Why Is It Important to Use a Professional to Sell Your Home? When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price for it with the least amount of hassles along the way. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is actually getting their homes sold. In order to accomplish all three goals, a seller should realize the importance of using a real estate professional. We realize that technology has changed the purchaser’s behavior during the home buying process. According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2016 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the first step that “…44% of recent buyers took in the home buying process was to look online at properties for sale.” However, the report also revealed that 96% of buyers who used t... 08/22/2017

To Stage...or Not to Stage? That Is the Question! 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 to attract more buyers are the living room, master bedroom, kitchen, and dining room. Sellers, your Agent will know immediately upon touring your home , if Staging can increase your property's marketability ! Email  mikeperrykw@gmail.com to get started ! 08/18/2017

58% of Homeowners See a Drop in Home Values Coming According to the recently released Modern Homebuyer Survey from ValueInsured, 58 percent of homeowners think there will be a “housing bubble and price correction” within the next 2 years. After what transpired just ten years ago, we can understand the concern Americans have about the current increase in home prices. However, this market has very little in common with what happened last decade. The two major causes of the housing crash were: A vast oversupply of housing inventory caused by home builders building at a pace that far exceeded historical norms. Lending standards that were so relaxed that unqualified buyers could easily obtain financing thus enabling them to purchase a home. Today, housing inventory is at a 20-year low with n... 08/17/2017

Sellers: Your Home is an Oasis in an Inventory Desert First-time homebuyers are flocking to the real estate market by the thousands to find their dream homes in order to make their dreams of homeownership a reality. Unfortunately for many, the inventory of starter and trade-up homes in the US has struggled to keep up with demand! According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the inventory of homes for sale dropped 7.1% year-over-year to a 4.3-month supply and is down for the 25th consecutive month. Some homeowners may be hesitant to list their homes for sale because they are worried that they will also have a problem finding a home to buy and move in to. This is a legitimate concern; no one wants to sell their home quickly and not have anywhere to live. But there is good news... 08/16/2017

Homes Are Selling Quickly Nationwide The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released their latest Existing Home Sales Report, which revealed that homes were on the market for an average of 28 days in June. This is a slight increase from the 27 days reported in May, but down from 34 days reported a year ago. 54% of homes across the country were on the market for less than a month in June! Among the 27 states with homes selling in 30 days or less are Washington, Utah, California, and Colorado. The map below was created using results from NAR’s Monthly Realtors Confidence Index Survey. Bottom Line Buyer demand is increasing as the inventory of homes available for sale remains low. If you are thinking about listing your home for sale this year, let’s meet up so I can help you t... 08/15/2017

Homeowner’s Net Worth Is Still Greater Than a Renter’s Every three years, the Federal Reserve conducts their Survey of Consumer Finances in which they collect data across all economic and social groups. The latest survey, which includes data from 2010-2013, reports that a homeowner’s net worth is 36 times greater than that of a renter ($194,500 vs. $5,400).  The latest survey data, covering 2014-2016 will be released later this year. In the meantime, Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ Chief Economist estimates that the gap has widened even further, to 45 times greater ($225,000 vs. $5,000)!  Put Your Housing Cost to Work for You As we’ve said before, simply put, homeownership is a form of ‘forced savings.’ Every time you pay your mortgage, you are contributing to your n... 08/14/2017

Do Your Future Plans Include a Move? What's Stopping You from Listing Now? Are you an empty-nester? Do you want to retire where you are, or does a vacation destination sound more your style? Are you close to retirement and not ready to move yet, but living in a home that is too big in size and maintenance needs? How can you line up your current needs with your goals and dreams for the future? The answer for many might be the equity you have in your house. According to the latest Equity Report from CoreLogic, the average homeowner in the United States gained $14,000 in equity over the course of the last year. On the West Coast, homeowners gained twice that amount, with homeowners in Washington gaining an average of $38,000! Do you know how much your home has appreciated over the last yea... 08/11/2017

