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As we all know and have seen over the last few months – there has been a real shift in the housing market.  So, if you are thinking about selling your home now, you may be wondering if there is anything you should do differently, in light of this shifting market?   What I will say is this … as a seller, we just need to get “back to the basics” as we had in the past.  Take the time to prepare your home so it out-shines your competition – making wise choices (saving you time and money) along the way, that will gain you the best return on your investment.  

Here are a couple of simple tips and suggestions that will maximize your return on investment … 

Price It Right

I cannot stress enough how pricing your home correctly in any market is so important.  Some sellers will say … “Let’s try a higher price and see.”  That strategy doesn’t work necessarily – and here are just a few reasons why. 

• Buyers are much more educated than ever before
• If your home is not “priced right” – you will not have the right buyers looking at your home to make their offer – higher price equals higher expectations.  
• If you price your home too high at the end of the day – you will see price reductions, only taking more time to net you less than if you were to have priced it right from the get-go.  
• You also do not want to price your house too low – possibly leaving money on the table.

Speaking to a trusted real estate advisor will give you the information you need to determine what the fair market value of your home is in today’s market, discussing market strategies that will position your home in the market that can ultimately gain the most value in your sale. 

When its “Showtime”

First impressions do matter … 

Having a “To Do List” – of all that you will want to do prior to placing your home on the market is key.  Decluttering is TOP on the list, along with fixing any minor repairs that may have been put off and/or needed, deep cleaning, perhaps some painting may be in order … a can of paint can go a long way at making your home shine bright!  Perhaps staging your home may be in order … there are varying degrees of staging from just taking down family photos and personal items – to furniture placement, to adding some accessories to give your home the extra pop, to some extensive staging when and if needed.  You want the buyer to imagine themselves living in the home – not looking at “who lives in the home.”  These are all things you will want to discuss with your realtor prior to placing the home on the market to see what, if anything he/she feels necessary to do to gain the most value in your home sale.

Lastly, look at your home through a buyer’s eyes to see what they will see – starting at the front door.  Curb appeal matters – if your home appears well kept and welcoming as the buyers do their “drive-by” and they do … there’s a good chance they will want to schedule a showing with their realtor to see what the home has to offer on the inside.    When you are ready … Lights on, curtains drawn … it’s showtime!!

For more information, tips, and strategies – feel free to contact me … I am here to help!

Laura

Helping buyers & sellers achieve their real estate goals

If you been watching the stock market recently, you may be getting a little discouraged with the amount of money lost day in and day out. With the volatility of the markets along with the uncertainty in the world in many arenas – it’s hard to see the silver lining. But wait … checking the value of your home should come as welcome relief for so many even in these uncertain times. If you’re a homeowner, your net worth got a big boost over the past few years thanks to rising home prices. And that increase in your wealth comes in the form of home equity.  Equity … is the current value of your home minus what you owe on your mortgage. The way to determine your equity is to take the current value of your home and subtract what you owe/if you owe on your mortgage. (Reach out to a trusted real estate advisor to help you determine your home’s value.) Home prices have appreciated substantially over the past 2+ years due to the limited supply in homes to satisfy the number of buyers out there in search of a new home. While rising inventory, and mortgage rates rising have certainly cooled the market down some in recent months, home prices nationally do remain strong. According to the latest Homeowner Equity Insights from CoreLogic, the average homeowner’s equity has grown by $60,000 over the last 12 months. While that’s the national number, if you want to know what happened, on average, over the past year in your area … you can check that out on the map below …

