations hi, welcome to "on the money. i'm contessa brewer. the birds are chirping and the grass is growing and the spring housing season is starting to blossom. what to expect if you're ready to buy, sell or want to know what your house is worth have an airline you love or hate see how they faired in an annual survey. the one thing that might surprise you the tax filing deadline is monday you knew that. there's still stuff you can do to lower your bill. pandora, spotify, apple music or amazon, what's the best way to listen to music these days a guide to the muddy waters of music streaming. "on the money" starts right

now. >> this is "on the money," your money, your life, your future. >> we begin with the spring housing market and it's in full swing across the nation. demand for homes appears to be strong, but buyers are still contending with high prices and low supply at the entry level. diana olick has more in this week's cover story. >> at a sunday open house in bethesda, maryland home buyers were taking advantage of warmer weather and lower mortgage rates. >> everything is falling into place where interest rates are going down, the weather is nice, we have houses to look at and people are excited. >> reporter: things were bedroom at this five bedroom colonial but while the supply of homes is higher than last spring the market is competitive. >> seems there are fewer houses on the market that are more affordable and go quickly, within the first couple weeks of showing. >> reporter: tonya and her

husband matthew want more space for their family. >> if we look towards the upper end of our price range there's more options. >> reporter: price is still an issue while the price gains in most markets are shrinking the run up over the last few years was dramatic and even falling mortgage rates are not making up for it the average rate on the 30-year fixed saw a peak just over 5% last november but then began falling slowly an went to around 4.5% in february and then took a deep dive toward the end of march, only to bounce back up a bit right after. it is still, however, lower than a year ago >> people have been on a nice edge about whether they can afford a house and lower mortgage rates mean more buyers. it's had an unusual effect, almost no slack in the system because wages haven't kept up with home prices people are having to borrow the money and when it gets easier to do that we see more buyers. >> reporter: and that home went under contract in just a few days even though it was on the higher end more homes are selling above the

$300,000 range because entry level homes are few and far between. the one bright spot appears to be builders are finally focusing on those entry level homes contessa >> feels good to see the flowers in bloom behind you and whispering all the shoppers go out there and they're looking at open houses and looking to see what they can afford with mortgage rates popping back up a little bit these past few weeks how much does that affect these spring buyers? how sensitive are they to weekly moves in the mortgage rate >> actually, they can be very sensitive especially on the entry level. it's not just affording that monthly payment, but it's harder to qualify for a mortgage nowadays than a long time. that means that not only do you have to look at what your debt and income ratios are, but you have to look at how that rate moves ever slightly and affects your eligibility to even get that loan at the rate you want. >> thank you whether you're looking to buy or hoping to sell, will you be able to get what you want

joining us is ralph mclaughlin the deputy chief economist at core logic, a real estate and analytics firm diana mentioned home price growth is slowing down where are the prices slowing down and where are there markets heating up, assuming that there are? >> yeah. that's exactly right we've seen home price growth slow about ten straight months now the longest streak wooef seen in six or eight years home price growth is slowing along the costly coast places like seattle, san francisco, l.a., san diego, and denver, they've all seen their home price growth cut in half over a year and that's pretty much unprecedented other places we're seeing home prices heat up are in places that we call the bargain belt, in particular places like dallas and minneapolis. areas that didn't exactly lead us out of the housing market recovery but now are sort of going full steam. >> when we talk about all of

this demand for smaller, more affordable starter homes, are we seeing construction following that trend going that direction? for so long, it seems like all the new construction has been on the upscale, high-end part of the market. >> yeah. i mean historically speaking, home builders really haven't ever provided starter homes in mass in certain places they have. they've always tend to cater towards the higher end that being said we are seeing prices, the median price of new homes, and the size most importantly start to come down a bit. we think that is partly because we are in an affordability problem and if home builders open up homes on the high end, the next best market to build for is the middle end. we're starting to see that come down we don't think new supply is actually going to be targeted at that starter home level. what we need is those that own starter homes, in particular investors, who may have, you know, bought these homes up in 2011 and 2012, maybe think about

