1. Price it a LITTLE LOW 

“Aim to price your property at or just slightly below the going rate. Today’s buyers are highly informed, so if they sense they’re getting a deal, they’re likely to bid up a property that’s slightly underpriced, especially in areas with low inventory.”

2. Use a Real Estate Professional

“The median selling price for all FSBO homes was $185,000 last year. When the buyer knew the seller in FSBO sales, the number sinks to the median selling price of $163,800. However, homes that were sold with the assistance of an agent had a median selling price of $245,000 – nearly $60,000 more for the typical home sale.”

Bottom Line

Some Highlights:

• Don’t forget to set your clocks forward this Sunday, March 12^th at 2:00 AM EST in observance of Daylight Savings Time.
• Unless of course, you are a resident of Arizona or Hawaii!
• Every hour in the United States: 649 homes are sold, 177 homes regain equity (meaning they are no longer underwater on their mortgage), and the median home price rises $1.86!

Some Highlights:

• Don’t forget to set your clocks forward this Sunday, March 12^th at 2:00 AM EST in observance of Daylight Savings Time.
• Unless of course, you are a resident of Arizona or Hawaii!
• Every hour in the United States: 649 homes are sold, 177 homes regain equity (meaning they are no longer underwater on their mortgage), and the median home price rises $1.86!

That hasn’t happened this year.

Bottom Line

“Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home. Market challenges remain, but the housing market is off to a prosperous start as homebuyers staved off inventory levels that are far from adequate…”

“U.S. home resales surged to a 10-year high in January as buyers shrugged off higher prices and mortgage rates, a sign of growing confidence in the economy.”

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“Homebuyers reported being most surprised by mortgage insurance, followed by bank fees and points, taxes, title insurance and appraisal fees.”

“Closing costs are typically between 2 and 5% of your purchase price.”

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Why the dramatic increase?

What does this mean for housing?

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) keeps historical data on many aspects of homeownership. One of the data points that has changed dramatically is the median tenure of a family in a home. As the graph below shows, for over twenty years (1985-2008), the median tenure averaged exactly six years. However, since 2008, that average is almost nine years – an increase of almost 50%.

Why the dramatic increase?

What does this mean for housing?

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The results of their latest survey:

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Highlights:

• Sales of existing homes reached the highest pace in a decade at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million.
• January marked the 59^th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains as the median home price rose 7.1% to $228,900.
• NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun had this to say, “Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home." 

Highlights:

• Sales of existing homes reached the highest pace in a decade at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million.
• January marked the 59^th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains as the median home price rose 7.1% to $228,900.
• NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun had this to say, “Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home." 

Here are five levels of access that you can give to buyers, along with a brief description:

1. Lockbox on the Door – this allows buyers the ability to see the home as soon as they are aware of the listing, or at their convenience.
2. Providing a Key to the Home – although the buyer’s agent may need to stop by an office to pick up the key, there is little delay in being able to show the home.
3. Open Access with a Phone Call – the seller allows showing with just a phone call’s notice.
4. By Appointment Only (example: 48 Hour Notice) – Many buyers who are relocating for a new career or promotion start working in that area prior to purchasing their home. They often like to take advantage of free time during business hours (such as their lunch break) to view potential homes. Because of this, they may not be able to plan their availability far in advance or may be unable to wait 48 hours to see the house.
5. Limited Access (example: the home is only available on Mondays or Tuesdays at 2pm or for only a couple of hours a day) - This is the most difficult way to be able to show your house to potential buyers.

Here are five levels of access that you can give to buyers, along with a brief description:

1. Lockbox on the Door – this allows buyers the ability to see the home as soon as they are aware of the listing, or at their convenience.
2. Providing a Key to the Home – although the buyer’s agent may need to stop by an office to pick up the key, there is little delay in being able to show the home.
3. Open Access with a Phone Call – the seller allows showing with just a phone call’s notice.
4. By Appointment Only (example: 48 Hour Notice) – Many buyers who are relocating for a new career or promotion start working in that area prior to purchasing their home. They often like to take advantage of free time during business hours (such as their lunch break) to view potential homes. Because of this, they may not be able to plan their availability far in advance or may be unable to wait 48 hours to see the house.
5. Limited Access (example: the home is only available on Mondays or Tuesdays at 2pm or for only a couple of hours a day) - This is the most difficult way to be able to show your house to potential buyers.