Why This Is So Important Right Now? Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), helps explain why this matters so much today. “Unfortunately, the decline in the stock market has dented many’s overall net wealth. It has fallen by $6 trillion from the first to the second quarter. Only housing wealth has held on, with homeowners’ real estate wealth (home value minus mortgage balance) rising by $1.2 trillion.” While equity helps increase your overall net worth, it can also help you achieve other goals like the purchase of your next home. When you sell your current home, the equity you have built up over the years, is realized in your sale, and it may be just what you need to cover a large portion – if not all of the down payment on your next home. When I speak with some sellers today, some say … “I want to sell, but I don’t want to over-pay on my new home purchase.” It’s important to understand home prices have risen substantially over the last couple of years … which is great news for the sellers – that value gain on your sale is then reinvested in your new home purchase. So at the end of the day – it all balances out. As much as we all want our cake and eat it to, if you will – you can’t have it both ways – right? Gained value (equity) on the sale of your current home helps you to move forward on your next purchase … There’s volatility in today’s stock market no doubt, but home equity is still very strong. To find out just how much equity you have in your current home, reach out to me … your trusted real estate advisor. I’m here to help! Laura The Key To Your Real Estate Success Helping buyers & sellers achieve their real estate goals

With interest rates on the rise – buyers need to know how much home they truly can afford without breaking the bank. If you were one of the lucky ones to have purchased your home before the rise in rates – congratulations!  If you are still in the market … adjusting your budget and/or changing your plan up a little may be all you need to do need to achieve your goal of homeownership.  Keep in mind – while interest rates are higher than they were 6 months ago, for example – they are only going to be higher in the very near and distant future.  So, if your goal is to own a home in 2022/2023 – best to make the move now – while interest rates are still higher than they were before –they will still be lower than what will be looking forward … Make sense?

First step, if you’ve already been pre-approved, you may want to make sure your “pre-approval” is current and up-to date given today’s interest rates, and the prediction of yet another hike.  My advice to you is to stay in touch with your mortgage lender so that he or she will be able to guide you through to a successful real estate transaction in this ever-changing market.   Some lenders will have different programs that you may qualify for that may lower your interest rate or offer some type of credit – so having that open dialogue with them will only benefit you in the long-term. 

To get started, there is a short application process a buyer would need to go through to determine what mortgage they may qualify for based upon their own personal finances.  Once completed, this allows the buyer to comfortably start their home search knowing what price range they should be looking in.  Best to do this right up front … there’s no sense looking for homes priced in the $500,000 range, for example, when you only qualify for a $400,000 purchase price. Inventory is picking up a little bit these days, homes are staying on the market a little bit longer – thus giving buyers a little more to choose from.  That’s all-good news for the buyers!  Having said that, and once you finally locate that “place to call home” you still need to be prepared, to put forth your best offer to compete in this market. If you currently own a home, and are looking to upsize or downsize for example, you may have a ton of equity in your current home which is great!  Whether you plan to pay cash for your second home or take out a small mortgage – your lender will help you determine as you go through the approval process whether your new purchase will need to be contingent upon the sale of your current home should you do the latter – that’s where things could get a little tricky in this market.  But certainly, this happens more then you know.  If you do have a home to sell prior to purchasing a second home, having this conversation on day one with a trusted real estate advisor to give you guidance and laying the groundwork on how best to move forward to achieve your real estate goals will be key.  

We are still in a competitive market right now, so best be a ready and prepared buyer if you are serious about purchasing a home in this market.  If you are currently in need of a good mortgage lender recommendation to get pre-approved – don’t hesitate to reach-out to me.  I have many good resources I would be happy to share with you.  

Laura

Helping buyers & sellers achieve their real estate goals

The Key To Your Real Estate Success

In today’s shifting market, sellers need not be caught off-guard, wondering if there is anything they should or could have done to make their home stand out over the other homes they will be competing with in today’s market.  Are there any possible renovations to tackle, in an effort to gain them the most value?  

Speaking with a trusted real estate advisor can help you think through today’s market conditions and how it can impact what you should or shouldn’t do before you decide to place your house on the market.  

Here are some things to consider …

What you need to know about your local market

Since the number of homes have increased over same time last year, buyers have more homes to choose from.  With that in mind, you can no longer ignore those repairs of cosmetic updates that you may have been able to do over the months, or year/s past.  Making those selective updates & upgrades will make your home more attractive to the buyers out there today.   