putting those houses on the market that is what the true starter home is. >> it's interesting, too, because, of course, materials costs have increased and labor is very expensive right now. the home builders have to consider the costs the with the tight supply in the starter home are more renting? >> surprisingly, despite these headwinds we are seeing the home ownership rate increase and in part increase for young households, in particular, millennials. that's actually very, very good news for the housing market, just because there's a lot of them and when this cohort really starts to buy homes in mass people are going to notice on the ground that's what we're starting to see. so that is actually tentatively good news for the housing market despite the fact that they're still owning homes at rates than their older counterparts >> because we've had such a strong market now, are you starting to look at recession on the horizon? >> we are seeing signs maybe that economy is slowing down

if i knew when a recession was going to hit, i would be retired and in a very warm sandy location but the expansion is getting a little long in the tooth we don't see any immediate signs there will be a recession this year or next, but in 2021 and beyond we are seeing increasing probabilities a recession will hit. >> what about areas of high properties, california, new york, new jersey >> those areas have seen a slow down and some of that could be because of these new tax laws. however, we don't know what the exact impact will be because not everyone has filed their tax return yet we know that owning expensive homes will cost more from a tax perspective, but we don't know whether those households are going to get a net overall tax decrease in their liability. it could be that even though their house is going to cost more, if they're getting a bigger or a lower tax liability, you know, they may be better off at the end of the year

we don't know that, but in the next two or three months as taut com data comes out we should have a better idea whether or not the tax jobs act is affecting that high end. >> thank you for sharing your perspective with us. >> happy to be here. >> while many americans are looking for new houses they're keeping their old cars longer. the average vehicle on the road is more than 11 years old. that is driving demand for more skilled auto repair technicians. as kate rogers reports, it's a tech job with a worker shortage. >> reporter: michael gearhart, pet boys master auto technician has been on the job decades, constantly working to stay on top of advances in technology. >> it definitely doesn't get boring it's always changes and as long as you can keep up with the technology that's out there and that you're given a chance to use, it can be a very rewarding career. >> reporter: finding qualified technicians is a challenge as workers age out of the industry and the pool of talent shrinks

in the face of a tight labor market and a focus on obtaining bachelor degrees when those with trade skills are needed more than ever. a recent report from the conference board said a blue collar worker shortage is expected to continue this year. >> for a while it was not a problem because there was no shortage, but now there is a big shortage and people with a b.a. are in -- are just not interested in those jobs. >> reporter: icon automotive with brands line pep boys and amoco is leading the charge partnering with trade schools and offering apprenticeship. >> as demand has grown supply has not kept up and a lot is driven by a lack of investment in schools and de-emphasis on the technical problems back into the high school level. as the employee base ages out and retires we're not filling that gap with, you know, the latest technicians. >> reporter: executives say this isn't the blue collar work of days past and they're trying to shed that old image. >> there's a sigma around the

type of work and still this old get your hands dirty greasy job. today's shop is more of a house of technology where, you know, we really think that, you know, students today should be thinking about that role as really a s.t.e.m. career. >> reporter: with more drivers on the road and automotive innovations advancing filling this gap is imperative for "on the money" i'm kate rogers. up next we're "on the money," which airline scored the highest in the annual quality rankings we will have the new number one. later it's almost tax day, april 15th is monday if you haven't filed yet, we have a last-minute move you can make before the deadline now a look at how the stock market ended the week.

