Today, we’re going to take a look at where home prices were five years ago and where they are now. It’s hard to believe what a difference those few years made. 

From December of 2012 until December of 2017, home prices increased 37.4% on a national level. Local appreciation varied between states, as you can see in the graphic I’ve included in the video above, but the overall change constituted a fantastic recovery.  

In Virginia, prices appreciated by 15% over that five-year span. Florida, which had been heavily affected by the crash, saw an appreciation of 46% over that same period. Even more impressively, Nevada saw an appreciation of 66%. 

There isn’t one state that has gone backward, so we are definitely trending in the right direction. For all of you out there who love data, you can find some additional information on price projects here. 

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It looks as though home prices will continue to appreciate for the foreseeable future.

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One thing I do want to note, though, is that economists predict prices to increase by an additional 18.2% over the next five years. The Bulls are actually predicting a 27.4% increase, while the Bears predict an increase of 8.3%. Ultimately, all of this is dependant upon the global economy. If unforeseen circumstances arise, these predictions could change. 

Still, so far it looks as though home prices will continue to appreciate for the foreseeable future. This means that right now is a great time to buy while prices are still low. It’s also a great time to list, since now is one of the best times to move up in years. Inventory is low, which means homes that are on the market often see great success.

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.

Since 2012, home prices have significantly increased. As this trend continues, many are wondering when it will stop. Is a housing bubble on the horizon?

According to economists, the next housing bubble isn’t expected to hit until 2024. This means there are six years to prepare. 

Freddie Mac’s chief economist Sean Becketti has said, “The evidence indicates there currently is no house price bubble in the U.S., despite the rapid increase of house prices over the last five years.” 

Other economists have shared similar opinions. Christopher Thornberg, a partner at Beacon Economics, says “There is no direct or indirect sign of any kind of bubble.” 

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The rise in prices is something buyers are certainly paying attention to.

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While we may not be headed for a bubble in the near future, the rise in prices is something buyers are certainly paying attention to. Of course, there’s no way to accurately predict what will happen to our market or our economy. 

Also, interest rates are going up for the first time in years. You can find more information about today’s interest rates here. 

The rise in interest rates is yet another factor that could impact purchasing power, which could cause further pressure on housing prices. 

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.

Now is a great time to buy a home in our market, and because of that, it’s also a great time to sell. Let me explain.

For the first time in years, mortgage rates are going up significantly. Why? Because the economy is improving significantly. There’s a direct correlation there—as the economy improves, interest rates rise.

If you’re a buyer and you want to get the cheapest financing possible to buy your home, you need to buy now. Freddie Mac is forecasting that interest rates will be close to 5% by the end of the year.

Take advantage of this situation before the spring market hits.

Buyers need to act quickly and start buying homes, but there’s very little inventory available out there. There are more buyers than there are homes to sell, which is what makes now a great opportunity to sell as well. If you list now, you won’t have nearly as much competition as you would in the spring.

Furthermore, according to the National Association of Realtors’ Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, “The pool of interested buyers at the end of the year significantly outweighed what was available for sale.”

Now is the perfect storm for buying and selling, so if you’re thinking about doing either, take advantage of this situation before the spring market hits.

If you have any questions about the state of our current market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

Each year, the National Association of Realtors releases a profile of buyers and sellers. They’ve just recently put out the 2017 edition of this profile, and I’m excited to go over it with you today.

After surveying buyers and sellers from across the country, the Association found that 60% of respondents feel that Realtors have helped them to better understand the real estate process.

Also, 56% of respondents stated that their agent was honest in pointing out flaws with listings they visited during their home search. This openness is something I really encourage in the agents I work with. I would much rather see an agent talk a buyer out of a home that isn’t right for them than see a deal be made.

There is a lot of value in working with a Realtor during your real estate transaction.

Another statistic listed in the profile was that 47% of respondents felt their agent negotiated better terms for their sales contract. Additionally, 46% of respondents felt they had better access to service providers such as home inspectors thanks to the help of their agent.

44% of buyers also felt their knowledge of search areas was improved with the help of their Realtor. This just goes to show why it’s important to hire a Realtor.

Finally, 38% felt their Realtors negotiated a better price. The respondents for this last statistic came from both buyers and sellers.

As you can see, there is a lot of value in working with a Realtor during your real estate transaction. 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.

The latest scam in real estate is affecting a lot of people. I wanted to make sure that you are aware of it and go over a few ways you can avoid it.

When you go through the process of closing on a home, there is a lot of interaction between you, your real estate agent, and the title company. These scammers are hacking into either the title company’s email account or the Realtor’s email account.

They watch all of this sensitive information going back and forth. Once they are inside the real estate agent’s account, they can effectively take over the agent’s identity and email false wiring instructions to homebuyers. Once the buyer wires the money to the new account the hacker made, the hacker takes the money and runs.

Since the hacker used the real estate agent’s email or the title company’s email, most buyers don’t know what’s happened until their money is gone.

What can you do to avoid this scam?

The most important thing to remember is that we will never ever ask you to send funds or a copy of a check via email. We won’t do it, and the title companies we represent won’t do it.

We will never ask you to send funds via email.

We’ve heard some nightmares about $50,000, $60,000, and $70,000 closing checks that are stolen because of hacked email accounts.

If you get an email that appears to be from your Realtor or title company asking you to send sensitive account information via email, don’t do it. Call your Realtor to let them know what’s going on.

