×It looks like you are using an ad blocker in your browser.This may cause challenges with your Personalized Posts, and prevent the share buttons from appearing with each post. We recommend whitelisting the KCM website or changing your settings to prevent any potential issues.   61% of First-Time Buyers Put Down Less than 6% According to the National Association of Realtors’ latest Realtors Confidence Index, 61% of first-time homebuyers purchased their homes with down payments below 6% from October 2016 through November 2017. Many potential homebuyers believe that a 20% down payment is necessary to buy a home and have disqualified themselves without even trying. The median down payment for all buyers in 2017 was just 10% and that percentage drops to 6% for first-time buyers. Zillow Sen... 01/17/2018

Wondering If You Can Buy Your First Home? There are many people sitting on the sidelines trying to decide if they should purchase a home or sign a rental lease. Some might wonder if it makes sense to purchase a house before they are married and have a family, others might think they are too young, and still, others might think their current income would never enable them to qualify for a mortgage. We want to share what the typical first-time homebuyer actually looks like based on the National Association of REALTORS most recent Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers. Here are some interesting revelations on the first-time buyer: Bottom Line You may not be much different than many people who have already purchased their first homes. Let’s meet to determine if your dream home is within your gra... 01/16/2018

     ×It looks like you are using an ad blocker in your browser.This may cause challenges with your Personalized Posts, and prevent the share buttons from appearing with each post. We recommend whitelisting the KCM website or changing your settings to prevent any potential issues.   Thinking of Selling? Now is the Perfect Time It is common knowledge that a great number of homes sell during the spring-buying season. For that reason, many homeowners hold off on putting their homes on the market until then. The question is whether or not that will be a good strategy this year. The other listings that do come out in the spring will represent increased competition to any seller. Do a greater number of homes actually come to the market in the spring as compared to the rest of the year? The Na... 01/15/2018

The Impact Staging Your Home Has on Sales Price Some Highlights: The National Association of Realtors surveyed their members & released the findings of their Annual Profile of Home Staging. 50% of staged homes saw a 1-10% increase in dollar value offers from buyers. 77% of buyer’s agents said staging made it easier for buyers to visualize the home as their own. The top rooms to stage in order to attract more buyers are the living room, master bedroom, kitchen, and dining room.  Email mikeperrykw@gmail.com to learn more about Staging your home.   01/14/2018

  ×It looks like you are using an ad blocker in your browser.This may cause challenges with your Personalized Posts, and prevent the share buttons from appearing with each post. We recommend whitelisting the KCM website or changing your settings to prevent any potential issues. In Lancaster County, PA  ..... 93% Believe Home Ownership Is Important in Attaining the American Dream  Americans continue to believe that homeownership is important in achieving the American Dream. A recent survey by NeighborWorks America reported that: “Owning a home remains a core element of the American Dream.” When asked “How important a part of the American dream is owning a home?” 18% of those surveyed said it was the most important part 53% of those surveyed said it was very important 22% of those surveye... 01/13/2018

FICO® Scores on Approved Home Loans Drop Again According to Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Report, the average FICO® Score on all closed loans dropped to 722 which is its lowest mark since April. The average includes all approved refinance and purchase loans. FHA and VA loans showed the most opportunity for millennials looking to enter the market with low down payments and even lower FICO® Score requirements. Ellie Mae’s Millennial Tracker revealed that those who purchased homes in December with an FHA Loan were able to do so with an average down payment of 4% and a FICO® Score of only 684. Joe Tyrell, EVP of Corporate Strategy at Ellie Mae commented on the opportunity this brings to buyers, “With the average credit score dipping, lenders are extending credit to borrowers who may have h... 01/12/2018

The Impact of Tight Inventory on Lancaster's Housing Market The housing crisis is finally in the rearview mirror as the real estate market moves down the road to a complete recovery. Home values are up, home sales are up, and distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) have fallen to their lowest points in years. It seems that the market will continue to strengthen in 2018. However, there is one thing that may cause the industry to tap the brakes: a lack of housing inventory. While buyer demand looks like it will remain strong throughout the winter, supply is not keeping up. Here are the thoughts of a few industry experts on the subject:   National Association of Realtors “Total housing inventory at the end of November dropped 7.2 percent to 1.67 million existing homes available for... 01/11/2018

