Why Sell Your Home in the Winter?

Nobody buys or sells a home in the winter. Right? Wrong!

According to Dave Ramsey, about 19% of all homes sold between September 2018 and August 2019 closed between December 2018 and February 2019.

Here are some reasons to sell when the air gets chilly:
The Internet Has No Seasons – It’s estimated that 93% of buyers use the
internet during their home search. Instant access to property listings has had an impact on the typical seasons buyers look for homes. While spring is still the hottest home-buying season, serious home buyers are always on the lookout.
Fewer Sellers – Come spring, more sellers will enter the market. During the winter, the number of sellers on the market is limited. Based on 2018 statistics, Dave Ramsey estimates there’s 12% fewer listings during the winter months which means less competition for sellers!
Winter Buyers Mean Business – Buyers trudging around in freezing weather or breaking away from their holiday schedule to look at your home are likely serious. Winter buyers often have a deadline, whether it’s an expiring lease, or a contract on their current home.
Time Off – While the holiday schedule can be hectic, many people also have more time off during the holidays. That means more time for browsing their favorite home apps, and scheduling home showings.
Getting Tax Breaks Before Year-End – Some winter home buyers are motivated to capture the tax benefits of buying a home before year-end. This may include tax deductions such as mortgage interest, private mortgage insurance (PMI) premiums, and real estate taxes. Investors may be motivated to close before the end of the year to replace a property that recently sold.
Tips for Selling in the Winter:
• Keep it simple. If you’re selling around a holiday and have decorations up, make sure they accent – not overpower – a room. Less is more.
• Crank up the cozy. Light a fire in the hearth, play soft holiday music in the background, and prepare fresh-baked goods or mulled cider for guests.
• Shine a light outside. Winter days get dark early. Brighten your home’s exterior with outdoor spotlights, including the area where agents and buyers are accessing the lock box and entry door.
• Avoid a winter wonderland. Buyers want to see details of the house, not a blanket of snow. Make sure you have clear-weather photos of your home.

Call me to talk about the reasons to sell your home this winter!
www.daveramsey.com

Housing Market Predictions

The year has so far been a promising one for would-be home
buyers as home prices started to level off and mortgage rates
dipped to unexpected lows. While first-time buyers can expect less competition than last
year, it’s still very much a seller’s market in most places. But
overall, it’s a good time to move forward with a home
purchase. Here’s what industry experts predict for the remainder of
2019 and beyond.

Millennials will drive the market.
Consider it the year of the first-time home buyer.
More than half of all mortgages originated by Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac went to first-time buyers last
year, and with Millennials hitting their prime
home buying years, those numbers are only
going to grow.

Inventory will improve –but not by much.
Total housing stock is well below
the nation’s pre-recession
volumes. Although recent data
shows that inventory is rising for starter homes and trade-up
properties, it’s likely not enough to satisfy demand. Housing
supply has increased compared to last year, but overall
inventory levels are still quite low, especially in the lower
price ranges.

Home prices are headed up.
Prices have been on the rise since 2012, outstripping their
pre-recession peaks early last year. The slowdown in price
appreciation and the escalation of wage growth is helping to
improve affordability for many would-be buyers. Still,
experts warn that home prices aren’t done rising yet.
Increasing demand and the limited inventory of homes for
sale suggests continued price appreciation.

Mortgage rates will stay low.
Mortgage rates recently hit their lowest point in three years,
averaging 3.80%, according to Freddie Mac, causing a surge
of refinancing. Experts expect that rates could go even lower.
Experts predict that the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate will finish
out the year between 3.9% and 4.1% – lower than 2018’s full-year
average of 4.54%.

Buyers can take their time.
Despite an influx of younger buyers,
competition isn’t going to be as stiff as in years
past. National data shows that just 15% of offers
in April sparked a bidding war – down dramatically
from 60% in April, 2018. Nationally, the overall inventory of available homes is
expected to remain stable this year, so buyers shouldn’t feel
as pressured to move quickly.

Some markets are better than others.
Overall, the signs aren’t overwhelmingly pro-buyer or proseller.
Industry experts don’t foresee an extreme dip or a
major spike in prices or rates. And at the end of the day,
housing conditions vary by market.
Give me a call to discuss our local market conditions and
your plans to buy or sell!

Source: Aly J Hale, contributing writer for Forbes

How Big a Home Do You Truly Need? 5 Questions to Ask to Figure That Out

When it comes to homes, the popular credo is that bigger is better. More square feet = a larger slice of the American dream, right? Not necessarily. For one, bigger homes obviously cost more, and oversized McMansions can be harder to sell. As such, you’ll want a home that’s neither too big nor too small. But how do you strike that balance? Here are five questions to ask yourself that will help you determine how much space you really need.

