The process of buying a home can be overwhelming at times, but you don't need to go through it alone.
You may be wondering if now is a good time to buy a home...or if interest rates are projected to rise or fall. The free eGuide below will answer many of your questions and likely bring up a few things you didn’t even know you should consider when buying a home. Check it out, and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.
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The interest rate you pay on your home mortgage has a direct impact on your monthly payment; The higher the rate, the greater your payment will be. That is why it is important to look at where the experts believe rates are headed when deciding to buy now or wait until next year. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has fallen half a percentage point since the beginning of the year and has remained at or below 3.5% for the last 11 weeks according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The chart below shows how far rates have fallen this year (on the left), and uses an average of the projections from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors (on the right). As you can see, interest rates are projected to increase steadily over the course of the next 12 months. How Will This Impact Your Mortgage Payment?
Depending on the amount of the loan that you secure, a half of a percent (.5%) increase in interest rate can increase your monthly mortgage payment significantly. According to CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index, national home prices have appreciated 6.0% over the last year and are predicted to be 5.4% higher next year. If both the predictions of home prices and interest rate increases become a reality, families will wind up paying considerably more for their next home. Bottom Line Even a small increase in interest rate can impact your family’s wealth. Let’s get together to evaluate your ability to purchase your dream home. SOURCE KCM #InterestRates #MortgageRates #RealEstateBuying #SimardRealtyGroup Some Highlights:
Source KCM #HomePrices #InfoGraphic #SimardRealtyGroup There is some thinking that the pace of the housing recovery is unsustainable and that we may be heading for another housing bubble. However, Jonathan Smoke, the Chief Economist of realtor.com explains the basic difference between 2005 and today: “The havoc during the last cycle was the result of building too many homes and of speculation fueled by loose credit. That’s the exact opposite of what we have today.” If we look at the number of new single family housing starts over the last 30 years, we can see that the numbers of housing starts during the current recovery (2012-Today) are still way below historic averages, and are far less than the numbers built during the run-up to the housing bubble (2002-2006). A single family housing start is defined as “the number of permits issued for construction of new single family housing units. Housing starts are an important economic indicator due to its extensive spill over benefits for the other sectors of the economy (retail, manufacturing, utilities).”
Bottom Line Current demand for housing actually calls for more new construction to be built – not less. We should at least return to historically normal levels. Source KCM #ForBuyers #ForSellers #HousingMarketUpdate #NewConstruction #SimardRealtyGroup There are some experts questioning whether the current pace of residential home sales is sustainable. Are too many people buying homes like in 2004-2006? Are we headed for another housing crisis? Actually, if we look closely at the numbers, we can see that we are looking at a very healthy real estate market. Why the concern? Some are looking at the last three years of home sales and comparing them to the three years just prior to the housing bubble. Looking at the graph below, we can understand that thinking. However, if we go further back in history, we can see the real picture. After taking out the “boom & bust” years, the pace of sales is growing at a quite natural pace. And new home sales are way below historic numbers. Trulia’s Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin explains:
“Adjusted for population, [new home sales] are at about 63% of their fifty-year average level—way better than 2011, but nowhere near heated.” Bottom Line The current pace of residential home sales definitely seems sustainable. Source KCM #FirstTimeHomebuyers #ForSellers #HousingMarketUpdate #HomeSales #SimardRealtyGroup School is back in session, the holidays are right around the corner, you might not think that now is the best time to sell your house. But with inventory below historic numbers and demand still strong, you could be missing out on a great opportunity for your family.
