Montgomery County PA Real Estate Video Blog with Diane Cardano: 2014

How Will Rising Interest Rates Hurt Your Spending Power?

There are many great Montgomery County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

How Will Rising Interest Rates Hurt Your Spending Power?

It's time for the December edition of the HOT OFF THE Press Real Estate Market Report!

This year, existing home sales started out slow. However, they continue to climb, as we've had an incredibly strong fall here in Montgomery County. Currently, foot traffic levels are skyrocketing, even though this is the time of year they usually fall. Additionally, pending home sales have stayed consistent through the fall season, which is also quite unusual.

Rather than watching the numbers fall off, they have stayed pretty steady this fall. So, why are there more buyers out there right now? For one, mortgage credit availability is becoming easier. Even though we hear that it's getting harder to secure lending, we are seeing more and more people take out mortgages.

The average FICO score on conventional purchase loans was an average of 763 in 2012. As of September of this year the average score is only 755, a significant drop. Looking at FHA loans, the average FICO scores of people taking out loans have dropped from 700 in 2012 to 682 right now! This makes buying a lot more feasible for a lot more buyers.

The combination of responsible, but flexible, lending standards and low interest rates makes now a fantastic time to buy. Interest rates have dropped a little bit over the past few weeks, but the NAR and Freddie Mac are expecting rates to rise to over 5% by the fourth quarter of 2015. To see the effect this has on your spending power, let's take a look at an example. If you took a mortgage out for $250,000 after rates have risen to around 5%, you could lose as much as $60,000 in family wealth over the life of a 30-year loan.

What does all this mean? To me, it's obvious: right now is an incredible time to buy real estate! The conditions are almost too good to be true, so you need to start testing the waters if you have even considered buying - the market can't get any better than it is now.

If you need to sell your current home, I want to invite you to one of our home seller seminars. We're having a Breakfast Seminar on January 24 at the Hilton Garden Inn from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Also, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., I am hosting a private staging workshop that's offered exclusively to people who follow our video blog! Go to HomeSharksSeminar.com to sign up and have breakfast on us!

Thanks, and we hope to see you soon!

How Are We Giving Thanks in 2014?

How Are We Giving Thanks in 2014?

The phones have been ringing off the hook lately and we believe it is going to be a huge year in real estate in 2015. Right now, however, we would like to take you on a journey with our team.

One of the most very special times of year for us is Thanksgiving. It has become a time where we reflect on what we are thankful for, and thank all of our past and current clients for their business.

Every year, on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we go out and get hundreds of homemade pies to give to our great clients. We just picked up 250 pies for Thanksgiving and are excited to be giving them out!

Spy Inspections is sponsoring our pie drive this year and we are very thankful to them for helping us out this year, but the only way we are able to continue this tradition is due to you, our wonderful past clients.

So make sure you come out this Tuesday or Wednesday to our office and pick up your free apple or pumpkin pie!

Do you know anybody who is in need of first class real estate consulting? Let us know. We would be more than happy to help someone you know experience the same level of service you have by working with us.

Abington Pennsylvania Real Estate Market Update

Hi, ladies and gentlemen, this is Diane Cardano, with the November edition of the Hot Off the Press Real Estate Market Report. This month we are going to look at the numbers and then discuss some Seller and Buyer specific information as we have entered the final quarter of 2014.

Sellers, find out why you shouldn’t be listening to the talking heads in media about the housing market with solid, refreshing facts and what the outlook is looking like for Fall and Winter.

Buyers, I have an incredible image my team and I have prepared called “the five financial reasons to buy a home”, which is based on a study from the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard University.

Check out the video above to see what this means for you and your loved ones!

Also do not keep us a secret, if you like watching our real estate market updates, tell a friend or email us their email so we can add them to the list.

The Benefits of Pre-Marketing

The Benefits of Pre-Marketing

Today's hot tip is how to market your home and how to test market before you even list your home. There are many things to do to prepare your home to list on the market. We want to share with you today some of the cutting edge ways we can get your home out there and give buyers a sneak preview in order to build demand for your home.

People today know the value of homes, so we utilize a strategy called "Pre-emptive marketing" to price a home. We determine its market value, based on pending sales in the area, and test the price. This way we can gauge what kind of response that the current price has been getting, and we know how to adjust it from there.

We never stop marketing our homes. There really are two phases to our kind of marketing. The first phase is from the day you list your home with a Realtor, and then we have a second phase, from the day the home is listed until it closes.

How are we able to do this? Well, by signing a waive with the MLS company Trend, you can waive the requirement to list your home in 3 days of putting it on the MLS. This allows us to gauge the interest in a home without it technically being on the market.

