just trying to get their money. Here’s what you need to know.

 

Most people get a lot of mail after they close on a property and wonder what its purpose is. We’ll share some of that information with you today.

A lot of companies will capitalize on the fact that your home sale was recorded at the county office, so they’ll send you things that you don’t need. One example is a solicitation that will tell you to pay them for a copy of your recorded deed. While you do need to have that copy, you don’t need to pay for it. It will be sent out in the mail by the title company four to six weeks after closing.

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A lot of people think that we’ve sold their information to these companies, but the fact is that your home purchase is a public record, and they will always send stuff to addresses based on these county office records.

If you have questions for us about real estate or anything else, feel free to reach out via phone or email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

it’s still a great time to buy or sell a home.

 

The most common question we get this time of year is, “Should I be selling or buying a home during the wintertime?”

If you’re a renter whose lease is coming up, you should absolutely be a homebuyer this year. Interest rates are still really attractive for all buyers and there is a lot less competition from other buyers. As for home sellers, whether it’s the right time or not depends on you and your motivations. If you’re ready to make that change, you can get out into the market now. Although there are fewer buyers, there is a higher concentration of serious buyers and far fewer home browsers.

If you have any questions regarding buying or selling real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be glad to hear from you.

and Chris Krupar to discuss what’s been happening in the market this year.

 

Now, back to the topic: This year, our market has been pretty wonderful.

For those who are looking to refinance their homes, now is still a good time to do so. Interest rates are still very low; they were even lower at one point and have since come up, but not too much.

Because rates are still at historic lows, it’s also a great time to purchase a home in lieu of renting.

For those interested in a home purchase, just know that Bay Equity Homes offers all the standard loan types—conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA. For jumbo loans on larger purchases, we have a variety of products and ways to go about firsts and seconds on jumbo loans. In addition, investment money is also available. Our team members Erika and Chris are both veterans who have plenty of experience not just in providing VA loans, but also using them as buyers. They’re both anxious and eager to help any veterans make a home purchase.

Additionally, we also help those in the community by providing first-time homebuyer assistance programs in conjunction with the Mortgage Finance Authority.

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There has been talk of the federal government cutting rates at some point in the future, and many assume that automatically translates over to mortgage interest rates. However, the Fed actually cuts the overnight interest rate, which could certainly have a positive effect on mortgage interest rates, but that often depends on how the Fed talks about the rate cut itself. If the Fed announces the rate cut and has positive things to say about our economy, then there’s a chance that rates could go down further in the mortgage world; however, if they have negative things to say about the national economy, then it could have the opposite effect.

There are a lot of factors at play right now, including Saudi Arabia cutting back on their oil production and the fact that our current administration has cooled off a little bit regarding the tariff dispute with China—that has actually improved stocks, which in turn, has caused rates to go up.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on interest rates, as we know most are very interested in future developments. For now, though, it’s a great time to refinance your home or leave the world of renting behind to become a homeowner.

If you have any questions about interest rates, the market in general, or about purchasing or refinancing a home, please feel free to reach out to us. We’ll be glad to speak with you.

 

What’s been going on in our real estate market this summer? Today we’ll share some key stats from the month of August as well as longer-range trends that we’ve observed over time.

To start, we’ll take a look at the year-over-year stats for August broken down by price range.

1:58 - Breaking down our year-over-year inventory levels by price range

3:01 - Our year-over-year pending sales

4:01 - How quickly are homes selling?

5:10 - The change in average sales price year over year

6:06 - Average home prices per square foot

8:57 - How market trends are influenced by external factors like wage growth and inflation

9:19 - The status of interest rates

9:54 - Home affordability in Albuquerque 

If you have any questions regarding today’s market update or anything to do with real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be glad to hear from you.

 

Credit is a complex subject, so I recently spoke with a couple of experts (Sarah Gmyer-Maez of OneTrust Home Loans and John Gillette of PreQua Credit) to hear their take on what today’s consumers need to know about repairing their scores.

Of course, the best path to a high credit score is by taking good care of your credit to begin with. According to John, keeping your balance within 30% of your limit is best. It’s also a good idea to use the cards you’ve had the longest more often than the ones you’ve only just taken out.

If you have a relative with a card in positive standing, you may want to ask to be added on in order to supplement your credit history. You don’t even have to get a card of your own. You just have to be an authorized user on their account.

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Sarah, a professional lender, always recommends that anyone looking to improve their credit speak to a professional like John about their options. Professional guidance makes a world of difference when it comes to boosting your credit score.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me or my team a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

but you can trust it to accurately gauge the market’s movement over time.

 

When it comes to calculating a home’s value, Zestimates aren’t very accurate—they don’t know sale prices, and they’ve never actually been inside your house, so they can’t know what it looks like.

