Is it time for you to move? If you’re unsure, here are three signs to look out for.

The first is how your home’s space affects you. Maybe you’re feeling a little cramped because your family has gotten bigger or your kids are getting older and space is tighter inside your house than it used to be. Buying a new house can be a great upgrade in terms of space.

It’s also possible that you have too much space and you need to downsize so you don’t have as much maintenance to keep up with or utility costs to cover.

The second sign it might be time to move is your financial situation has changed. Maybe you’ve gotten enough promotions over the years that you’re ready to upgrade to the home you’ve been dreaming of. You might also be thinking of retiring and how that will affect your financial situation.

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You may either have too much or too little space in your current home.

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Another aspect to think about in terms of your financial situation is the market itself. Many experts (including myself) believe we’re heading toward a market peak, so you might be in position to cash-out a large chunk of equity.

The third sign is you want to register your kids into a different school system. We all have different motivations behind which school systems we want our kids in, so if you’re like me and your kids are in their school-age years, this might factor into your decision.

If you have any more questions about this topic or you’re still unsure whether it’s time for you to move, don’t hesitate to call or email me anytime. I’d love to speak with you.

Right now is a great time to buy and sell in this real estate market, but there are a few myths circulating that would have you think otherwise. Today, I want to address some misinformation you might have heard and you might now believe. I don’t necessarily mean that it’s bad information, but rather information that is communicated in unclear ways that might prevent those who hear it from being well informed about the market.

Despite the hype surrounding rising interest rates, interest rates are still at all-time lows. Rates are 2.5 points below the market average, based on my tracking the figures over the past 20 to 30 years. You can still take advantage of interest rates—there are mortgage rate deals as well as agent-generated deals, where a good agent can negotiate deals for you.

Another type of deal is the market-generated deal, which is what most people sit around waiting for; there’s a fear of entering the marketplace because people believe that the market can only create so many deals.

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Despite the hype surrounding rising interest rates, interest rates are still at all-time lows.

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If you’re planning to buy or sell a home anytime within the next five years, you should jump in right now. The below market interest rates, the potential to maximize the amount of equity you can pull out of your home, and if you have the right agent, they will help create a generated deal and find a property that you can buy which lines up with your goals.

Many people believe that we’re near the crest of a rising market and will soon be headed back down. None of us has a crystal ball to know exactly where we are in terms of the market crest or trough, but most believe we’re somewhere in upper end.

If you’re thinking of selling your home in the near future, feel free to reach out to us for a free, no-obligation consultation. We’d love to dive into the market and talk about how it could benefit you.

Today, I have some tips to help first-time homebuyers purchase a home. 

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First-time homebuyers have many different options in today’s market.

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First-time homebuyers have many different options in today’s market. Discuss these with your consultant to get the best deal at the best price with the best terms for you and your family’s goals. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We’d be glad to help you any way we can.

How are market conditions and interest rates affecting homebuyers out there?

We’ve talked to a lot of people contemplating buying a home lately, and one of the common trends we’re seeing from homebuyers is wanting to wait 90 or 120 days before entering the market. If you feel the same way, you might want to reevaluate that strategy with a real estate consultant. In the last four months, we’ve seen interest rates go from 4.09% to 4.38%, and all indications are that they will continue to rise over the next 90 days. 

Experts at the FMOC expect interest rates to be raised three times in 2018. Historically, interest rates have risen entering the spring markets even without the conditions we’re experiencing right now. Home prices tend to rise as well through this season. 

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In the last four months, we’ve seen interest rates go from 4.09% to 4.38%.

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This is why, if you’re thinking about buying a home, meet with a real estate consultant, review your goals, and think about whether now is the time to dive into the market. If you meet with us, we can perhaps create a strategy to purchase a home later in the year all while accomplishing the same goals. 

If you’re on the fence, we’d love to give you a free consultation and examine the effects of waiting to enter the market. If you like to sit down with us or you have any other questions about our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Let’s take a look at the state of the market and what those market conditions mean for real estate in 2018.

Inventory reflects the number of homes on the market. Here are the inventory levels for December 31 over the course of the last five years: 

As you can see, inventory dropped significantly from December 31, 2016, to December 31, 2017. That means there has been a significant drop in the number of homes available for sale. 

If you are a seller, now may be a good time to put your home on the market. Homes are selling quickly if they are priced and positioned properly in the market.

Of those 5,304 homes, 1,000 of them are under contract in some form or fashion. 

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Now is a great time to enter the market as a buyer or a seller.

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Another major factor in the real estate market is mortgage rates. Interest rates continue to skyrocket. As rates go up, your buying power goes down. Rates have gone up three-eighths of a point over the last 20 days, which would significantly impact your mortgage payment and your buying power in the real estate market. Check out this attachment for more.

If you are a seller, that means that your buyer pool may be dwindling.