Stay prepared when selling your home and come to our next monthly home selling seminar. To sign up, visit homesellingsharks.com. We can't wait to share the secrets of selling a home with you.

Get Your October Edition Real Estate Report!

This month we’re going to concentrate on what I believe is going to be taking place over the next several months and how the momentum that has been building in the market will continue as we move into the final quarter of 2014.

There is some talk out there that this year was disappointing, and that we didn't have the
type of year in housing that people had projected we were going to have. Well, the
numbers don’t actually show that at all. Those of you who tune in each month are well
aware that this has been a strong year.

I believe, that the last four months of the year, are possibly going to be even stronger than
the first four months of the year. I think we are going to be much more productive than
many people are giving the market credit for. Look at the graphs below for information on existing home sales, amount of searches on real estate related terms and home prices back to 2005.

And don’t forget to sign up for our Home-Selling Sharks Seminar on Thursday, October 14th located at the William Penn Inn.

Expert tips on selling your home

Expert tips on selling your home

Hi Blog Listeners! Want to know how to price your home to attract a buyer who will pay you 18% more than other homes in your neighborhood?

The single biggest issue on most home sellers' minds is how to achieve the highest sale price. Like me, you realize that having an expert negotiator on your team is so important in quickly getting top dollar when selling your home. Check out this short video on how to do that!

If you want to see this Pin Point Pricing model in action, please join me as my guest at the William Penn Inn on October 14th. I am holding a home seller seminar with special guest, 1210’s own, Dom Giordano. We will be talking about the economy and how it will affect the sale of your home in 2015.

Buying a Home? Selling a Home? You Don’t Need to Do It Alone

Hello again, ladies and gentlemen! This is Diane Cardano with the September edition of the "Hot off the Press” real estate market report. The summer has been ROCKIN' so far this year and the market is continuing to be very strong, just as I predicted. We are gearing up and are prepared for this to continue right into the early fall!

Many of you have been asking me to discuss a particular event that has been in the news lately. Internet home search giant Zillow has purchased their biggest competitor, Trulia. This has a lot of people worried about the future of real estate agents.This is the week we cover that topic and if you want to get the full scoop, check out the rest of my video!!

To really get an advantage in the home selling process, don’t miss the huge October "Home Selling Shark Seminar!" I will be hosting the huge, information filled seminar at the historic William Penn Inn on Tuesday Oct 14th. It starts at 5:00pm sharp and seating is limited, so reserve your seat today, Go to www.homesharkseminar.com to register today!

The Right Introductions From Friends & Family Can Save You Thousands When Buying or Selling a Home. See How!

There are many great Montgomery County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Must Watch Video Shares How To Save Thousands When Selling a Home Through a Great Introduction.

Imagine the Home Selling process, and what do you think of? We have asked this question to hundreds of home sellers who have crossed our path. See, we ask all our Home Selling Clients, before we list their home, “What is important to you when selling a home?”

What is the #1 answer?

The answer is “I would like the most amount of money!!” However, right behind that they comment, I also want a stress-free process and want it done FAST!!

Right now, in this “New World of Real Estate”, how can a home seller get their home sold FAST, for TOP dollar, and a stress-free experience? In order to maximize your return when selling a home, all Future Home Sellers need is to be introduced to a Team of people who have the expertise to get the process completed, Fast, in 26 days and guarantee it.

Statistics show that homes that are sold fast, within 26 days, are sold for TOP Dollar. Why? This is due to the marketing frenzy that can be created when hiring a Marketing Company with Real Estate Experts on staff to sell one of your largest assets…. Your home!!

To get an introduction, just go to www.IntroduceCardano.com and fill out the form!!

August Sales Reports Show Big Numbers For Home Sales!!

Don’t Let Misinformation & Pundits Scare You Away From Your Greatest Asset!

Hi, ladies and gentlemen, Diane Cardano here, Welcome to the August Market Expert Report. This summer is proving to be an amazing time in the market!

We’re reading the headlines, hearing about home sales reports and how some reports show it as negative, some reports show it as positive. How could that be?

Please watch our video to see how we use tons of current data and projections to advise our clients on how to make choices in the ever changing real estate market. We want to make sure we clear up some of the biggest misconceptions about the market today and what it means for you as a Home Seller or Buyer.

Don’t let fear and a lack of understanding keep you out of the market. Get yourself an expert and have a discussion. Call me and set up a time for us to chat.

Don’t forget, we also have our home seller toolkit available to our blog fans only at HomeSellerToolKit.com or call us at 215-576-8666. Also our next Home Seller seminar is on October 14^th, check your calendar, because if you feel comfortable putting your home on the market in the Spring, you need to be there.

