Feast your eyes on the 2023 Thanksgiving buffet at Quail Creek! Thanks to Chef Aris and his culinary crew for creating such a sumptuous feast!
Video courtesy the Quail Creek Activities Department.
Blog
Buyer & Seller Tips • Real Estate News • Market Trends
Why homeowners are thankful they own
Countless people have set out on the exciting journey of homeownership. Ask around and you’ll find the vast majority are thankful they took the leap and bought a home. But why? It’s because of the many emotional and lifestyle benefits that come with being a homeowner.
So, if you’re trying to decide if you want to rent or buy a home, here are just a few of the many benefits you could look forward to if you buy.
It’s a Safe Haven
Owning a home goes beyond just having a roof over your head. It provides a sense of security and safety. In fact, in a survey from Fannie Mae, respondents say “having a sense of privacy and security” is one of the top reasons homeownership is preferred to renting. And in a different Fannie Mae survey, “living in a place where you and your family feels safe” is another one of the top benefits of homeownership.
Your home is a place where you can truly relax and unwind. Knowing that you have a sanctuary to return to at the end of the day is a great source of comfort.
It’s a Canvas for Self-Expression
For many homeowners, their home is a reflection of who they are. From the color of the front door to the art hanging on the walls, every detail contributes to a unique expression of personal style. Put simply, owning a home gives you the freedom to make changes and improvements that resonate with your personality.
Continue Reading
Is your house on a Buyer’s Wish List this holiday season?
This time every year, homeowners who are planning to move have a decision to make: sell now or wait until after the holidays? Some sellers with homes already on the market may even remove their listing until the new year.
But the truth is, many buyers want to purchase a home for the holidays, and your house might be just what they’re looking for.
“ While a majority of people take a step back from the real estate market during the holiday months, you may find when the temperature drops, your potential for a great real estate deal starts to rise,” according to Fortune Builders.
To help prove that point, here are four reasons you shouldn’t wait to sell your house.
1. The desire to own a home doesn’t stop during the holidays. While a few buyers might opt to delay their moving plans until January, others may need to move now because something in their life has changed. The buyers who look for homes at this time of year are usually motivated to make their move happen and are eager to buy.
“Anyone shopping for a new home between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is likely going to be a serious buyer,” reports Investopedia. “Putting your home on the market at this time of year and attracting a serious buyer can often result in a quicker sale.”
Continue Reading
3 myths that are hurting home buyers and sellers
There’s no denying that it’s a tough market, with challenges for both buyers and sellers. But myths and misconceptions floating around about this market and what’s going to happen next aren’t making things any easier.
So what, exactly, are those myths and misconceptions, and why are they incorrect? Here are some of the common myths in today’s housing market that are hurting both buyers and sellers, including:
Myth 1: Owners with low mortgage rates will never sell.
Many buyers that purchased a home a few years ago locked in record low interest rates on their mortgages. And with interest rates significantly higher today, there’s a belief that those homeowners will never give up their low interest rates and sell. But the truth is, there are a ton of life circumstances that could force a person to list and sell their home — like a new job, growing family, or change in their financial situation — no matter what kind of interest rate they have on their mortgage.Continue Reading
3 things to know about home equity
How much home equity you’ve built will directly impact how much cash (if any) you’ll walk away with when you sell your home. But what, exactly, is home equity? Why is it important? And how much equity should you build before you put your home on the market? Here are three important facts about equity that every buyer and seller should know:
1. What is home equity? Home equity is the difference between the market value of your home, and how much you currently owe on your mortgage. In other words, if you were to sell your home, it’s the amount of money you would have after paying off your mortgage.
2. Why is building equity in your home important? Equity is important because it determines how much money you will be left with after you sell your home and pay off your mortgage, and any sale related expenses. Home equity is also an asset; you can use it to finance other investments, or to make a down payment on a second home. It’s also a large source of many peoples’ overall net worth.
3. How much equity should you have in your home before you sell? While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, ideally, you should aim to have at least 20 percent equity in your home before you sell. And while your equity can fluctuate based on a variety of factors — like market conditions, refinancing your loan and taking cash out against the equity, or opening a home equity line of credit — generally speaking, the longer you’re in your home, the more equity you’ll build, and the more you’ll potentially profit if and when you do sell.