712,000 Homes in the US Regained Equity in the Past 12 Months! CoreLogic’s latest Equity Report revealed that “over the past 12 months, 712,000 borrowers moved into positive equity.” This is great news, as the share of homeowners with negative equity (those who owe more than their home is worth), has dropped more than 20% since the peak in Q4 of 2009 (26%) to 4.9% today. The report also revealed: The average homeowner gained approximately $14,900 in equity during the past year. Compared to Q3 2016, negative equity decreased 22% from 3.2 million homes, or 6.3% of all mortgaged properties. U.S. homeowners with mortgages (roughly 63% of all homeowners) have seen their equity increase by a total of $870.6 billion since Q3 2016, an increase of 11.8%, year-over-year. The map below shows the p... 01/09/2018

4 Reasons to Sell This Winter Some Highlights: Buyer demand continues to outpace the supply of homes for sale which means that buyers are often competing with one another for the few listings that are available! Housing inventory is still under the 6-month supply needed to sustain a normal housing market. Perhaps the time has come for you and your family to move on and start living the life you desire.  Update your Current Market Value with a FREE RPR Report . Email mikeperrykw@gmail.com to get started.   01/08/2018

Time on the Market Drops to New Low in 2017 According to recently released data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median amount of time a home spent on the market hit an all-time low of only three weeks in 2017. Strong buyer demand, a good economy, and a low inventory of new and existing homes for sale created the perfect storm to accelerate the time between listing and signing a contract. The time needed to sell a home has dropped substantially since its highest mark of 11 weeks in 2012. The chart below shows the median weeks on the market from 1987 to today. Bottom Line If you are a homeowner who is debating whether or not to list your home for sale, know that national market conditions are primed for a quick turnaround! Let’s get together to discuss exactly what’s ... 01/05/2018

The Benefits of Owning a Lancaster Home Go Beyond the Financial Homeownership is a major part of the American Dream. As evidence of that, 91% of Americans believe that owning a home is either essential (43%) or important (48%) to achieving that “dream.” In a market where some people may be unsure about the benefits and possibilities of buying a home, it is important that we remember this. Homeownership is NOT just about the money. In fact, some of the major benefits are non-financial. Here are a few of those benefits as per the National Association of Realtors: Consistent findings show that homeownership does make a significant positive impact on educational achievement. Several researchers have found that homeowners tend to be more involved in their communities than renters. Early stud... 01/03/2018

      ×It looks like you are using an ad blocker in your browser.This may cause challenges with your Personalized Posts, and prevent the share buttons from appearing with each post. We recommend whitelisting the KCM website or changing your settings to prevent any potential issues.   How Rising Prices Will Help You Build Family Wealth in 2018 Over the next five years, home prices are expected to appreciate on average by 3.35% per year and to grow by 24.34% cumulatively, according to Pulsenomics’ most recent Home Price Expectation Survey. So, what does this mean for homeowners and their equity position? As an example, let’s assume a young couple purchases and closes on a $250,000 home this month (January). If we only look at the projected increase in the price of that home, how much equi... 01/02/2018

Top 4 REAL Reasons We Buy a Lancaster Home We often talk about the financial reasons why buying a home makes sense. But, more often than not, the emotional reasons are the more powerful or compelling reasons. No matter what shape or size your living space is, the concept and feeling of home can mean different things to different people. Whether it’s a certain scent or a favorite chair, the emotional reasons why we choose to buy our own homes are typically more important to us than the financial ones. 1. Owning your home offers stability to start and raise a family From the best neighborhoods to the best school districts, even those without children at the time of purchase may have this in the back of their minds as a major reason for choosing the location of the home that they purchase.... 12/31/2017