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if you've flown lately it might not seem like air travel is improve but a new study found it is. the 29th annual airline quality rating assigns a score to each u.s. carrier phil lebeau has the recently released results and which airlines are flying highest. >> reporter: here's one you may not believe, especially if you travel a lot airlines are doing a better job. wichita state university and embree riddle aeronautical university measured on time arrivals, how often people were bumped from a flight, the percentage of mishandled bags and the number of complaints sent to the department of transportation and last year airline service improved. >> this is the best year we've ever had as far as the airline quality rating numbers are concerned. three out of the four things we track got better again this year i would have to say it's doing

well. >> reporter: one improvement for the airline stands out, the number of people bumped from flights which was cut in half. not surprising since airline ceos told lawmakers in 2017 they would eliminate or curb the practice of overselling flights. >> they had part of '17 to fix it and all of '18 and looks like they did. >> reporter: tops in the airline quality rankings this year, delta, just ahead of jetblue and southwest. meanwhile, spirit, american and frontier had the lowest scores in the report. if there is one criticism of this report it's the fact that it does not measure social media in terms of how often people may be going on twitter or facebook to complain about airline service. this is a snapshot of airline service, but some believe it's not a truly complete report. >> phil, i have to ask you, when we look at the big three airlines here, delta came in number one, united in sixth,

earn airlines eight out of nine, why are they both closer to the bottom >> couple things to keep in mind all of the service has improved compared to a couple years ago and the grouping from best to worst, is much tighter than it used to be while you have american and united further down on the list, i would not look as that as saying whoa, they're really poor in terms of service relative to delta. again, this is a measurement of those four areas that are monitored and tracked by the federal government >> got it. phil lebeau, thank you so much, phil. up next, we are on the money, if you haven't finished your tax returns you're not alone. there's still time to save money. tax breaks and deductions you should not overlook. the perfect service for your play list. a breakdown of what's best and worth your money be your friend♪ ♪i'll help you carry on.♪ ♪lean on me.

xfinity watchathon week. television is back! now through april 14, enjoy free access to the best shows and movies from hbo, showtime, epix and more. what! so, you can get more into what you're into. whether it's more laughs, oops. epic escapes, or high-flying thrills,

get more into what you're into. just say "watchathon" into your x1 voice remote, or download the xfinity stream app. xfinity watchathon week, free. now through april 14. monday is tax day. if you haven't finished your return it is not too late to make a few last-minute moves to save money senior personal finance correspondent sharon epperson joins us now for those that have waited might be a good thing and learn something here what can you do? >> let's talk about how we can save money on your taxes and boost your savings one of the great ways to do it make sure you contribute to an ira, individual retirement account, traditional ira, so you can get a tax deduction. if you don't participate in a workplace plan or 401(k), you can put $5500 into an ira or

6500 and takes a tax deduction if you do and your income is below $63,000 if you're single and 101,000 if you're a married couple you can take a full tax deduction on the ira the great news you have until april 15th to do it and have a count for the 2018 tax year. put money to save for health care expenses in a health savings account. if you have a high deductible health plan you're covered by already you can contribute to this hsa and also save $3400 or more, 6900 if you're a family and put that money in and get a tax deduction. >> if you put the money into your hsa last year when you had an open benefits enrollment can you add more in now? >> you can add more until april 15th. >> the job market is tight, there is such a demand for workers, a lot of people have gone out and found a side hustle, another job. is there any way that you can manage that to your advantage for taxes?

>> you absolutely can and should you're an independent contractor if you drive uber on the weekends or rent out your home to airbnb. thing about things you can use and expenses you can write off business meals, office supplies, any type of equipment you had to buy, a laptop if you're a freelance writer or something, all those things are things you can possibly deduct. you have to fill out another form called a schedule c, little more paperwork but worth it to get the deductions >> what about parents? are there any overlooked tax breaks they get? >> i think parents often forget that child care expenses can also be summer day camp which can be pricey, day care, baby sitting could fall under the child care tax credit. the great thing about making sure you can save 35% of qualified expenses and a significant amount, 3,000 for one child, up to 6,000 for two children, this is a tax credit that means a dollar for dollar

savings on your tax bill that's significant when you're looking at what kind of tax break should i look for, a deduction or credit, credit is always better dollar for dollar. >> makes me feel better about waiting to file my taxes >> exactly. >> up next, a look at the news for the week ahead and this may be music to your ears. no, not me singing, although i have been known to engage in such hobby activities. we're going to tell you which best service to stream your favorite songs breath. ights cavities ans made with ingredients you can trust. for a smile that's a true force of nature. new burt's bees® toothpaste.

