Housing Market Updates – Page 45

The Importance of Using 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 percentage of buyers who used the internet in their home search increased to 94%.

However, the report also revealed that 96% of buyers who used the internet when searching for homes purchased their homes through either a real estate agent/broker or from a builder or builder’s agent. Only 2% purchased their homes directly from a seller whom the buyer didn’t know.

Buyers search for a home online but then depend on an agent to find the home they will buy (50%), to negotiate the terms of the sale (47%) & price (36%), or to help understand the process (61%).

The plethora of information now available has resulted in an increase in the percentage of buyers that reach out to real estate professionals to “connect the dots.” This is obvious, as the percentage of overall buyers who have used agents to buy their homes has steadily increased from 69% in 2001.

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling your home, don’t underestimate the role a real estate professional can play in the process.

Source: KMC

Why Millennials Choose to Buy [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some Highlights:

“The majority of millennials said they consider owning a home more sensible than renting for both financial and lifestyle reasons — including control of living space, flexibility in future decisions, privacy and security, and living in a nice home.”
At 93%, the top reason Millennials choose to buy is to have control over their living space.
Many Millennials who rent a home or apartment prior to buying their own homes dream of the day that they will be able to paint the walls whatever color they’d like, or renovate an outdated part of their living space.

Source: KMC

Buying this Spring? Be Prepared for Bidding Wars

Traditionally, spring is the busiest season for real estate. Buyers come out in force and homeowners list their houses for sale hoping to capitalize on buyer activity. This year will be no different!

Buyers have already been out in force looking for their dream homes and more are on their way, but the challenge is that the inventory of homes for sale has not kept up with demand, which has lead to A LOT of competition for the homes that are available.

A recent Bloomberg article touched on the current market conditions:

“It’s the 2017 U.S. spring home-selling season, and listings are scarcer than they’ve ever been. Bidding wars common in perennially hot markets like the San Francisco Bay area, Denver and Boston are now also prevalent in the once slow-and-steady heartland, sending prices higher and sparking desperation among buyers across the country.”

Sam Khater, Deputy Chief Economist at CoreLogic went on to explain why buyers are flocking to the market in big numbers:

“In today’s market, many buyers think the trough in [interest] rates is over. If you don’t get in now, it’s just going to be worse later. Rates will be higher, prices will be higher, and maybe inventory selection will be lower.”

In some markets, “thirty-five percent of properties are selling within the first week or two of hitting the market.” Homes are selling at a rapid clip in places like:

Denver, CO
Seattle, WA
Oakland, CA
Grand Rapids, MI
Boise, ID
Madison, WI
Omaha, NE

Bottom Line

Let’s get together to discuss your exact market conditions and help you create a strategy to secure your new home in this competitive atmosphere!

Source: KMC

15,014 Homes Sold Yesterday… Did Yours?

There are some homeowners that have been waiting for months to get a price they hoped for when they originally listed their house for sale. The only thing they might want to consider is… If it hasn’t sold yet, maybe it’s not priced properly.

After all, 15,014 houses sold yesterday, 15,014 will sell today and 15,014 will sell tomorrow.

15,014!

That is the average number of homes that sell each and every day in this country, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR)  latest Existing Home Sales Report. NAR reported that sales are at an annual rate of 5.48 million. Divide that number by 365 (days in a year) and we can see that, on average, over 15,014 homes sell every day.

The report from NAR also revealed that there is currently only a 3.8-month supply of inventory available for sale, (6-months inventory is considered ‘historically normal’).

This means that there are not enough homes available for sale to satisfy the buyers who are out in the market now in record numbers.

Bottom Line

We realize that you want to get the fair market value for your home. However, if it hasn’t sold in today’s active real estate market, perhaps you should reconsider your current asking price.

Source: KMC

Consumer Confidence in Economy & Housing is Soaring

The success of the housing market is strongly tied to the consumer’s confidence in the overall economy. For that reason, we believe 2017 will be a great year for real estate. Here is just a touch of the news coverage on the subject.

HousingWire:

“Consumers’ faith in the housing market is stronger than it’s ever been before, according to a newly released survey from Fannie Mae.”

Bloomberg:

“Americans’ confidence continued to mount last week as the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index reached the highest point in a decade on more-upbeat assessments about the economy and buying climate.”

