Now that the housing market has stabilized, more and more homeowners are considering moving up to the home they have always dreamed of. Prices are still below those of a few years ago and interest rates are still below 5%. However, sellers should realize that waiting to make the move while mortgage rates are increasing […]
There are many naysayers declaring that the housing market is still challenged. Young adults are burdened with too much student debt. Interest rate increases are killing demand. Homeownership is no longer seen as part of the American Dream. We just want to let these naysayers know three things: 13,945 houses sold yesterday, 13,945 will sell […]
Listings will be crucial to the success of real estate professionals in 2014. We believe that demand will remain strong and that the agents with a good inventory of salable listings will have tremendous years. However, the competition for these listings will be fierce. Agents must set themselves apart from the competition in every way […]
You can learn so much just by observing nature. Last year, Steve was staying at a fabulous hotel in southern California. He and his wife were having lunch at an outside table at the hotel restaurant. It was impossible not to notice the ducks that gathered around the tables at the restaurant looking for food. […]
Growing up it seemed ‘white lies’ were okay while lying was a sin. As children, we sometimes had difficulty understanding where the line was. As we matured, we realized there most definitely was a difference. If a husband or wife asks if it is okay to invite their parents over for dinner, the spouse would […]
Are you thinking of selling your home? Are you dreading having to deal with strangers walking through the house? Are you concerned about getting the paperwork correct? Hiring a professional real estate agent can take away most of the challenges of selling. A great agent is always worth more than the commission they charge just […]
Last week, KCM’s founder and Chief Content Creator, Steve Harney, was recognized as one of the 200 most powerful people in residential real estate when he was named in the Swanepoel Power 200 report. As the KCM Crew and Steve contemplated what such an accomplishment actually meant, together we realized that this honor truly recognized […]
If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. Though your friends and family have your best interests at heart, they may not be fully aware of your needs and what is currently happening in real estate. Let’s look at whether or not now is actually […]
Note: “Boomerang buyers” are former homeowners who have gone through a short sale, foreclosure, or bankruptcy in the past few years and are saving up for a down payment to purchase a home again.
Today we are pleased to welcome back Nikki Buckelew as our guest blogger. Nikki is the Founder and CEO of the Seniors Real Estate Institute. We already know from NAR that 1 in 4 home sales in 2012 involved a seller over the age of 65. It’s also no secret that the aging population is growing […]
__________________________________________ With a rise in interest rates on the horizon… How will your Buyer’s Purchasing Power be impacted? The latest edition of KCM explains the TRUE cost of waiting and provides you with the tools to educate your buyers. You can start your 14-day free trial of the KCM Membership at keepingcurrentmatters.com/trial. Current KCM Members […]
Many pundits are warning that there will be a drop in real estate values because mortgage rates are beginning to increase. The logic makes sense. However, history shows that increasing rates have not negatively impacted home values in the past. Four times over the last 30 years mortgage interest rates have dramatically increased. Here is […]
The price of any item (including residential real estate) is determined by ‘supply and demand’. If many people are looking to buy an item and the supply of that item is limited, the price of that item increases. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the supply of homes for sale dramatically increases every […]
Throughout 2013, we emphasized the difference between the ‘price’ and the ‘cost’ of a home. We explained that a purchaser should not only be aware of rising home values but should also look at what was about to happen to mortgage interest rates. Looking back, we can now establish exactly what it cost a buyer […]
There is no doubt that the consumer’s desire to access housing information through the internet will continue to increase throughout 2014. However, that doesn’t mean the value of the real estate agent has diminished. Inman News recently cited a NAR survey when they reported: “Use of the Internet among consumers in the home buying process […]
Home search will become a given to the real estate consumer in 2014. In order to differentiate themselves from other agents, real agents will need to bring strong, meaningful content to the table in all their offerings. And we are not talking just about more information. There’s a large gap between information and actionable knowledge. […]
Most experts are calling for an increase in mortgage interest rates in 2014. However, we believe the increase will be more dramatic than is being projected. We believe rates will be closer to 6% than 5% by year’s end. The Fed announced last month that they would be pulling back some of their stimulus package […]
With a dramatic increase in demand for housing expected this year, it will be up to real estate professionals and builders to make sure there is the necessary inventory to satisfy this demand. This will be a challenge for much of 2014. For a balanced real estate market, there should be approximately 5-6 months of […]
Many housing pundits are calling for home sales to do slightly better in 2014 than they did in 2013. To the contrary, we strongly believe that home sales will skyrocket with increases of 10-15% in 2014. Here are the three categories of buyers we believe will create this strong demand. The First Time Buyer The […]
Collectively, Gen X and Gen Y generations along with the Baby Boomers lost trillions of dollars in net worth over the last seven years as a result of the housing collapse. Homeowners’ net worth is back to being 30 times greater than that of renters as the housing market recovers and home values increase. However, […]
Making predictions in what is still a somewhat volatile housing market can be tricky. That being said, we are going to give you what we believe will be the five biggest headlines for housing in 2014. Home Sales Will Surge Many housing pundits are calling for home sales to do slightly better in 2014 than […]