Don’t get me wrong … it is still a seller’s market, inventory is still low, but we talked about what makes it a seller’s market – “supply and demand”.  Since the amount of inventory coming on the market is increasing – the percentage of homes coming on the market to satisfy buyer demand is narrowing – thus is why sellers will need to add value to the home, in order to make the home more appealing to buyer, or price the home accordingly if need be.   It may be possible that the home will stand on its own without these renovations due to some determining factors, such as inventory, location, buyer pool etc.  These are things to discuss with your trusted real estate advisor.  

What you should know before considering any renovations

I’m sure you all have heard the old real estate expression … “First impressions matter!!  Still stands true today, so keep that in mind.  In addition to making that “first good impression” look to the following if you are considering any renovations – to decide if any will make sense to you given your individual circumstances.  According to the 2022 Remodeling Impact Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), here are some of the projects that could net you the best return when you sell your house.  

As you can see from the report – refinishing hardwood floors in 2022 gain the most rate of return standing at a whopping 147%, installing new hardwood floor just behind at 118% … interesting.   The least, still standing at a high of 82% is vinyl siding.   Click the link above (2022 Remodeling Impact Report) to read the full report.

To get started …

As an agent and knowing the real estate market … we will do a “first walk-through” together at our initial consultation, to determine what, if anything … you may want to consider in order to make your home stand out over your competition.   Having the reliable resources and recommendations to help provide those renovations and getting those estimates/proposals should you choose to go ahead … is key.  Then, looking at your budget, and the potential value-gain in doing these renovations will certainly factor in on your decision as to how to move forward with these renovations.  If you are not up for the challenge, or it is not in your budget, pricing your home accordingly, to let the new home buyer take on the task is certainly an option as well.

Laura

Helping buyers & sellers achieve their real estate goals

You are a home buyer in search of that “perfect home” and low and behold … you’ve found it!  Now you are faced with the task of securing that home and making it your home!   In today’s market buyers are still faced with many properties still receiving multiple offers – if they are priced well and have no major objections.  So, you understand that making your offer stand out over all the others is key in securing the home.  

In structuring your offer, your realtor should explain to you that your offer is not only about your offered price (while that is certainly an important factor) – it is also about the terms of your offer, that may make your offer more appealing to a seller over another.  In preparation of structuring your offer to make it out-shine the others, should there be multiple offers on the property, it is the job of your realtor to find out what in the offer might be important or appealing to the seller that could be included, as part of their offer, as every seller will have their own wants, needs, and goals.  

Some of the things to consider are – price of course, closing date, mortgage contingency, down payment amount, appraisal contingency, and inspection contingency.  For the purposes of this writing, I will touch on just one … inspection contingency.

As a listing agent, and working with buyers, the question that will sometimes come up – “Is the buyer willing to waive inspections?”  The quick answer to this as your trusted advisor and as a buyer’s agent would be – no, plain and simple.  There are many hurdles to get over in the buying and selling process and home inspections is just one of them.  Inspections are a key component and one of the determining factors of your home purchase.  Buyers need to know “what they are buying” to know what their investment will be once they sign on the dotted line.  I recently had a situation where in representing the buyer – offer was contingent on satisfactory inspections – based only on “health & safety” issues should they arise, which in this market and really in general is the norm.  What we are basically saying here is that the buyer will not “nit-pick on things – they are only concerned with the important stuff, like septic, electrical, and water just to name a few” – you get the idea.  Unfortunately, in this case there were a few, well there were many items that were deemed health and safety issues from the licensed home inspector – that my buyer asked the seller to address.  To confirm the home inspectors’ findings in this case, my buyer hired another contractor specific to the items in question to confirm or not his findings – which they did in fact.  Regardless of confirmed reports of the health and safety issues that arose from these inspections, seller declined to correct the items requested by my buyer. My buyer had no choice but to walk-away as these items were truly and directly the responsibility of the seller and my buyer was not willing to take on these major objections, along with the costs associated with these items.  The home went back on the market, and remains on the market as of today.  In my experience, the end result of my story is really not the norm, as most always, the buyer and seller will come to terms.  