Here are five reasons why you should consider selling your house this fall: 1. Demand Is Strong The latest Realtors’ Confidence Index from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that buyer demand remains very strong throughout the vast majority of the country. These buyers are ready, willing and able to purchase… and are in the market right now! Take advantage of the buyer activity currently in the market. 2. There Is Less Competition Now According to NAR’s latest Existing Home Sales Report, the supply of homes for sale is still under the 6-month supply that is needed for a normal housing market at 4.7-months. This means, in most areas, there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the number of buyers in that market. This is good news for home prices. However, additional inventory is about to come to market. There is a pent-up desire for many homeowners to move, as they were unable to sell over the last few years because of a negative equity situation. Homeowners are now seeing a return to positive equity as real estate values have increased over the last two years. Many of these homes will be coming to the market this fall. Also, as builders regain confidence in the market, new construction of single-family homes is projected to continue to increase over the next two years, reaching historic levels by 2017. Last month’s new home sales numbers show that many buyers who have not been able to find their dream home within the existing inventory have turned to new construction to fulfill their needs. The choices buyers have will continue to increase. Don’t wait until all this other inventory of homes comes to market before you sell. 3. The Process Will Be Quicker Fannie Mae announced that they anticipate an acceleration in home sales that will surpass 2007's pace. As the market heats up, banks will be inundated with loan inquiries causing closing-time lines to lengthen. Selling now will make the process quicker & simpler. 4. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move Up If you are moving up to a larger, more expensive home, consider doing it now. Prices are projected to appreciate by 5.3% over the next year, according to CoreLogic. If you are moving to a higher-priced home, it will wind up costing you more in raw dollars (both in down payment and mortgage payment) if you wait. According to Freddie Mac’s latest report, you can also lock-in your 30-year housing expense with an interest rate around 3.46% right now. Interest rates are projected to increase moderately over the next 12 months. Even a small increase in rate will have a big impact on your housing cost. 5. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life Look at the reason you decided to sell in the first place and determine whether it is worth waiting. Is money more important than being with family? Is money more important than your health? Is money more important than having the freedom to go on with your life the way you think you should? Only you know the answers to the questions above. You have the power to take control of the situation by putting your home on the market. Perhaps the time has come for you and your family to move on and start living the life you desire. That is what is truly important. SOURCE KCM #SellingyourHome #Fall #SellingCT #RealEstateAdvice #SimardRealtyGroup There are some homeowners that have been waiting for months to get a price they hoped for when they originally listed their house for sale. The only thing they might want to consider is... If it hasn't sold yet, maybe it's not priced properly.
After all, 14,767 houses sold yesterday, 14,767 will sell today and 14,767 will sell tomorrow. 14,767! That is the average number of homes that sell each and every day in this country, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) latest Existing Home Sales Report. NAR reported that sales are at an annual rate of 5.39 million. Divide that number by 365 (days in a year) and we can see that, on average, over 14,767 homes sell every day. The report from NAR also revealed that there is currently only a 4.7-month supply of inventory available for sale, (6-months inventory is considered ‘historically normal’). This means that there are not enough homes available for sale to satisfy the buyers who are out in the market now in record numbers. Bottom Line We realize that you want to get the fair market value for your home. However, if it hasn't sold in today's active real estate market, perhaps you should reconsider your current asking price. SOURCE KCM #SoldHomes #GetYourHomeSold #SellingCT #SimardRealtyGroup Some Highlights:
SOURCE KCM #RealEstatePro #HireAPro #BuyingandSelling #SimardRealtyGroup There are some that think that housing affordability is a challenge. Historically, that’s not true. Others think that home prices are approaching bubble values. If we look back over the last sixteen years, that is also not the case. As a matter of fact, the numbers show that the U.S. residential real estate market is doing just fine.
Here are two articles and excerpts that make this point: The Housing Market Is Finally Starting to Look Healthy – The NY Times“It has been an excruciatingly long time coming, but the housing sector in the United States is finally getting healthy. Thank millennials and thank homebuilders who are starting to produce more of the starter houses young people demand.” Why the U.S. Housing Market Is Good and Getting Even Better – The Street“Interest rates are so low now that a family can buy the median-priced U.S. home on income of less than $45,000 a year -- about $11,000 less than the median household income. And half of America's houses are cheaper than that.” There are those worried that all this positive talk resembles what was being said in 2004 and 2005. Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com, explains the difference very simply but effectively: “The havoc during the last cycle was the result of building too many homes and of speculation fueled by loose credit. That’s the exact opposite of what we have today.” (emphasis added) SOURCE KCM #HousingMarket #ForBuyers #ForSellers #HousingMarketUpdate #SimardRealyGroup |
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