In today’s housing market, is it better to rent or buy a home?

Bottom Line

Some Highlights:

• Historically, the choice between renting or buying a home has been a close decision.
• Looking at the percentage of income needed to rent a median-priced home today (30%), vs. the percentage needed to buy a median-priced home (15%), the choice becomes obvious.
• Every market is different. Before you renew your lease again, find out if you could use your housing costs to own a home of your own!

Some Highlights:

• Historically, the choice between renting or buying a home has been a close decision.
• Looking at the percentage of income needed to rent a median-priced home today (30%), vs. the percentage needed to buy a median-priced home (15%), the choice becomes obvious.
• Every market is different. Before you renew your lease again, find out if you could use your housing costs to own a home of your own!

“Owning a home embodies the promise of individual autonomy and is the aspiration of most American households. Homeownership allows households to accumulate wealth and social status, and is the basis for a number of positive social, economic, family and civic outcomes.”

• Homeowners have a much greater financial stake in their neighborhoods than renters. With the median national home price in 2015 at $223,900, even a 5% decline in home values will translate into a loss of more than $11,195 for a typical homeowner.
• Because owners tend to remain in their homes longer, they add a degree of stability to their neighborhood.
• Homeowners also reap the financial gains of any appreciation in the value of their home, so they also tend to spend more time and money maintaining their residence, which also contributes to the overall quality of the surrounding community.
• Homeowners were found to be more politically active than renters with 77% of homeowners saying they had at some point voted in local elections compared with 52% of renters.
• There seems to be a greater awareness of the political process among homeowners. About 38% of homeowners knew the name of their local school board representative, compared with only 20% of renters.
• There is a higher incidence of membership in voluntary organizations and church attendance among homeowners.
• Homeownership does create social capital and provide residents with a platform from which to connect and interact with neighbors.
• Owning a home means owning part of a neighborhood, and a homeowner’s feelings of commitment to the home can arouse feelings of commitment to the neighborhood, which, in turn, can produce interactions with neighbors.

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1. Why am I buying a home in the first place? 

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
• A place where you and your family feel safe
• More space for you and your family
• Control of that space

2. Where are home values headed?

What does that mean to you?

3. Where are mortgage interest rates headed?

Bottom Line

“Among spring listings, 18.7 percent of homes fetched above asking, with winter listings not far behind at 17.5 percent. While 48.0 percent of homes listed in spring sold within 30 days, 46.2 percent of homes in winter did the same.”

“Buyers [in the winter] often need to move, so they’re much less likely to make a lowball offer and they’ll often want to close quickly — two things that can make the sale much smoother.” 

Bottom Line

Highlights:

• Hiring a real estate professional to guide you through the process of buying a home or selling your house can be one of the best decisions you make!
• They are there for you to help with paperwork, explaining the process, negotiations, and helping you with pricing (both when making an offer or setting the right price for your home).
• One of the top reasons to hire a real estate professional is their understanding of your local market and how the conditions in your neighborhood will impact your experience.

Highlights:

• Hiring a real estate professional to guide you through the process of buying a home or selling your house can be one of the best decisions you make!
• They are there for you to help with paperwork, explaining the process, negotiations, and helping you with pricing (both when making an offer or setting the right price for your home).
• One of the top reasons to hire a real estate professional is their understanding of your local market and how the conditions in your neighborhood will impact your experience.

“Pending sales bounded last month as enough buyers fended off rising mortgage rates and alarmingly low inventory levels to sign a contract.”

So, what’s the problem?

“The main storyline in the early months of 2017 will be if supply can meaningfully increase to keep price growth at a moderate enough level for households to absorb higher borrowing cost. Sales will struggle to build on last year’s strong pace if inventory conditions don’t improve.” (emphasis added)

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