You may be wondering if you should wait to enter the housing market. Here are four great reasons to consider buying a home today instead of waiting.
1. Prices Will Continue to Rise
CoreLogic’slatest Home Price Index reports that home prices have appreciated by 6.3% over the last 12 months. The same report predicts that prices will continue to increase at a rate of 5.4% over the next year. The Home Price Expectation Survey polls a distinguished panel of over 100 economists, investment strategists and housing market analysts. Their most recent report projects home values to appreciate by more than 3.2% a year for the next five years.
The bottom in home prices has come and gone. Home values will continue to appreciate for years. Waiting no longer makes sense.
2. Mortgage Interest Rates Are Projected to Increase
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows that interest rates for a 30-year mortgage have remained below 4%. Most experts predict that they will begin to rise over the next 12 months. The Mortgage Bankers Association, Freddie Mac and the National Association of Realtorsare in unison projecting that rates will be up almost three-quarters of a percentage point by this time next year.
An increase in rates will impact your monthly mortgage payment. Your housing expense will be more a year from now if a mortgage is necessary to purchase your next home.
3. Either Way You Are Paying a Mortgage
As a paper from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University explains:
“Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return. That’s yet another reason owning often does end up making more financial sense than renting.”
4. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life
The “cost” of a home is determined by two major components: the price of the home and the current mortgage rate. It appears that both are on the rise.
But what if they weren’t? Would you wait?
Look at the actual reason you are buying and decide whether it is worth waiting. Whether you want to have a great place for your children to grow up, you want your family to be safer or you just want to have control over renovations, maybe it is time to buy.
If the right thing for you and your family is to purchase a home this year, buying sooner rather than later could lead to substantial savings.
Bottom Line
If you are ready and willing to buy, find out if you are able to. Meet with a local real estate professional who can help you find your dream home. For more information, please contact The Olear Team today!
Every agent brings a different set of skills & specialties to their clients.
It is important to find an agent who you can trust to guide you through the entire process step-by-step.
Having a conversation about your goals & expectations will not only save you unneeded frustration, but will also make the transaction as smooth as possible.
For more information, please contact The Olear Team today!
If you’re in the process of selling a home, there are some common sense steps that can help ensure a quick sale.
First, think about how people are currently searching for available homes. Answer: The internet! Before you post your property online — hopefully with the assistance of an experience Realtor — be sure you have some exceptional photos to accompany your descriptive copy. While a picture says a thousand words, those words can be less than flattering if your photos are showing a cluttered, outdated home. Photos need to be clear and appealing. If you know a professional photographer or someone who has a knack for taking outstanding photographs, this may be the time to call in a favor!
Proper staging of the home is also a necessity if the goal is to see that “For Sale” sign change to a “Sold” sign in the shortest period of time. Easy upgrades like a thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of paint will go a long way. If your furniture and accents have seen better days, you may want to consult with a professional staging company that can give your home a fresh new look with the strategic placement of a handful of eye-catching pieces.
Remember that any additional effort you put into your sale will almost always be rewarded in the end. For more information on preparing your home for a quick and financially satisfying sale, please contact The Olear Team today!
CoreLogic’s latest Equity Report revealed that 256,000 properties regained equity in the third quarter of 2015. This is great news for the country, as 92% of all mortgaged properties are now in a positive equity situation.
Price Appreciation = Good News For Homeowners
Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic’s chief economist, explains:
“Home price growth continued to lift borrower equity positions and increase the number of borrowers with sufficient equity to participate in the mortgage market. In the last three years, borrowers with at least 20 percent equity have increased by 11 million, a substantial uptick that is driving rapid growth in home equity originations.”
Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, believes this is a great sign for the market in 2016 as well, as he had this to say:
“Homeowner equity is the largest source of wealth for many Americans. The rise in home prices, expected to be at least 5% in 2016, will continue to build wealth and confidence across America. As this process continues, it will provide support for the housing market and the broader economy throughout [the] year.”
This is great news for homeowners! But, do they realize that their equity position has changed?
A study by Fannie Mae suggests that many homeowners are not aware that they have regained equity in their home as their investment has increased in value. For example, their study showed that 23% of Americans still believe their home is in a negative equity position when, in actuality, CoreLogic’s report shows that only 8% of homes are in that position (down from 9% in Q2).
The study also revealed that only 37% of Americans believe that they have “significant equity” (greater than 20%), when in actuality, 74% do!
This means that 37% of Americans with a mortgage fail to realize the opportune situation they are in. With a sizeable equity position, many homeowners could easily move into a housing situation that better meets their current needs (moving to a larger home or downsizing).
Fannie Mae spoke out on this issue in their report:
“Homeowners who underestimate their homes’ values not only underestimate their home equity, they also likely underestimate 1) how large a down payment they could make with their home equity, 2) their chances of qualifying for mortgages, and, therefore, 3) their opportunities for selling their current homes and for buying different homes.”
Bottom Line
If you are one of the many Americans who are unsure how much equity you have built in your home, don’t let that be the reason you fail to move on to your dream home in 2016! Meet with a local real estate professional today, who can help you evaluate your situation and assist you along the way!
For more information, please contact The Olear Team today!
You’ve decided to sell your house. You begin to interview potential real estate agents to help you through the process. You need someone you trust enough to:
Set the market value on possibly the largest asset your family owns (your home)
Set the time schedule for the successful liquidation of that asset
Set the fee for the services required to liquidate that asset
An agent must be concerned first and foremost about you and your family in order to garner that degree of trust. Make sure this is the case.
Be careful if the agent you are interviewing begins the interview by:
Bragging about their success
Bragging about their company’s success
An agent’s success and the success of their company can be important considerations when deciding on the right real estate professional to represent you in the sale of the house.
However, you first need to know that they care about what you need and what you expect from the sale. If the agent is not interested in first establishing your needs, how successful they may seem is much less important.
Look for someone with the “heart of a teacher,” who comes in prepared well enough to explain the current real estate market and patient enough to take the time to show how it may impact the sale of your home, not someone only interested in trying to sell you on how great they are.
You have many agents from which to choose. Pick someone who truly cares.
For more information, please contact The Olear Team today!
