Many important developments are taking place in our market as we head into 2017. Today, I want to talk about how you can take advantage of them.
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Welcome back to the hot real estate market! What kind of news and updates are happening out there right now?
As you know, I’ve been telling you to take advantage of the low mortgage rates we’ve seen the last few months because they would eventually rise again. Sure enough, in the last couple of weeks, they’ve risen above 4%. You shouldn’t worry too much about it, though, because that percentage is about where they began in 2016. Even if interest rates rise all the way up to 5% in 2017, that’s still nothing to fret over. I remember that during most of the 1990s they were regularly as high as 8%.
Many experts such as myself predict that by 2020, homes will increase in value between 10% and 21%. That’s a nice return on your investment. As you can see from my home price expectation survey slide in the video above, if you bought a house right now and closed next month at $250,000, in five years, that house will appreciate in value by $43,201. By January of 2022, then, it will be worth $293,201. That’s what you can expect in terms of potential growth in your family’s wealth over the next several years.
For my next slide—the state-by-state forecasted year-over-year percentage change in home price—we see that there is no state where prices are predicted to be negative. Here in Pennsylvania, we have a 4% appreciation rate, which is great.
If you can’t wait until spring to sell your home, hold that train of thought. The number of listings will increase substantially as the new year begins, including new construction homes. This will lower the demand for your house. You’re much better off putting your home on the market now.
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Don’t wait until spring to list your home.
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My next slide detailing the inventory levels of the first five months of 2016 confirms this strategy. During January and February, the number of homes on the market was very low, which meant that competition was also low. Starting in March, inventory levels started to pick up because everyone thought of spring as the perfect buying season. By April and May, they had skyrocketed. Typically, as a year gets older, more and more homes will be built. Why wait for that?
Don’t follow fake news headlines on social media or on television. Those outlets like to scare people, and they don’t understand the market as well as us experts. If you decide to list your home now, there are two points I want you to consider.
The first is to never list it with an agent who tells you a price you want to hear. Experience shows that a common mistake that sellers make is overpricing their home with an agent who is the least competent person to actually get that price. Instead, hire an agent who’s going to consult with you with integrity, negotiate for you as though it was their own home, have systems in place to organize all the details, and, most importantly, have high-tech marketing that will attract buyers before the home even goes on the market.
The second point is don’t get duped when selling your home. I get calls all the time from sellers who failed in their previous attempt at selling their house because they felt obligated to list with a friend or family member. Never do something like that with an asset as important as your house. Instead, hire and expert marketer and negotiator. Find someone who has sold hundreds of homes throughout their career rather than dozens.
Keep in mind that my next home seller seminar is coming up on Saturday, January 21st at the Hilton Garden Inn. We’re starting at 9:30 a.m., and you’re also invited to breakfast at 8:30 a.m.
If you have any questions about what’s happening in the market, please feel free to give me a call.
Also, stay tuned for my next video where I will share some awesome staging techniques to help your home sell quickly and for top dollar. Talk to you soon!