Feedback to Price Your Home

Hello video blog fans! Today I want to talk to you about an invaluable tool in our real estate world: feedback.

Now, feedback is very important because it tells us what to do next! Interpreting feedback is an art that only the most experienced agents understand. Feedback, as described in our video, ultimately provides you with invaluable information for properly adjusting your home price.

Watch the following video to learn how to get buyers through the door, why listening to the feedback is so important, and how we effectively use those tools to get your home sold in 26 days or less!

And don’t forget! We’re giving our video blog fans our FREE Home Seller Toolkit. Just go to HomeSellerToolkit.com to orders yours today!

Extra! Extra! Hot off the Presses! July 2014’s Market Report!

This is Diane Cardano with the July edition of the “Hot Off the Press” Real Estate Market Report.

Speaking of hot off the press, we have some interesting news to share with you about why it may not be a good idea to list your home as "for sale by owner." We also wanted to share with you the latest about home sales, where we stand in the market, and what we can expect for the rest of the year. So check out our video and make sure you sign up for your FREE Home Seller Toolkit!

Creating Demand Will Earn You Thousands More!

Hello Blog Fans! Today, I wanted to share another hot tip for home sellers and buyers!!

Learning how to create demand for your home is an important step in selling your home fast and for the most amount of money. The following video from my Home Selling Sharks Video series discusses what you need to be thinking about now.

Home buyers, when looking for a home; seek out homes that have great marketing. Those homes will go fast so this video will help you identify those homes that will sell fast. You do not want to miss out on your dream home!

Following these steps will help you crush the competition when you go on the market!

Also, check out this video to find out how to get yourself a FREE Home Seller Toolkit!

Housing is Stronger Than You Realize- And it’s Driving the Economy!

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen! This is Diane Cardano with the June edition of the “Hot Off the Press” Real Estate Market Report. Before we get started this time, I wanted to share with you something that made my team and I feel particularly proud.

Every time a house sells, there is a certain economic impact; a certain amount of money goes into that state’s economy, which is pretty amazing! The national average is over $50,000. Every single time a house is sold in Pennsylvania, $50,000 is being injected into our local economy.

This is a wonderful and inspiring aspect of this industry. I know you have all heard me talk about how I love building lifelong relationships with our clients. But I also am delighted to know that everything we do together is positively impacting so many additional lives, and is playing a role in helping our nation’s economy grow stronger. How awesome is that?!

Please watch the rest of my vlog to see just how we did it!

And don’t forget! To really get an advantage, don’t forget JUNE is a huge month for Home Selling Shark Seminars! Two supersized, information-filled Seminars, one at the historic William Penn Inn on Tuesday June 17th and the other at the lovely North Hills Country club, on Thursday June 19th. They start at 6:30pm sharp. Seating is limited so reserve your spot today! Go to www.homesharkseminar.com and register now!

Buyers Will Be Knocking At Your Door When You Sell a Certified Pre-Owned Home!!!

FREE Home Seller Seminar and Home Seller Tool Kit Saves Home Sellers Thousands!!

Hello Blog Fans! Today, I wanted to share some hot tips for home sellers! This video talks about when to start preparing your home, how to figure out your max budget and what sort of questions to ask YOUR Expert Advisor. I discuss in this video Blog when you should start the home selling process to maximize your return on home repairs before selling. Most important when selling a home is to be coachable and create a plan. Create a list of repairs and improvements with your Expert Advisor and get your Free Room by Room Review (www.FreeRoomByRoom.com).

Lastly, I discuss the benefits of having your home pre-inspected such as eliminating the nickel and diming buyers do after the offer has been negotiated at a price. Once inspected, you can get a Team of contractors from Diane’s List (www.CardanosList.com) who are reliable and have very competitive prices. Also, free to all Cardano Realtor’s clients is our 14 foot Moving Van to move your clutter out of your home and into storage or someone else’s house!!

Don’t miss our June Seller Seminars! The first will be at the William Penn Inn on June 17th and the second will be at the North Hills Country Club on June 19th! The events both start at 6 p.m. sharp and we’ll be providing you with a special dinner. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot at www.HomeSharkSeminar.com!

Hot off the Press: May 2014 Real Estate Update

Hot off the Press: May 2014 Real Estate Update

Hi ladies and gentlemen. This is Diane Cardano with the “Hot Off the Press” Real Estate Market Report for May 2014 . We have quite an edition for you this month. The Market is really getting active so lets jump right into the news!

