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More & More Singles Are Falling For Their Dream Home [INFOGRAPHIC]

Singles Are Falling For Their Dream Home | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • 24% of all recent home buyers were single at the time of purchase.
  • 47% of single men cite the desire to own a home of their own as the primary reason to buy.
  • 18% of first-time buyers were single women.
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Building Wealth: First Rung on the Ladder is Housing

How Housing Matters is a joint project of the Urban Land Institute and the MacArthur Foundation. It is “an online resource for the most rigorous research and practical information on how a quality, stable, affordable home in a vibrant community contributes to individual and community success”.
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Real Estate: 2016 Will Be the Best Year in a Decade

A few weeks ago, Jonathan Smoke, the Chief Economist at realtor.com, exclaimed: “All indicators point to this spring being the busiest since 2006.”
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Rent or Buy: Either Way You’re Paying A Mortgage

There are some renters that have not yet purchased a home because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize that, unless you are living with your parents rent free, you are paying a mortgage - either your mortgage or your landlord’s.
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Don’t Wait! Move Up To Your Dream Home Now!

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 have stayed near historic lows.
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Don't Be Fooled... Homeownership Is A Great Investment! [INFOGRAPHIC]

Don't Be Fooled... Homeownership Is A Great Investment! [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • Harvard University's Joint Center of Housing Studies recently released the top financial & emotional reasons to own a home.
  • Owning is a good way to build up wealth that can be passed along to your family as it is usually a form of "forced savings."
  • Whether you rent or own, you are paying a mortgage. Yours when you own, your landlord's when you rent.
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2016 Home Sales Doing Just Fine!!

Some of the housing headlines are causing concern for some consumers who are in the process of either buying or selling a home. Pundits are concerned over the lack of new construction or the month-over-month sales numbers. Let’s set the record straight; 2015 was a good year for residential real estate in the United States and 2016 is starting out stronger.
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Past, Present & Future Home Values

In CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index, they revealed home appreciation in three categories: percentage appreciation over the last year, over the last month, and projected appreciation over the next twelve months.
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Sales Contracts Hit Highest Level in Months

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just announced that the February Pending Home Sales Index reached its highest reading since July 2015.
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Home Sales Up Year-Over-Year [INFOGRAPHIC]

Home Sales Up Year-Over-Year | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights

  • This is the 48th consecutive month with year-over-year price gains.
  • Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief Economist says that, "The main issue continues to be a supply & affordability problem. Finding the right property at an affordable price is burdening many potential buyers."
  • Inventory is still below historic norms at a 4.4 month supply.
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Further Proof This Isn’t a Housing Bubble

Two weeks ago, we posted a blog which explained that current increases in home prices were the result of the well-known concept of supply & demand and should not lead to conversations of a new housing bubble. Today, we want to look at home prices as compared to current incomes.
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91.5% of Homes in the US Have Positive Equity

CoreLogic’s latest Equity Report revealed that one million borrowers regained equity in their homes in 2015. The outlook for 2016 remains positive as well, as an additional 850,000 properties would regain equity if home prices rose another 5% this year. 
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The Importance of Using an Agent To Sell Your House

When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price with the least amount of hassles. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is to actually get the home sold.
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The Mortgage Process: What You Need To Know [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Mortgage Process: What You Need To Know [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • Many buyers are purchasing a home with a down payment as little as 3 percent.
  • You may already qualify for a loan, even if you don't have perfect credit.
  • Take advantage of the knowledge of your local professionals who are there to help you determine how much you can afford.
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What If I Wait Until Next Year To Buy A Home?

As a seller, you will be most concerned about ‘short term price’ – where home values are headed over the next six months. As either a first-time or repeat buyer, you must not be concerned only about price but also about the ‘long term cost’ of the home.
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The Difference An Hour Makes This Spring [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Difference An Hour Makes This Spring [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • Sunday, March 13th, we "Spring Forward" one hour for Daylight Savings Time (except for our friends in HI & AZ).
  • Every hour in the United States, 624 homes will sell and 118 homes will regain positive equity.
  • The median home value will also increase each hour in the United States by $1.84.
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Yes, Home Prices Are Rising. No, a New Housing Bubble is NOT Forming

We recently reported that home prices are continuing to rise across most of the nation. This has created concern in some pundits that a housing bubble, like we saw ten years ago, is forming again. We want to explain why these concerns are unfounded.
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Study Again Finds Homeownership to be a Better Way of Producing Wealth

According to the latest Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent (BH&J) Index homeownership is a better way to produce greater wealth, on average, than renting.
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Put Your Housing Cost To Work For You!

There are many young people debating whether they should renew the lease on their apartment or sign a contract to purchase their first home. As we have said before, mortgage interest rates are still near historic lows and rents continue to rise.
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Home Prices Up 5.76% Across The Country! [INFOGRAPHIC]

Home Prices Up 5.76% Across The Country! | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released their latest Quarterly Home Price Index report.
  • In the report, home prices are compared both regionally and by state.
  • Based on the latest numbers, waiting to move may end up costing you more!
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Home Is Where The Heart Is

Yesterday, we discussed the reasons why homeownership makes sense, financially. Today we wanted to touch on the emotional or ‘real’ reasons that many Americans strive to become homeowners. 
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One More Time, Real Estate is a Great Investment

In a recent blog post on Marginal Revolution, economist Alex Tabarrok discussed homeownership as an investment.
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Existing Home Sales Inch Up In January [INFOGRAPHIC]

Exising Home Sales Inch Up In January [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • Existing Home Sales rose to an annual rate of 5.47 million, representing an 11% increase year-over-year.
  • Inventory levels remain below the 6-month supply needed for a normal market at a 4.0-month supply.
  • Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief Economist, warns: "The spring buying season is right around the corner and current supply levels aren't even close to what's needed to accommodate the subsequent growth in housing demand."
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Low Inventory Causes Home Prices to Accelerate

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their latest Quarterly Metro Home Price report earlier this month. The report revealed that home prices are not only continuing to rise but that the increases are accelerating. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR, discussed the impact of low inventory on buyers in the report:
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Mortgage Rates Again at Historic Lows

Just two weeks ago, we posted an article discussing where mortgage interest rates may be heading over the next twelve months. We quoted projections from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association and the National Association of Realtors. Each predicted that rates would begin to rise slowly and steadily throughout 2016.