Do as much as you can over the phone. I know that we hate talking on the phone these days, but make sure you call your Realtor or title company or handle things in person in order to avoid email whenever possible.

I also recommend that you work with a Realtor and title company that uses an encrypted service for their email.

We are moving in this direction to protect ourselves and our clients. Although we will never ask you to send funds via email, there is just too much sensitive information floating around. We want to protect our clients, so we are encrypting everything that we do.

Ultimately, make sure you never send any sensitive financial account information over the web, and certainly don’t send it over email. That is the best way to avoid this latest scam.

If you have any other questions about avoiding this scam or about real estate
in general, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you.

There are four main advantages to buying a home that, as a renter, you can’t enjoy. 

First, there are five great financial benefits: 

Second, studies have shown that homeowners have, on average, 44 times the amount of wealth that renters do. 

The average homeowner has 44 times the wealth that the average renter does.

Third, if you purchase a home with an average purchase price in 2017, you can build more than $48,000 in family wealth over the next five years. 

Finally, some people argue that renting eliminates the cost of taxes and home repairs, but any expenses the landlord incurs are included in the rent payment. 

If you are renting, I hope you have a greater appreciation of the value of homeownership. If you have any questions about the cost of not owning a home or you’re curious what it would take for you to buy a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Why are home prices increasing? I did a little research and am excited to uncover the real reason for you today.

Ultimately, it all boils down to supply and demand. I’m not trying to oversimplify things; this really is what’s happening at the local and national level.

As you can see in the chart in the video above, anything less than six months of inventory is considered a seller’s market. In this kind of market, home prices will go up.

A market with six or seven months of inventory is considered a neutral market. Home prices will only appreciate with inflation. We have not had a neutral market in quite a while.

Anything above seven months of inventory puts us in a buyer’s market. Since there is an oversupply of inventory, prices start to go down.

We have been in a seller’s market for the last five years.

Here in Richmond, inventory levels tend to vary by location. The further out you get from the city, the more these numbers get skewed. At the national level, however, we have been in a seller’s market for the past four or five years.

According to the National Association of Realtors, there are only 3.9 months of inventory for sale. That is the reason that home prices are going up.

Again, here in Richmond, inventory can vary from area to area. If you have any questions about inventory levels in your specific neighborhood, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

In our market, you typically agree to work with an agent for six months.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

Spring and summer may get all the publicity, but there are actually quite a few reasons why it makes sense to sell in the fall, especially this year. Here are five reasons why selling this fall makes perfect sense:

1. Demand is very strong. According to the NAR Buyer Traffic Report, demand remains strong throughout the vast majority of the country, including many locations in Central Virginia. Inventory below $300,000 is sparse and highly coveted.

2. There is less competition right now. With inventory down, there just aren’t a lot of homes for buyers to look at. It’s a strong seller’s market in homes priced $300,000 and below.

3. The process will be quicker. Mortgage lenders and title companies aren’t as busy during the fall months, so they’re able to get deals moved along much more quickly. Buyers are also becoming pre-qualified much sooner, which increases the speed of the process as well.

It’s a great time to be a move-up buyer.

4. There will never be a better time to move up. There is so much pressure on higher priced homes right now because the inventory for these homes is high. If you’re a move-up buyer, you can take advantage of the conditions by selling high and buying low in a higher price range. This is the best time in years to move up.

5. It is simply time to move on. This time of year could be an exceptional time for you and your family. Maybe you’ve been thinking about making a move for a while or maybe you just realized it’s time for a fresh start. Regardless, we’ll be here to help.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

Selling your home is a big undertaking—you want to make sure that the person who helps you is qualified to do so.

So, should you interview more than one Realtor as you enter the listing process? The answer is: of course. Your home is usually your most important asset.

Last night I had a meeting with a couple about the sale of their home.

Everything went well and at the end of the night, I asked them if they felt comfortable moving forward. The wife replied with: “Absolutely!” Her husband didn’t look so sure. After looking at his wife for a moment, he spoke up to say that they had two more Realtors lined up to interview.

At that point, I offered to call the two Realtors and let them know that a decision had been reached. Again, the wife seemed enthusiastic—the husband, not so much. I of course told them I was kidding.

At that point I found out they had just had a bad experience with a previous Realtor. I absolutely understand this. As a Realtor, I fully understand the importance of talking to multiple agents before making a decision.

There are four key areas that all sellers should be comfortable with in the sale of their home.

Ultimately, there are four areas that sellers need to be comfortable with before settling on an agent.

The first and most important is price. If someone meets with three different Realtors and receives a vastly different price between the three of them, this is a bad sign. Though the prices will not be identical, there should be a general range within which all the prices fall.

Next is marketing. Finding out what a Realtor’s marketing budget will be is key. You should also ask how, specifically, an agent plans to expose your property to the public.

The third thing to consider is negotiation experience. If you were having chest pains and needed to choose a cardiologist, you would definitely seek out the professional who had spent the most time in their profession.

When something as serious as your home is on the line, you want to make sure you’re working with someone who knows what they’re doing.

A Realtor should have experience in negotiation, too. A home that sits too long on the market is likely not under the supervision of a Realtor who knows how to negotiate the best deals. A quality professional should be able to drive sales forward instead of letting things remain stagnant.

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.