Well, the news is pretty simple. There are all sorts of conflicting reports about whether or not the housing market is back. You could read two different headlines in the same newspaper on the same page questioning are home sales up or are home sales down. There are many reports about what mortgage rates are going to look like in the next 18 months. I answer these questions and more in today’s video, so please check it out!

To really get an advantage, don’t forget JUNE is a huge month for Home Selling Shark Seminars! Two supersize information filled Seminars one at the historic William Penn Inn on Tuesday June 17th and the other at the lovely North Hills Country club, on Thursday June 19th. They start at 6:30pm sharp, Seating is limited so reserve your seat today, Go to www.homesharkseminar.com and register today!

My Staging Strategy will Allow You to Sell Quickly and for Top Dollar

There are many great Montgomery County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluationso you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Hello Blog Fans! Today, I wanted to share another hot tip from one of my Home Seller Seminars. Check out this video explaining why you should do some interior repairs and go room-by-room, why deep cleaning rooms out is so important, and what emotions have to do with selling your home!

So listen to this video blog to find out! Also, don’t forget! To learn more in depth tips, check out my Home Seller Seminar. Our next seminar is May 8th at 6:30pm at the Abington Library! Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot at HomeSharkSeminar.com!

Hot off the Press: April 2014 Real Estate Update

Hello Blog Fans! The Spring is Finally here and it is a very exciting time in Real Estate, for buyers and Sellers! This is going to be a fact filled Blog so this is one you really want to watch to get the full value!

There are people in mainstream media that are getting a little bit confused as to what’s taking place. Some of the headlines about housing have become pretty soft.

For instance, the pending and existing home sales trends are being interpreted to mean there is reason to have some doubts about the housing recovery. Well that just simply is not true.

They’re not taking into consideration we’re going into a normal winter cycle. What they’re not taking into consideration is that the weather is really a little bit crazy in some parts of the country.

Hype sells ad space but it doesn’t help you buy or sell that home. You need facts, trends and advice from the front lines and that’s what I am here for. So this blog will arm you with the facts and clear away the confusion.

The fact is the regional breakdown shows that sales in the Midwest it had a minor uptick. The South was more than okay and here in the Northeast had an exemplary third quarter, up seven percent over sales in 2012 fourth quarter. But the challenge was—and that’s the challenge we’re seeing—is a lack of inventory out West.

I think that what we will see moving forward, as more houses come onto the market, is the ability to gain back some of those sales. So, let’s not get carried away with the fact that the housing market is starting to slide. If anything, because it was so high and we worked all the through so much inventory that we don’t have enough to sell right now, that could be a good thing

With an expert on your side that inventory shortage can be used to make your home a treasure selling far above the trending market. But you need master marketing plan like you can find at www.ComingSoonListings.com

If you are looking to buy, you need to have an experience expert to make sure you offer is at the top of the pile and you need a pit bull negotiator to make sure you don’t pay a penny more than you need to for the home you have been dreaming of.

Here at Cardano Experts, My team and I are rolling our sleeves up. There is going to be a lot of hard work through April, May, and June because the market activity going to be doubling up. The good news is we are ready to work hard, and we have the systems, knowledge and team to make your real estate dreams a reality!

To really get an advantage, don’t forget our monthly Seller seminars! Our recent Home selling Seminars have been standing room only these last few times. The next one is coming up on Thursday, May 8th, 2014 at the Abington Free Library on Old York Road in Abington PA. It starts at 6:30pm sharp, reserve your seat today, Go to www.homesharkseminar.com and register today!

Diane's Secret Painting Tips to Make Your Home Irresistible to Buyers

Hi Blog Fans, welcome to my blog. Since Spring is officially here, and many of you are putting your homes on the market, I wanted to share this information from one of my Home Seller Seminars. Check out this video explaining why you should paint your home, what color to paint and what areas of your home needs to be painted.

When preparing your home for sale, you need to do the following when it comes to painting: 1. Paint the basement floor, if not finished, and walls. 2. Paint the garage floor and walls. 3. Paint your paneling 4. Remove all wallpaper at whatever price, as you will make triple the money back. 5 Paint your trim white, dark trim is the death to any home on the market.

We have a couple secret colors that you may want to use. So listen to this video blog. Also, Don’t forget! Our next seminar is March 27th at 6:30pm at the Abington Library! Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot at HomeSharkSeminar.com!

Hot off the Press: March 2014 Real Estate Update

This is Diane Cardano with the “Hot Off the Press” Real Estate Market Report for March 2014. We have quite an edition for you this month, for buyers AND sellers!