There are varying degrees of comfort, knowledge and wherewithal that comes along with the decision of what a buyer is willing to take on or not, but it is having the knowledge of knowing what they are willing to take on or not only comes through having a home inspection.  It’s a minimal cost in the grand scheme of things, and the comfort and an education of knowing how a “home works” if you will, is just another important component of a home inspection.  

Will there be buyers willing to “waive inspections” in an effort to secure the property – for sure!  That is the right and choice of the buyer.  At the same time, it is my job as their realtor, to explain the possible pitfalls of making that decision and what that might mean to them looking forward …

Laura

Helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals.

The past couple of years have brought and continue to bring about significant life challenges for so many. In fact, for some, have accelerated the wheel towards early retirement … turning the page to the “next chapter” of their life.

If that sounds like you, and you have recently retired, or are at a point in your life that this may soon become your reality, take a quick look around … it may be possible you find your current home not quite fitting your new, or soon to be new lifestyle for many different reasons. But here’s the good news … It is extremely likely, depending on when you purchased your home, that you have built-up a significant amount of equity, which in turn can help fund your next move. With the increase of today’s home values in our area over the past couple of years, you can be fairly certain there will be good amount of equity in your home. To find out just how much … you may want to have a Comparable Market Analysis Report completed so you can see what your “current market value” is to determine just how much equity you really do have in your home should you decide to sell.

If you have been on the fence, here are just some of the benefits to consider as you may find yourself turning the page into, or towards retirement …

Moving closer to the ones we love – According to the National Association of Realtors, one of the main reasons why people move of those reaching retirement age is to live closer to family and friends. 

If you find yourself living further away from those most important to you … retirement and the equity you’ve built into your home may just enable you to “make that move.”

Finding the right home – The equity in your home will not only give life to make a move to a new location, but it can also help you purchase the home that will be more suitable to your wants and needs for today’s lifestyle and beyond! Many who are looking to retire are thinking forward and are looking for that “one level living” home for ease of living and a better quality of life. 

My best advice … if you have recently retired and your needs are changing, take comfort in that you are not alone. Retirement is a big step, and so is buying or selling a home. As you enter this new chapter of life, it is important to receive good sound advice from a trusted real estate advisor, one that will listen to your specific wants and needs and help you move forward with that in mind, easing the worry and to shed light on the process … guiding you every step of the way. 

Laura

Helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals.

If you are keeping a pulse on the real estate market, I am sure you know that it is no secret that the market is slowing down just a bit then was the market craze we experienced over the last 2 years. Having said that … if you are a seller and thinking of selling your home – there still is no better time than now! If that is your plan – it is important to keep the following in mind …

Due to the lack of inventory, we have been experiencing, home prices are still appreciating, but just at a much slower pace. Now with the current rise in mortgage interest rates, homes are staying on the market longer (days on market increases) which creates less of a buyer demand which is why we are seeing this “shift in the market.” which is why, pricing your home correctly on “Day 1” is so important in this market!

We are getting back to basics – getting back to a more “normal market” if you will. No longer can we “price ahead of the market” and then expect to get at or over that asking price in many cases. The risk you bear for over-pricing a home in this shifting market is “time & money.” Don’t get me wrong – it is still very much a seller’s market – if we are to be successful in this market, we have to accept the fact that the market is changing, and we need to adjust our expectations along with that change.

While interest rates are rising, although tweaked downward a little bit over the last week or so – this affects the market on both the buyer and seller side. So, I go back to my favorite saying … we only know what we know now….

First step, speak to a trusted Real Estate Advisor (that would be me 🙂 to discuss what your real estate goals are, and have prepared a Comparative Market Analysis on your home to see what your current home’s value is worth. If at that time, it is your desire to place your home on the market, having decided to “make the move” – my best advice to you would be this … Homes that are priced well will sell quickly. Pricing your home at market value based upon current market conditions will attract a larger buyer pool that could ultimately net you a higher price. Pricing your home correctly on “Day 1” is critical, and in not doing so, you may find yourself “chasing the market” and ultimately netting less than you would have had you only priced it correctly to begin with.