Selling your home? Put these tasks on your ‘to-do list’
Getting ready to sell your home can feel like a whirlwind. There are so many things to do, and while you’re likely to check all the major tasks off your to-do list — like cleaning and getting your listing photos taken — there are some smaller tasks that might fall through the cracks. But those small to-do’s can actually make a big difference in your home sale, so it’s important not to forget them. For example:
Account for improvements and issues. If you’ve made any improvements to your home (like installing a new roof or HVAC) or had to fix any issues (like like a clogged sewer line), make sure to list them all out. When you sell your home, it’s important to disclose those things to the buyer; not only will the improvements make them feel better about their home purchase, but disclosing the issues — and how you fixed them — can help you avoid potential liability after the sale.
Make sure the doorbell rings. If you don’t use your doorbell regularly, do a quick check and make sure it’s functional and that it actually rings when someone uses it. Most buyers (or at least their agents) will press the doorbell before just walking into the house, and if it’s not working, it could make them think that other things in the house won’t work either. (Not the best first impression!)
Clarify what items are not included. Technically, anything that is bolted to the walls or ceiling is included in the home purchase, unless the contract states otherwise. As such, you want to be crystal clear from the get-go about what’s not included in your listing; otherwise, a potential buyer might fall in love with your custom chandelier, and might walk away from the deal when they find out you’re taking your light fixture with you to your new home.
And, of course, it should go without mentioning, but there’s no substitute for a good, thorough cleaning to create an aroma that will appeal to any and all buyers.
Are home prices going up or down? That depends…
Media coverage about what’s happening with home prices can be confusing. A large part of that is due to the type of data being used and what they’re choosing to draw attention to. For home prices, there are two different methods used to compare home prices over different time periods: year-over-year (Y-O-Y) and month-over-month (M-O-M). Here’s an explanation of each, and why it’s important to consider the differences:
Year-over-Year (Y-O-Y):
- This comparison measures the change in home prices from the same month or quarter in the previous year. For example, if you’re comparing Y-O-Y home prices for April 2023, you would compare them to the home prices for April 2022.
- Y-O-Y comparisons focus on changes over a one-year period, providing a more comprehensive view of long-term trends. They are usually useful for evaluating annual growth rates and determining if the market is generally appreciating or depreciating.
Oops! Home prices didn’t crash after all
During the fourth quarter of last year, many housing experts predicted home prices were going to crash this year. Here are a few of those forecasts:
“I expect housing prices fall 10% to 15%, and the housing prices are accelerating on the downside,” said Jeremy Siegel, Russell E. Palmer Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of Business.
“Buckle in,” said Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics. “Assuming rates remain near their current 6.5% and the economy skirts recession, then national house prices will fall almost 10% peak-to-trough. Most of those declines will happen sooner rather than later. And house prices will fall 20% if there is a typical recession.”
And from Goldman Sachs: “Housing is already cooling in the U.S., according to July data that was reported last week. As interest rates climb steadily higher, Goldman Sachs Research’s G-10 home price model suggests home prices will decline by around 5% to 10% from the peak in the U.S. … Economists at Goldman Sachs Research say there are risks that housing markets could decline more than their model suggests.”Continue Reading
Infographic:
Top reasons to own your home
June is National Homeownership Month, and it’s a great time to consider the benefits of owning your own home. If you’re thinking of buying a home, it might just help you find the stability, community, and comfort you’ve been searching for over the past year.
Let’s connect today to determine if homeownership is the right next step for you.
Selling your home? Watch out for these stressors
There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to selling your home — and for many sellers, those moving parts can cause a good amount of stress. But what are the most stressful parts of the home selling process? According to a survey from LendingTree, some of the top stressors for home sellers include:
- Buying and selling a home at the same time. 29 percent of home sellers surveyed named trying to buy a new home at the same time as trying to sell their current home as the biggest stressor in the home selling process.
- Making costly repairs or upgrades. Depending on the condition of your home, you may need to shell out some cash on repairs or upgrades before you list—a process that 16 percent of buyers said was the most stressful part of the home selling process.
- Fearing the home won’t sell. Even though a lack of inventory is making the market more favorable for sellers, 15 percent of sellers surveyed said that the fear their home won’t sell was the most stressful part of the home selling process.
- Balancing advice from multiple sources. Your friends, family, and neighbors might mean well when they share advice on what you should and shouldn’t do during the home selling process—but 13 percent of those surveyed said fielding advice from multiple sources was the most stressful part of selling their home.
So, what does this mean for you? If you’re stressed out about selling your house, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s normal. But, the more you know about the potential stressors of the home selling process, the better prepared you can be to deal with those stressors — and the less stressful your home sale will be as a result.
Check out my resources for home sellers — you’ll find everything you need to navigate the home selling process.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 9
- Next Page »