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tuesday we'll see how busy factories were last month. with the industrial production report on wednesday the federal reserve will release its beige book. that's a report on regional economic conditions. and the new york auto show will kick off nearly 1,000 cars and trucks will be on display on thursday we'll see how consumers are doing with the march retail sales report. it's a four-day week for the markets. they will be closed for good friday and it's national garlic day good for your taste buds, not so much for your breath whether you like crooning along with frank sinatra or jamming out to the grateful dead, everybody has their own taste when it comes to muke and more and more people are using streaming services to access their favorite tunes how do you know which service is right for you? joining us is dan ackerman senior managing editor of c-net. this is the burning question in

my life. now you can get free service, you can get streaming service. rather than owning music outright the way we used to do with cds, a lot of people join streaming services let's talk through this now. what are the biggest competitors in this space? >> right now it's spotify and apple music and there's also google play music and a few other guys, but most have spotify or apple music because they buy an iphone and it comes with that preinstalled. >> how do you factor in what is right for you? >> that's always a big question. the services by themselves are very similar they have access to 30, 40, 50 million songs for $10 a month or $15 if you have your family on it your choice is going to be what did you start on and what did you save your play lists on and share your play lists and what do you have in your home, an amazon echo, apple home pod, which service works with which heir. >> can we start with spotify and tell us what it has to offer.

>> spotify i the classic the one everyone got on several years ago. they've built up a huge user base, really good free tier for a long time. now almost everyone pays 10 or 14.99 if you have the family and get five accounts and works with pretty much everything, your iphone, your echo, google home thing. it doesn't work with the apple home pod they're apple and only like their own stuff to work on their hardware they have a thing if you're a subscriber you can bundle hulu in for pretty much free. spotify hulu thing. >> if you're paying for hulu you need to get on that. >> yes. >> amazon is confusing because it offers two separate services and i don't know, i mean i have all of these alexas in my house and i just -- it's my automatic go to because the speakers are there. >> sure. and that echo can also use spotify or most of the other services instead of amazon music if you're a prime member you get prime music, a smaller play list of free songs, and then they

have amazon music unlimited like spotify all the songs but that's another $10 a month, a little less if you're a prime member. >> apple you said the speakers only work with -- >> apple home pod a great speaker like this, big version, sounds awesome but only supports apple music, apple and apple you can like, you know, send your music from your home wirelessly to it but that's not easy to do it. >> google home. >> if you use google home that works with just about everything, does not work with apple music but spotify, amazon an google don't cross play with each other because no wants to play together in the same yard. >> i'm notring you talk about pandora which i've used for a long time, probably one of the more original of the streams services and title. >> yes title is really interesting because they get some cool exclusives and they have a higher quality tier. if regular streaming music if you're an audio file the super high-end music files will eat up bandwidth on your phone, like $20 month, even audio files are

hard pressed to say i'm going to spend $20 a month on this service and pandora has always been radio, it does the play list for you, like $5 a month. >> or get it for free if you listen to the commercials. >> but you can't pick and choose the individual songs but that's a set it and forget it kind of service if you just want to have somebody else take care of the music. >> i feel like listening to music right now. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> on that note that's the show for today. i'm contessa brewer. thank you for joining us next week cbc creams coming to your local drug stores the cannabis oils don't get you high what do they do? are they safe? each week keep it here we're "on the money. have a great weekend we'll see you next weekend

hey, there we're live at nasdaq market site on a friday afternoon. here's what's coming up. >> you don't know how netflix works? >> don't worry, we have you covered. as the streaming giant gears up for if earnings next week. michael khouw will tell you how to make money if you think this hot spock is about to cool off plus, there's one casino stock that's soaring. >> gambling? it's not gambling when you know you're going to win. and brian stutland has the perfect trade for you to cash in on the rally he'll tell you the name and how to trade it.