Laura

Helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals

Regardless of what’s going on in the market today – people will still be buying homes and selling homes.  People will buy and sell real estate for their own wants and needs as they want and need … no matter of what’s happening in the real estate market.  The time to buy and sell real estate is when you are ready!  Will it give some buyers and sellers pause – absolutely!  Will it make them “rethink” some of their decisions – you bet!  Will it change their wants & needs to a more realistic approach – no doubt.  Selling strategies may change, budgets may change, the way in which they thought they were going to purchase can change – what they were hoping to purchase may change and will now become a little more of a reality check so as to become more obtainable given our current economic climate.  But make no mistake – if buyers and sellers have a need “now” for whatever their reasons … they can and will make it happen.  For some … they may just have to adjust their way of thinking. 

Below are just a few reasons why people want & need to “make a move” …

A Need for More Space – Looking for more indoor and outdoor space can be important, especially with remote working becoming more commonplace.  Your growing family may no longer have the space they need or want to live comfortably, for example.

A desire to live closer to family and loved ones – can be a need experienced by many.  Again, due to remote work, individuals & families now have expanded options on where they would like to live. These days, this possibility becomes even more of a reality – as companies in the past had relocated their employees for work, or people took jobs out of state for a good employment or career opportunity.  Now, companies no longer tie their employees to that circumstance.

Retirement and/or downsizing – is another big reason why people make the move.  You’ve worked most of your adult life, and now it is “your time” to enjoy life!   Making things easier as we grow older is the goal for so many older adults.  

Keep in mind, while mortgage rates will play a factor in your decision-making process – living in a home that suits your wants and needs for whatever your reasons are – is just as important of a factor.  The time to buy and sell real estate is when you are ready.  

If you are thinking it may be time for you to buy or sell real estate – feel free to contact me … I am. here to help!

Helping buyers & sellers achieve their real estate goals.

Monday Morning Minute

If you have been “in tune to the news” these days … you’re probably wondering, amongst other things … where we are in the world of real estate and what does it mean to me?  Before you get ahead of yourself, if you are thinking of purchasing a new home or selling your existing home – speak to an experienced and trusted real estate advisor … that would be me 🙂  to get the BIG picture to help you move forward with the best information possible.  The real estate market is shifting, and when that happens, it can be very unsettling, which for some, will give them pause in making any decisions, much less making, what can be one of the biggest financial decisions one can make in their life. – buying or selling real estate.  Hopefully I can give you a little insight and prospective into today’s market which might help you in your decision-making process.  

Here are a few of the headlines in the news that need a little more clarity around the statements … 

Home Prices Are Falling

Real Estate terms on pricing – Appreciation, increase in home prices; depreciation, or decrease in home prices; and then deceleration, is an increase in home prices, but just happening at a slower pace.  All terms can be confusing if not understanding the context of which these terms are being used.  

You may be hearing homes prices are going to fall, depreciate if you will – contrary to that, what experts are really saying is that home prices will continue to appreciate just at a decelerated pace – which just means – currently home prices will continue to rise – just at a slower pace, then we had experienced over the last 2 years of the real estate craze.  Might I just add … this is something that sellers will need to understand and prepare for so as to not set themselves up for disappointment with unrealistic expectations.  Getting a current up to date – Comparable Market Analysis on your home will be helpful for you to determine your homes true market value.  Yes, it is still a seller’s market – which is good news for sellers, due to supply & demand … there are not enough homes on the market for the number of buyers still looking.  Now still is the time, if you are seriously thinking of selling your home.  

The Housing Market Is in a Correction

Another miscommunication is that the housing market is in a correction. The true meaning of a “market correction is the following … 

Expert’s state “A correction is a sustained decline in the value of a market index or the price of an individual asset. A correction is generally agreed to be a 10% to 20% drop in value from a recent peak.” – which has not happened.