Hey, Millennial Homeowners!! It May Be Time to Sell Contrary to what many believe, Millennials are not the ‘renter’ generation. Millennials purchased a larger percentage (34%) of homes in the U.S. than any other age group in 2017 and the most recent Census Bureau report shows that the homeownership rate among Millennials is finally on the rise. Many Millennials took advantage of post housing crash prices and the First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit and jumped into homeownership in 2010. If you are one of these buyers, now may be the time to sell for many reasons. Here are a few: 1. Equity Build-Up Home prices have been on the rise since the beginning of 2012 and your house may have appreciated by more than you think. ATTOM Data Solutions, in their Q2 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report revealed th... 08/10/2017

 Housing Inventory Hits 30-Year Low Spring is traditionally the busiest season for real estate. Buyers, experiencing cabin fever all winter, emerge like flowers through the snow in search of their dream home. Homeowners, in preparation for the increased demand, are enticed to list their house for sale and move on to the home that will better fit their needs. New data from CoreLogic shows that even though buyers came out in force, as predicted, homeowners did not make the jump to list their home in the second quarter of this year. Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist for CoreLogic had this to say, “The growth in sales is slowing down, and this is not due to lack of affordability, but rather a lack of inventory. As of Q2 2017, the unsold inventory as a share of all households is 1.9 percent, wh... 08/09/2017

93.9% Of Homes in The US Have Positive Equity CoreLogic’s latest Equity Report revealed that ninety-one thousand residential properties regained equity in Q1 2017. The outlook for 2017 remains positive as well, as an additional 600 thousand properties will regain equity if home prices rise another 5% this year. The study also revealed that: Roughly 63% of all homeowners have seen their equity increase since Q1 2016 The average homeowner gained about $14,000 in equity between Q1 2016 and Q1 2017 Only 1.6% of residential properties are near-negative equity Below is a map showing the percentage of homes with a mortgage, in each state, that have positive equity. (The states in gray have insufficient data to report.) Significant Equity Is On The Rise Frank Martell, President & CEO of CoreLog... 08/08/2017

How Long Do Most Families Stay in Their Home? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) keeps historical data on many aspects of homeownership. One of the data points that has changed dramatically is the median tenure of a family in a home, meaning how long a family stays in a home prior to moving. As the graph below shows, for over twenty years (1985-2008), the median tenure averaged exactly six years. However, since 2008, that average is almost nine years – an increase of almost 50%. Why the dramatic increase? The reasons for this change are plentiful! The fall in home prices during the housing crisis left many homeowners in a negative equity situation (where their home was worth less than the mortgage on the property). Also, the uncertainty of the economy made some homeowners much m... 08/07/2017

Millennial Homeownership Rate Increases Recent headlines exclaimed the homeownership rate, as reported by the Census Bureau, rose again in the second quarter of 2017. What didn’t get much attention in the reports is that the homeownership rate for American households under the age of 35 increased a full percentage point from last quarter’s 34.3% to 35.3%. Millennials proved to have the highest increase of any age group. This came as a surprise to some considering Millennials have come to be known as the “renter” generation. However, a new study by First American, 6 Trends Poised to Reshape Homeownership Demand, revealed reasons why homeownership numbers will continue to increase for Millennials. Millennials are the most educated generation in the U.S. Why does that matter? First America... 08/06/2017

Money Making Tips for Preparing Your Lancaster House for Sale ! Some Highlights: When listing your house for sale your top goal will be to get the home sold for the best price possible! There are many small projects that you can do to ensure this happens! Your real estate agent will have a list of specific suggestions for getting your house ready for market and is a great resource for finding local contractors who can help! Sellers, your Agent can advise you in many of these areas . Also we have access  to a number of Stagging Professionals. Email mikeperrykw@gmail.com for more info . 08/06/2017

3 Tips to Succeed in Lancaster’s Real Estate Market ! In today’s highly competitive real estate market, where inventory levels are not keeping up with the constant stream of buyer demand, there are steps you can take to ensure you are most prepared for success when buying a home. The 3 tips we are going to expand on today come from a recent blog by Trulia entitled, The Skinny on Skinny Inventory.  1. Be Prepared “Homebuyers should talk with a lender, real estate agent, and a home inspector BEFORE finding a home to make an offer on.” Being intentional, pre-approved, and prepared will set you up for the accelerated time tables that come with a highly competitive market. If you are the most prepared buyer interested in a home, if you have already secured financial approval, and if you are ... 08/05/2017

