Thursday, May 24, 2018 / by Nicole Solari
In this extremely hot real estate market, some homeowners might consider selling their homes on their own which is known as a For Sale by Owner (FSBO). They rationalize that they don’t need a real estate agent and believe that they can save the fee for the services a real estate agent offers.
However, a study by Collateral Analytics reveals that FSBOs don’t actually save anything, and in some cases may be costing themselves more, by not listing with an agent.
In the study, they analyzed home sales in a variety of markets. The data showed that:
“FSBOs tend to sell for lower prices than comparable home sales, and in many cases below the average differential represented by the prevailing commission rate.” (emphasis added)
Why would FSBOs net less money than if they had used an agent?
The study makes several suggestions:
“There could be systematic bias on the buyer side as well. FSB ...
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real estate, home ownership, homebuyers, real estate agent, homes for sale, buying, realtor, selling, finances, first time home buyer, moving
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 / by Nicole Solari
1. Be prepared to clue in first-time buyers about local conditions, especially if they’re moving to the area or are relatively new
Where there have been recent natural disasters, new buyers will always have multiple questions — along with fears that may have been magnified by media coverage.
If there have been earthquakes, fires, floods and/or mudslides in your area — or in adjacent counties — anticipate answering very specific questions about those natural disasters and what areas were affected and to what degree.
Additionally, in many areas of Northern California, “urban growth boundaries” surround each of the towns in some counties. Buyers coming from areas where sprawl is common are often surprised by smaller home sizes and stingier lots than they’re accustomed to “back home.”
Some areas are “water deficient,” which may be new to people moving from areas where water is plentiful. So be aware of conditi ...
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real estate, home ownership, homebuyers, real estate agent, homes for sale, buying, realtor, selling, finances, first time home buyer
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 / by Nicole Solari
According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are currently at 4.61%, which is still near record lows in comparison to recent history!
The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power.
Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford to buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford to buy will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget.
The chart below shows the impact that rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a home within the national median price range while keeping your principal and interest payments between $1,850-$1,900 a month.
With each quarter of a percent increase in interest rate, the value of the home you can afford de ...
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real estate, home ownership, homebuyers, real estate agent, homes for sale, buying, realtor, selling, finances, first time home buyer, moving, upgrades, open house
Monday, May 21, 2018 / by Nicole Solari
Recently released data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) suggests that now is a great time to sell your home. The concept of ‘supply & demand’ reveals that the best price for an item is realized when the supply of that item is low and the demand for that item is high.
Let’s see how this applies to the current residential real estate market.
SUPPLY
It is no secret that the supply of homes for sale has been far below the number needed to sustain a normal market for over a year at this point. A normal market requires six months of housing inventory to meet the demand. The latest report from NAR revealed that there is currently only a 3.6-month supply of houses on the market.
Supply is currently very low!
DEMAND
A report that was just released tells us that demand is very strong. The most recent Foot Traffic Report (which sheds light on the number of buyers who are actually out lookin ...
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real estate, home ownership, homebuyers, real estate agent, homes for sale, buying, realtor, selling, finances, first time home buyer, moving, open house
Thursday, May 17, 2018 / by Nicole Solari
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Mortgage interest rates have risen by more than half of a point since the beginning of the year, and many assume that if mortgage rates rise, home values will fall. History, however, has shown this not to be true.
Where are home values today compared to the beginning of the year?
While rates have been rising, so have home values. Here are the most recent monthly price increases reported in the Home Price Insights Report from CoreLogic:
January: Prices were up 0.5% over the month before.
February: Prices were up 1% over the month before.
March: Prices were up 1.4% over the month before.
Not only did prices continue to appreciate, the level of appreciation accelerated over the first quarter. CoreLogic believes that home prices will increase by 5.2% over the next twelve ...
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real estate, home ownership, buying, realtor, selling, finances, invest, real estate team, home price