1. Is this my ‘forever’ home, or is ‘right now’ good enough?

While you can’t predict the future (darn those unreliable crystal balls), it is possible to evaluate the likelihood you might be moving in coming years. If so, then maybe you don’t need to buy that perfect ‘forever home’ where you’ll grow old; maybe a ‘right now’ home is good enough.

“There’s a common perception that you should be searching for your ‘forever home,’ and that pressure to find a place that has all the space you might ever need often leads buyers to purchase a home that might be too big,” warns Jackie Hinton, a real estate agent with Center Coast Realty in Chicago. “It’s OK to know that you’ll only live in a home for the next five or six years, and to buy a home that will serve your needs during that period. You can always re-evaluate and upgrade to a bigger space later.”

2. What will my income look like later?

If you’re early in your career, odds are decent that your income will increase over the years. Or, if you’re reaching the end of your career, you may be looking at flattened or declining income. In either case, it’s never a good idea to get a mortgage at the max of what you can afford, it’s better to go small and have some wiggle room.

“Nothing causes more stress than financial strain,” says Bill Rice, president of MyPerfectMortgage.com. “A mortgage on a home that is a size too large is most likely to be your biggest burden, and a hard one to overcome. Happiness is often one size smaller than your dream home. That way, you can enjoy your home without dreading your monthly mortgage payment.”

Also, remember more space means more time and money spent on upkeep and maintenance, more rooms to fill with furniture, and higher utility bills to heat and cool the home.

“Any future improvement projects, like installing new floors or replacing windows, will cost more when the space is bigger,” says Hinton.

3. What are my priorities?

Another question to consider is what you’ll use all that space for-and be honest: While you might dream of hosting epic dinner parties in that big formal dining room, will you really? Can you say with honest certainty that your in-laws will descend on you during the holidays and need a guest bedroom to crash in, or might they be just as comfortable in a nearby Airbnb?

Aside from justifying what you’ll use each space for, ask yourself what you’re giving up. If you dream having a secret “travel fund” so you can see the world, that maybe be possible only with a smaller mortgage (and house). Or, perhaps you value things other than space, like school district or a walkable location. So make sure to factor those variables, too-and make sure you aren’t sacrificing them for space you don’t need.

This is why real estate investor Kathy Kettke decided to buy a smaller home so she could live in her “dream location” near the beach. “Being open to a smaller home allowed us to be in a higher-priced market we wouldn’t have been easily able to afford otherwise,” she says. And best of all, her home doesn’t feel cramped-particularly since she can pop out and stroll along the ocean anytime.

4. How much space do I want from my own family members?

If you absolutely must have privacy-to, say, get work done in a home office or chill out in your man cave-then that extra square footage may be well worth the money. But if you’re more the type who loves having their family members nearby, a large home gives people plenty of alone time…sometimes too much.

Fettke, for one, is glad her home is small because it keeps her in close contact with her kids. “I’ve found that my daughter’s friends who live in large homes rarely even run into their parents,” she says. But since her own home is smaller, her kids are constantly underfoot-just the way she likes it.

“Plus it seems that most of our daughter’s friends hang out at our place, even though it’s tiny,” she says. Sure, the beach nearby may be one draw, but so may be the cozy, close-knit family environment a smaller home forces you to have. “Maybe they like the homey environment and being able to smell the cookies being baked around the corner,” she says.

5. Does this home feel spacious even if it doesn’t have much space?

Keep in mind that even small homes can feel spacious purely based on an open floor plan and lots of light. Meanwhile, large homes can still feel cramped if they’re dark or poorly laid out. So, when shopping real estate listings, know that the little number next to square footage may not tell the whole story.

“The total square footage of a house can be deceiving,” says Patrick Ryan, senior vice president and managing broker of Chicago-based Related Realty. “Features like a long hallway may increase the total, but they are spaces you pass through, not a true destination within the home.”

So instead of homing in on total square footage, “buyers should focus on the size of individual rooms where they see themselves spending the majority of their time,” says Ryan. In other words: Who cares if your bedroom isn’t massive, since all you plan to do there is sleep?

Source: Julie Ryan Evans | www.realtor.com

Game-Changing Real Estate Trends in 2018

From housing inventory to price appreciation to generational shifts, look for real estate markets to “reshape” in 2018, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Game-changer #1: Supply finally catching up with demand

After three years of a shrinking supply of homes for sale, the realtor.com economists predict that the shortfall will finally ease up win the second half of 2018.

“The majority of the year should be challenging for most buyers. But we do expect growth in inventory in the fall,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com.

If housing inventory increases as predicted by fall, that will be the first net inventory gain since 2015.