Yahoo Finance:

“Confidence continues to rise among America’s consumers…the latest consumer sentiment numbers from the University of Michigan showed that in March confidence rose again.”

MarketWatch:

“U.S. consumers are the most confident in the U.S. economy in 15 years, buoyed by the strongest job market since before the Great Recession. The survey of consumer confidence rose…according to the Conference Board, the private company that publishes the index. That’s the highest level since July 2001.”

Ivy Zelman, in her recent Z Report, probably best capsulized the reports:

“The results were incredibly strong and…offer one of the most positive consumer takes on housing since the recovery started.”

Source: KMC

How Low Supply & High Demand Impacts the Real Estate Market [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some Highlights:

The concept of Supply & Demand is a simple one. The best time to sell something is when the supply of that item is low & the demand for that item is high!
Anything under a 6-month supply is a Seller’s Market!
There has not been a 6-months inventory supply since August 2012!
Buyer Demand continues to outpace Seller Supply!

Source: KMC

Buying a House in Michigan? What closing costs can you expect to pay.

Buying a House in Michigan

Are you thinking about buying a house in Michigan? Deciding to buy a house, especially for the first time, can be a very intimidating process! So much to think about and to plan out. So many questions to have answered.

One frequently asked question is what exactly do I have to pay to buy a house? And I can help with that!

Below I explain in detail the anticipated closing costs you will encounter. If you’d rather have a real life scenario, head over here, fill out a quick form, and I’ll email you a closing cost estimate based on your probably purchase!

Property Taxes

In Michigan, We pay our property taxes in advance. You have your city & county taxes, one due July 1st each year covering July 1 – June 30th the following year, and one due December 1st covering December 1st – Nov 30th of the following year. Because of this, when you close on a house you must reimburse the seller for the taxes they’ve already paid. The title company pro-rates the taxes by computing the daily rate, and then multiplies it by the number of days you will own the home, to calculate how much you will owe the seller at closing.

Pre-Paid Utilities

In cities where you pre-pay for things like garbage collection, this will also be prorated like Taxes so that you pay for the days you own the property, and the seller pays for the days they own the property.

Condo Fee’s

If you are purchasing a condo or house with association fee, this is another item that will be prorated at closing since it is typically paid in advance. You will pay for the days you will own the condo and the seller pays for the days they will.

Closing Fee

As a buyer, you pay a closing fee to the title company to prepare paperwork and close the transaction. This fee is typically $450-$550, maybe a little less if it is a cash purchase.

Buyers Agent Transaction Fee

Your agent will be paid their commission through the seller on a traditional listing. Most buyers brokers charge a small transaction fee which covers the storage or your transaction documents so that a copy will always be available should you need it. Our fee is $325.

Lenders Title Insurance

While the seller is responsible for owners title insurance which protects you against any undetected defects in title, your lender will also require you purchase a policy of title insurance to protect the loan they are giving you. Lenders title insurance costs are based on the purchase price.

Recording Charges

As a buyer, you pay the costs to records your new deed and new mortgage if applicable. The cost from the County is per page and is usually about $100 for a deed & mortgage.

Mortgage Costs

Your largest expense closing cost wise will be your mortgage costs. These cost fluctuate based on your credit, your purchase price, the type of loan, etc. So this is something you have to speak with a loan office for, to go over your specific situation. That’s why, the first step in the home buying process is always to get pre-approved. Then you know exactly where you stand, and how much money you can expect to need at closing.

Down Payment

Your down payment is typically your largest expense. Unless you qualify for a VA loan your down payment will range from 1% to 20% depending on the loan type you go with

Most loan programs allow you to roll your closing costs into you mortgage so long as the properties appraisal value allows enough equity to do so, which is a great option if you are hoping to keep some cash in the bank to do property repairs and cosmetic upgrades. In many situations, buyers are able to come to the closing table only having to pay their down payment, with the rest of their closing costs financed!

If you have any questions about the buying process or are ready to start looking, feel free to contact me at anything. For a home buyers outline please visit my Michigan Buyers Resource Center and if you would like to get set up on a MLS property search — Click the Find My Dream Home tag on my website.

OTHER HOME BUYING ARTICLES
HOW TO: The Perfect Home Search