Be Careful Not to Get Caught in The Rental Trap! There are many benefits to homeownership. One of the top benefits is being able to protect yourself from rising rents by locking in your housing cost for the life of your mortgage. Don’t Become Trapped  A recent article by ConsumerAffairs addressed the continuous rise in rents, stating: “The cost of putting a roof over your head continues to go up. Not only are home prices still rising, but the cost of rent rose 0.5% in June.” Additionally, in the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University’s 2017 State of the Nation’s Housing Report, it was revealed that, “Despite a slight improvement from 2014, fully one-third of US households paid more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing in 2015. Renters continue to be more likely t... 08/05/2017

A ‘Buyer’ in Hand is Worth Two in the Bush In today’s highly competitive seller’s market where there are more buyers than there are homes for them to buy, some sellers may feel like the ball is in their court. And they would be right when it comes to choosing which offer to accept, the closing date, or even which improvements they are willing to make to their house prior to selling. One thing to remember though, is that there is always a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Interest rates can change, financing might not go through, the appraisal might not come back at the price that you have agreed to. These are all opportunities to work with your buyer to make sure that the sale still happens. You may think that, because buyer demand is so high right now, you can choose to make your buyer j... 08/03/2017

Rising Home Prices Mean Great News for Lancaster Homeowners Recently there has been a lot of talk about home prices and if they are accelerating too quickly. As we mentioned before, in some areas of the country, seller supply (homes for sale) cannot keep up with the number of buyers who are out looking for homes, which has caused prices to rise. The great news about rising prices, however, is that according to CoreLogic’s Homeowner Equity Report, the average American household gained over $14,000 in equity over the course of the last year, largely due to home value increases. The map below was created using the same report from CoreLogic and shows the average equity gain per mortgaged home during the 1st quarter of 2017 (the latest data available). For those who are worried that we are ... 08/02/2017

Lancaster's Buyer Demand Outpacing the Supply of Homes for Sale The price of any item is determined by the supply of that item, as well as the market demand. The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) surveys “over 50,000 real estate practitioners about their expectations for home sales, prices and market conditions” for their monthly REALTORS Confidence Index. Their latest edition sheds some light on the relationship between Seller Traffic (supply) and Buyer Traffic (demand). Buyer Demand The map below was created after asking the question: “How would you rate buyer traffic in your area?” The darker the blue, the stronger the demand for homes in that area. Only three states had a ‘stable’ demand level. Seller Supply The index also asked: “How would you rate seller traffic in your area?... 08/01/2017

U.S. Housing Inventory Hits a New Low… List Your House TODAY! Every summer, families across the country decide if this will be the year they sell their current house and move into their dream home. Mortgage rates have hovered around 4% for all of 2017, forcing buyers off the fence and into the market, resulting in incredibly strong demand RIGHT NOW!! At the same time, inventory levels of homes for sale have dropped dramatically as compared to this time last year. Trulia reported that “U.S. home inventory has tumbled 8.9% over the past year and has now fallen for nine consecutive quarters.” There is now 20% less inventory than there was five years ago. Here is a chart showing the decrease in inventory levels by category: Bottom Line Demand for your home is very strong right now while you... 07/31/2017

84% of Americans Believe Buying a Home is a Good Financial Decision According to the National Association of Realtors®’ 2017 National Housing Pulse Survey, 84% of Americans now believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision. This is the highest percentage since 2007 – before the housing crisis. Those surveyed pointed out five major reasons why they believe homeownership is a good financial decision: Homeownership means the money you spend on housing goes towards building equity, rather than to a landlord Homeownership creates the opportunity to pay off a mortgage and own your home by the time you retire Homeownership is an investment opportunity that builds long-term wealth and increases net worth Homeownership means a stable and predictable monthly mortgage payment Homeown... 07/30/2017