As I mentioned above, so long as there is a supply & demand issue – home prices will continue to appreciate, just at a slower pace. That means the housing market is not in a “correction” because home prices are not falling.  Perhaps we can look at it as we are entering a more “normal market” as we have known and seen … opposite of which we had experienced over the last 2 years of the real estate craze.

The Housing Market Is Going to Crash

Some of headlines are causing worry that we are in a “Housing Bubble” – soon to burst!  Reality is, and experts say we are not in a “Housing Bubble” as we are not in the same market that we had been in 2005-2008 – far from it!!  One of the main reasons why is because lending standards today are very different than they were back then.  Experts go on to say, as we talk today about “recession” there is fear that credit lending will become tighter.  Keep in mind … back in 2005 to 2008 it was so much easier to obtain a mortgage then it is today.  Whereas, due to the lessons learned up to the crash, lending standards have significantly gotten tighter to qualify those buyers who are looking today to obtain a mortgage on their home purchase.  

Keeping informed of the real estate market, especially in these times is key to making good sound decisions on how best to move forward when considering purchasing a new home or selling your current home.  That’s where I come in …

Please feel free to reach out to me anytime with any of your real estate questions and/or concerns – I am here ad happy to help!

Helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals.

No one can argue that over the past 2+ years, most homeowners have gained a significant amount of equity gains on their homes … and if you have lived in your home for much longer – you most likely will have more equity then you could have imagined. 

Let me preface first by saying I am SO not the “look at the glass half empty” person – quite the absolute contrary!!!  But we are where we are – higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, gas, food … I shall not go on … you get the picture!!  We are ALL living the same dream! 

Many now are wondering …  “Are we in a housing bubble?”   Experts say no.  The dynamics of today’s market are very different than they were in 2007-2009.  Most housing experts are predicting the market to remain strong for a while for several reasons, and here are just a few … Millennial’s demand for housing is high, with Gen Z right behind; supply cannot keep up with demand – which is truly the driving force of  home prices;  and lastly, borrowers are less likely to default on their mortgages as their lending standards are tighter and, new regulations have been put in place due to the lessons learned from the last crisis.  But with the rise in mortgage rates, some buyers are finding that they are having to adjust their home budget, and for some buyers the higher mortgage rates have just priced them out of the market all together.  Interest rates have almost doubled over the last 6 months but keeping this in perspective as we had experienced unprecedented low interest rates over the last couple of years.   I always counsel my buyers to look at their monthly payment rather then get too caught up on the interest rate.  There are still many buyers out there waiting for the right property to come on the market in the hopes of them securing … their own place to call “Home”.  With the above in mind, experts are saying that they see the market leveling off …prices are not going down but will experience slower price growth then what we have seen over the last 2 years.  Sellers should anticipate seeing a more “normal market” looking forward with housing prices leveling off.  Having said that … I think some sellers will need to adjust their way of thinking to reflect “today’s market” and not the crazed market of 2020-2021.  I think the tides are changing in that regard.    

Many buyers and sellers also wonder… and understandably so – where are we today, and what lies ahead, when considering selling or buying a home.   For those of you who know me, you know what I will always say … “we only know what we know today” right?   

So, I will close by saying this … falling short of that crystal ball …. the best advice I can give to you right now, is to speak to an experienced Real Estate Advisor – that would be me,  if you are considering buying or selling your home.  We can discuss in more detail what your real estate goals are, and how best to achieve them.  Your decisions should not only be dictated by the market, but it is also knowing and understanding your own personal wants and needs as there are many moving parts to this decision.

If you are interested to learn what your home’s equity value is as of today, I would be happy to prepare a complimentary Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) for you, so you have that understanding. This information could be very helpful in determining your “next move.”  

If you have been thinking of buying or selling your home, reach out to me.  We will discuss in more detail what your real estate goals are, and how best to achieve them. 

Call me today, I am here to help!!

Laura

Helping buyers & sellers achieve their real estate goals