What Zestimates are good for, however, is gauging the market, because their algorithm can account for the movement of certain numbers, such as homes’ average price per square foot.

For example, let’s say a Zestimate claims your home is worth $250,000 one day, then six months down the road, says it’s worth $255,000. While that probably isn’t what your home is really worth, it’s a good indicator that there’s been some movement in the market overall.

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The bottom line is this: It’s fine to use Zestimates as a baseline for where our market is, but don’t rely on it as an accurate valuation of your home. Your home is only worth what you’re willing to sell it for and what someone is willing to pay for it.

If you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you.

P.S. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for May 10, because we’ll be giving away a $150 gift certificate to Albuquerque Uptown just in time for Mother’s Day. All you have to do to enter your name into the drawing is to give us a call at (505) 448-8888.

Stay tuned to learn more.

 

For today’s message, we’ll take an all-encompassing look at how our market performed in February this year.

First, though, we’d like to fill you in on an exciting new giveaway we’re holding.

The prize? A Nest programmable in-home thermostat. This is how our giveaway works: You’ll simply call us with the answer to one market-related question. The question is, “How many homes sold in February 2019 in the Metro Albuquerque area?” The answer will be somewhere in today’s market update. Once you know the answer, call us at 505-448-8888 to enter your name into the drawing. You have until Friday, March 22 to submit your name and give yourself a chance to win this beautiful Nest thermostat!

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1:00 - Total dollar volume of closed sales in February 2019

2:07 - Closed sales in February 2019

2:47 - Pending sales in February 2019

3:08 - Homes for sale in February 2019

4:02 - New listings in February 2019

4:24 - Months’ supply of inventory in February 2019

5:37 - Average price per square foot in February 2019

Now that you have the sought-after answer to “How many homes sold in February 2019 in the Metro Albuquerque area?”, don’t forget to call us at (505) 448-8888 to enter into our drawing for your chance to win the Nest programmable thermostat. And, again, the deadline is Friday, March 22!

As always, if you have any questions related to real estate, please reach out to us as well. We look forward to talking to you soon!

but some things will certainly be changing.

 

Today we’ll be taking a look at what our market could hold throughout 2019. Though we don’t have a crystal ball, we can make fairly accurate predictions based on current numbers and trends we’ve been seeing in the market.

(0:54) — Where our market is right now

(2:28) — How inventory levels and new home construction can be used for predictions

(4:34) — Though there will be new construction, it’s too pricey for entry-level buyers

(5:35) — Affordability is a predictor, and interest rates are expected to rise this year

(8:12) — How the predicted 5.3% rate will affect home payments

(10:43) — Home prices may continue to rise this year

(11:58) — Home appreciation nationwide is expected at 3.9% in 2019

(13:45) — We aren’t in a bubble and shouldn’t be worried

(14:35) — How millennials are expected to make up half of all homebuyers next year

(16:25) — A great story about one person’s move to New Mexico

(17:52) — Thanks for listening!

If you have any questions or need more information about our market, feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

 

Today we’ll be going over the numbers we’ve just received from November. What kind of market does the data show we’re experiencing? Let’s find out.

(0:24) — Is our market shifting?

(0:50) — Closed sales numbers for November

(1:15) — A deeper look at overall sales

(1:25) — Data for homes under $200,000

(1:50) — Data for homes between $200,000 and $399,999

(1:58) — Data for homes between $400,000 and $599,999, and homes above $600,000

(2:15) — Pending sales data

(3:07) — Data for average price per square foot

(4:47) — Trends for active, pending, and sold homes

(6:30) — If you’re looking to sell soon, preparation is key

(7:17) — Data for the supply of inventory

(7:30) — When should you buy or sell?

(8:23) — How to access the data we covered today

If you’d like to view the charts, graphs, and data from the video, visit WelcomeHomeABQ.com. If you have any questions about our real estate market or need more information, reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you.

in remodeling a lost cause. Find out when it’s time to move, and when it’s time to stay.

 

In our most recent Facebook Live interview, we discussed a pretty common question: Should you stay in your home and remodel, or should you move and forget about it? There’s an entire show dedicated to this dilemma on HGTV, and today we’ll be sharing our insights on the topic and answering questions about it.

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0:56 - What questions should you ask yourself to decide?

1:35 - What are your long-term housing goals?

1:58 - Can you find a house in your preferred neighborhood?

2:08 - How much will it cost to make your house what you want?

2:28 - Will your repairs be supported by the neighborhood?

2:45 - How will remodeling disrupt your family’s lives?

3:15 - What is the remodeling process like?

4:52 - What return will I see on upgrades?

5:13 - Do you have the funds to remodel?

5:40 - What should I consider when deciding to move?

6:29 - When is moving an easier solution than remodeling?

6:51 - What if my dream home needs changes?

If you’re wanting to buy or sell a home, have any questions, or would like some more information, feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.