Home appreciation time frame

[Kelly Mainor]

Hey all-first time home buyer here. Are there available tools for us to figure out how quickly homes in our area appreciate? 

We know if we wait, after about 9 years of payments, we will have 20% equity from loan to value but what about appreciation? Won't that happen much sooner? We've had houses in our area appreciate in less than a year able to refi from 3.6% to 2.9% interest rates. 

We also have plans to upgrade curb appeal, minor reno to bathrooms, change interior doors and light fixtures. 

Purchase price for our home is $315K with a $15k downpayment. We're trying to decide if we want to do a convetional loan or an FHA loan. conventional = more money to close but lower monthly/lower MI payment FHA = lower money to close but stricter appraisal and higher monthly/MI payment. Both the same interest rate for us.