That said, now is a great time to enter the real estate market as a buyer or a seller. If you have any questions, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

As we head into the new year, people are talking about resolutions and their future plans. Some of you may be planning on buying your first home or selling your current home to move into a new one. 

As we look forward to your 2018 real estate goals, there are a few things you can do now in order to get your home search off to a great start. 

1. Get connected with a local lender. They will help you find out what your credit score is and what your buying power will be. They’ll also help you better position yourself in the market and start the pre-approval process. Being pre-approved makes you a strong buyer. 

2. Sit down with a real estate consultant who’s going to take the time to identify your needs and match you with the right mortgage consultant. They will make sure that you don’t miss out on any opportunities in the market. It’s a great time to purchase a home. It’s a little busy because of the holidays, but sellers who are on the market now are highly motivated to sell. They are taking advantage of the low inventory to make their house jump out to you, and there are a lot of ways to approach that.

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Don’t do anything that would negatively impact your ability to purchase a home.

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3. Make sure that you don’t do anything to negatively affect your purchasing power, especially during the holidays. Don’t take out new credit lines or new credit cards. Be careful how much you spend on frivolous things, and try not to overspend on gifts. Don’t do anything that would affect your ability to purchase a home. 

These three steps will put you in a strong position to purchase a home. If you have any other questions about buying a home in 2018, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

If you’re anything like me, this past Thanksgiving was an amazing time to slow down and do something we hopefully try to do every day, which is think about the things we’re thankful for. 

One of the things I’m thankful for is you, for taking the time to watch our videos. Whether you’re a past client, future client, referral partner, or otherwise, you’re what allows our team to serve our clients at a high level.

We’re thankful for you and the opportunity to be a small part of your life. We hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving, and we hope you have a very merry Christmas.

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We’re thankful for you and the opportunity to be a small part of your life.

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If you have any questions for us or there’s anything we can do to help you, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’d be happy to speak with you.

Today I’m excited to share with you some advice about how sellers can price their homes properly in a seller’s market.

One of the things we’re seeing in the marketplace today is that it is absolutely a seller’s market. 

However, I want to illustrate why I believe that it’s a seller’s market that is kind of being held up on stilts. What I mean by that is that we’re not in a market where you can just throw any price on a house and expect it to sell. 

We’re in a market where you’ve got to price your house according to the market conditions. By doing this, you’re increasing the demand for the house. Buyers will want your house because the market is currently low on inventory of houses that are priced correctly, in good condition, and move-in ready. Meeting these criteria will increase the net money in your pocket.

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We’re in a market where you’ve got to price your house according to the market conditions.

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Something we’ve observed in the marketplace is a number of homes that are being priced a little too aggressively. Both Realtors and sellers are thinking the market is a little stronger than it truly is.

What we want for all of our clients is for you to be able to get top dollar for your house in as little time as possible, and for you to put as much money in your pocket as you can. To do that, you need to work with a real estate professional who will sit down, analyze the numbers with you, come to an agreement on what price the market is positioning your home for, and list your home accordingly.

If you have any questions, just reach out to us and let us know what we can do to help you with your situation. If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover, send it to us, and we would love to address it for you.

How can you beat out other buyers in a competitive market?

Today, I’d like to give you some information on how you can get the edge. What my team and I have found is that many buyers rely on websites like Zillow and Trulia to find their homes.

What I want to tell you now is to avoid making this mistake. Looking on third-party websites is not a good strategy. If you’ve ever found a property online, you may have had the unfortunate experience of calling your agent only to discover that the home has already gone under contract. 

My team and I have a different approach. We ask all of our buyers to come in so that we can really dig into what you’re looking for and set you up with a service that we pay for. This service will give you instant access to home listings before most other buyers even become aware of them.  

One of the agents on our team recently helped a buyer get under contract before the property they were interested in even hit Zillow. We are able to do this because we have a team of agents who are always looking for properties. 

Ultimately, this is the secret to beating out the competition. To win in a competitive market, you have to get to properties before anyone else. You’ll also need to be backed by a team of agents who can help you in the process.

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To win in a competitive market, you have to get to properties first before anyone else.

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

If you’ve been thinking about selling your home, now is the time to get off of the fence. There are four reasons why: 

1. Mortgage interest rates are rising. Interest rates have been historically low, so we all knew that this was coming. The Fed raised their rates by a quarter of a point, which will affect the mortgage rates. In fact, the Fed is expected to raise rates several more times this year, which will affect the number of buyers who can afford to purchase your home. 

2. Inventory is extremely low. Inventory is shrinking, which means you will have less competition and your home will be more valuable. 

Thanks to low inventory, your home is worth more money in our current market.

3. Home prices are rising. Buyer demand is incredibly high right now. That combined with low inventory and rising interest rates means that home prices are going up. 

4. Consumer confidence is on the rise. Thanks to an improving job market and economy, buyers are more confident about purchasing homes. 

So, if you are ready to jump off the fence, now is the time. If you have any other questions about our current market or the home selling process, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!