Bullish construction is the engine that’s turning this ship around, bringing new home inventory to the market and creating opportunity for people to trade up into new homes.

But first time buyers may have to be patient for a while longer.

“Overall, prices are expected to increase, and we’re expecting to see more of that in lower-priced homes,” Hale says.

Along the Front Range, appreciation for homes priced above $750,000 will slow down while homes priced less than $500,000 will continue to see appreciation but not at the rate seen in recent years. This is due to the lack of supply (many builders are focusing on higher price point properties) and a large demand for real estate as a result of continued net migration.

Game-changer #2: Millennials starting to come into their own

The housing market in 2018 will continue to present challenges for millennials but there are some bright spots on the horizon.

Because of the strengthening economy and their developing careers, millennials are taking on larger mortgages and bypassing entry level homes.

As millennials reach their 20s to 30s when they’re settling down and starting families, they’re particularly motivated to buy. Millennials could make up 43% of home buyers taking out a mortgage by the end of 2018, up from an estimated 40% in 2017.

With mortgage rates expected to increase during 2018 due to stronger economic growth, millennials would be wise to buy sooner than later.

Game-changer #3: Tax reform

The new tax plan will change things up, in a nutshell causing short-term rates to rise more rapidly than anticipated as the Federal Reserve seeks to “get ahead” of possible inflation. The tax plan will also flood the market with a little more liquidity, keeping the economy moving at least another year.

Sources: Glen Weinberg, www.cobizmag.com, Cicely Wedgeworth, www.realtor.com

Give our office a call to discuss your real estate plans for 2018!

Open House Etiquette Do’s and Don’ts

It’s a marathon house-hunting day. As you check out listing No. 5’s brand new windows, it suddenly hits you: “Oh man, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Should you, or shouldn’t you?

Navigating do’s and don’ts of the open house experience can be totally awkward, so we asked the pros everything most buyers secretly want to know.

Well, Can I Use the Bathroom?

If you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go — but don’t just wander off and take care of business. It might not work in every house. Literally.

“Ask permission,” says Pat Vredevoogd Combs, past president of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® who works and lives in Grand Rapids, Mich. Vacant houses, especially in winter, may have the water shut off, so there’s no way to flush. That’s something you really want to know before you go.

And if you’re at a busy open house, being in the loo for more than a minute means other potential buyers can’t check out the facilities — and may not want to after you’ve, um, done your business.

To be safe, schedule a few pit stops at restaurants or gas stations along the way!

Is it OK to Bring in My Coffee?

We’re pretty sure ordering house hunters to forgo coffee qualifies as “cruel and unusual punishment” in some states. But if you’re carrying a drink, be careful — unless you’re prepared to go mano a mano with the floor.

“So many first-time home buyers are millennials, and I almost never see them without a cup of Starbucks in their hand,” Vredevoogd Combs says. “I had one guy spill his coffee on white carpeting and we had to get down on our hands and knees to clean it up.”

Food, on the other hand, is no bueno, unless the seller has left out cookies. By all means, take one, but eat it in the kitchen. Preferably over a napkin.

Can I Peek in the Closet?

“Absolutely,” says Tg Glazer, 2016 president of the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®. “Buying a home is probably the biggest purchase you’re ever going to make, and you need to check out everything.”

Basically, look all you want, but don’t rifle around. You’re shopping for closet space, not a new wardrobe.

How About a Quick Selfie With This Awesome, Lemon-Colored Range?

With smartphones being practically an appendage for many buyers, snapping pics to share with friends and family is so easy. But hold your trigger finger, especially if you’re planning to share the images online.

Whether you can take photos and videos “seems to be a regional custom,” Vredevoogd Combs says. “In some cases, sellers have valuable things and don’t even want their homes promoted online. Ask permission first.”

Can I Plop Down on That Chaise Lounge?

Vredevoogd Combs says she’s not a fan. “Feeling comfortable enough to want to sit on the furniture might be a good intent to buy, but it isn’t your furniture and you’re not buying it.” Plus, that cozy looking couch or comfy bed might be staged for the open house — air beds or cardboard boxes wearing fancy clothes — you might take a spill.

If you need to sit, for health reasons or that sprained ankle from your last marathon, just ask. That’s not unreasonable.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is the old-fashioned Golden Rule: Do unto others’ homes as you’d have them do unto yours.

“Be on your best behavior,” says Combs. Pretend the seller is there — and sometimes they are, even if you can’t see them. They might be waiting next door at a neighbor’s house and wander back at any minute. So it’s also a good idea to keep comments to yourself. You wouldn’t want them to overhear how much you love the master suite — that could mess up your negotiating power if you decide to buy.

Source: Stacey Freed | www.houselogic.com