Top 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t be a FSBO In today’s market, with home prices rising and a lack of inventory, some homeowners may consider trying to sell their home on their own, known in the industry as a For Sale by Owner (FSBO). There are several reasons why this might not be a good idea for the vast majority of sellers. Here are the top five reasons: 1. Exposure to Prospective Buyers Recent studies have shown that 95% of buyers search online for a home. That is in comparison to only 17% looking at print newspaper ads. Most real estate agents have an internet strategy to promote the sale of your home. Do you? 2. Results Come from the Internet Where did buyers find the home they actually purchased? 49% on the internet 31% from a Real Estate Agent 7% from a yard sign 1% from newspapers The... 12/30/2017

There’s More to a Bubble Than Rising Home Prices What truly causes a housing bubble and the inevitable crash? For the best explanation, let’s go to a person who correctly called the last housing bubble – a year before it happened. “A bubble requires both overvaluation based on fundamentals and speculation. It is natural to focus on an asset’s fundamental value, but the real key for detecting a bubble is speculation…Speculation tends to chase appreciating assets, and then speculation begets more speculation, until finally, for some reason that will become obvious to all in hindsight, the ‘bubble’ bursts. I have taken to calling the housing market a ‘bubble’.” – Bill McBride of Calculated Risk calling the bubble back in April 2005 Where do we stand today regarding speculation? There are t... 12/29/2017

What is the Cost of Waiting Until Next Year to Buy? We recently shared that over the course of the last 12 months, home prices have appreciated by 7.0%. Over the same amount of time, interest rates have remained historically low which has allowed many buyers to enter the market. As a seller, you will likely be most concerned about ‘short-term price’ – where home values are headed over the next six months. As a buyer, however, you must not be concerned about price, but instead about the ‘long-term cost’ of the home. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae all project that mortgage interest rates will increase by this time next year. According to CoreLogic’s most recent Home Price Index Report, home prices will appreciate by 4.7% over the next 12 months. What D... 12/27/2017

 Housing Prices are NOT Heading for Another Crash As home values continue to increase at levels greater than historic norms, some are concerned that we are heading for another crash like the one we experienced ten years ago. We recently explained that the lenient lending standards of the previous decade (which created false demand) no longer exist. But what about prices? Are prices appreciating at the same rate that they were prior to the crash of 2006-2008? Let’s look at the numbers as reported by Freddie Mac: The levels of appreciation we have experienced over the last four years aren’t anywhere near the levels that were reached in the four years prior to last decade’s crash. We must also realize that, to a degree, the current run-up in prices is the market trying to catch up after a ... 12/26/2017

Should Boomers Buy or Rent after Selling? In a recent CNBC article, it was reported that many baby boomers are selling their current homes and moving into rentals, rather than purchasing another home. “Between 2009 and 2015, the number of renters aged 55 or above rose 28 percent, while those aged 34 or younger only increased 3 percent… Meanwhile, more than 5 million baby boomers across the nation are expected to rent their next home by 2020, according to a 2016 analysis from Freddie Mac.” This makes sense in the short term for many reasons. If you are moving to a different part of town or a new region of the country, you may decide to rent until you pick the perfect home in an area you love. However, is renting a good long-term strategy? A mortgage payment remains fixed. Rents, however…... 12/21/2017

5 Reasons to Sell This Winter! Here are five reasons listing your home for sale this winter makes sense. 1. Demand Is Strong The latest Buyer Traffic Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that buyer demand remains very strong throughout the vast majority of the country. These buyers are ready, willing and able to purchase… and are in the market right now! More often than not, multiple buyers are competing with each other to buy a home. Take advantage of the buyer activity currently in the market. 2. There Is Less Competition Now Housing inventory is still under the 6-month supply that is needed for a normal housing market. This means that, in the majority of the country, there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the number of buyers in the market. This is goo... 12/18/2017

The #1 Reason to List Your House Today! Many people believe that selling their house during “the spring buyers’ market” is the best thing to do. Their reasoning is that there will be more buyers than there are during the winter months and, therefore, their house will sell quicker and for a higher price. Historically, this made sense. However, today’s real estate market is not following the rules of the past. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) measures buyer “foot traffic” each month. It receives data on the number of properties shown to a prospective purchaser by a Realtor® (based on the number of lockboxes used). The data reveals the number of buyers out actively looking for a home, not just window shopping on the internet. NAR explains: “Foot traffic has a strong correlation w... 12/11/2017