I strongly believe we are going to see is a tremendous increase in demand and competition for homes. Differentiating your home, and making it visible and marketed will virtually assure you of selling at the top of the market for more than your asking price. So if you are thinking about selling in 2015, come to a seminar and learn what you need to be doing NOW to have buyers waiting outside your door the very day your home comes on the market waiting to pay you list price and more!!

Buyers, you are also at quite an advantage right now because you have an opportunity to borrow money at a discount between 4.25 and 4.5 percent.

So what’s this all mean? How does this current marketing climate affect you? Watch my video to find out why we say “discount”, where we think the market will be going over the year and much, much more!

As Martin Ihring, Professor of Management at the Wharton School of Business, said “There is a competitive advantage in knowledge, but very few decision makers know how to harness it.” That is exactly why you need an Expert Consultant, like me, not an average frustrated agent.

So when buying or selling a home, make sure you team up with a consultant who has top of the mind awareness of the rates and how they are affecting home prices and sale!

To really get an advantage, don’t forget our monthly Seller seminars! The next one is coming up on Thursday March 27th at the Abington Free Library on Old York Road in Abington PA. It starts at 6:30pm sharp, reserve your seat today, I believe we still have 8 seats left. Go to www.homesharkseminar.com and register today!

Download This App Now to Find your Dream Home

There are many great Montgomery County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

I wanted to talk to you about a powerful new tool that lets you search for homes on the go! This is such an amazing time to be in the market, to buy a home. But there is a shortage of great homes right now and the buyers with an edge are walking away with all the BEST homes!!

The app, Local Homes, gives you so many ways to search including using your smart phone's GPS to show you all the homes in your search that are near your current location.

It allows you to look up great homes in your area on your smartphone or tablet! iPhone or Android, your device can help you find your dream home wherever you are!

There are 2 ways to get this wonderful app:
1. Go to the apps store on your device and type in local homes or
2. Go to Local Homes App For iPhone/iPad
Local Homes App For Android

Watch the video to learn how you can be entered in our promotion to win a FREE iPad Mini!

Now most buyers come into our office to review their real estate plan and create a specific strategic plan designed for their home buying needs. Just go to www.CustomHomeBuyingStrategy.com and create your home buying strategy today!!!

2012-13 was all about recovery and stability, but 2014 will be about GROWTH in real estate!

There are many great Montgomery County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

My prediction for 2014 is that 2014 is going to be the year of growth in real estate! This video tells it all, listen for some great information!!

First, let’s take a look at the economy. In the video I show you a map of the United States showing each state and their state of growth. And we can see that 46 out of 50 states are some shade of green. The darker the shade of green, the better your state is doing. We aren't the darkest shade here in PA but we are the second darkest color, with a growth between .6 and 1%. What we are seeing across the country is the economy is starting to come back. Watch the video understand how they arrive at these growth rates. So, why is this so important to the housing market? As employment goes up there’ll be more buyers coming to the market.

This brings me to what I believe will be the most significant market trend we will see in 2014: the repeat home buyer. As prices continue to escalate, more and more people are entering into positive equity. I believe very strongly this is going to be a major part of the market driving us forward in 2014. Check out the video to see why!

Next, let’s take a quick look at interest rates and their effect on the real estate market home values. In the video, check out the graph showing the interest rates levels in 2013 and the inventory status. As you can see, rates went up from 3.3% to almost 4.5%, with the 30 year fixed rate currently at 4.32%. Most economists are predicting that the interest rate will go up another percentage point to 5.3% by this time next year.

So waiting to buy a home makes no sense. If prices are going up and interest rates are going up, buyers will spend more a year from now than they are now. So now is the time to buy your dream home!

Check out the the video showing a graph listing the last 4 times in the past 30 years when interest rates went up so did home prices. So don't worry get your home on the market this year to maximize your equity.

Lastly, I want to move from the general market news to some specific advice for those of you who know someone, or possibly are thinking of selling your own home in the coming year. Hiring a professional real estate agent can take away most of the challenges of selling. A great agent is always worth more than the commission they charge - just like a great doctor or great accountant.

Check our the video explaining if you want to hire an Expert Advisor to sell our home today, make sure they:

1. Understand your timetable and your family situation,

2. Remove all challenges,

3. Help you with your next move, and

4. Get the home sold in 26 days or less Guaranteed!!

Check out www.PreHouseInspection.com for more details.

So get it right the first time with some Sassy pre-marketing of the home to create demand so that there are buyers waiting outside of your door. If you want to know what your home is worth, fill out the form at www.CardanoHomeValue.com and request an analysis of your home’s approximate value to be emailed directly to your inbox!

And remember, there’s is no obligation after doing so! Also, most every month we hold our Home Seller Seminars where graduates learn my secret Home Selling Strategies and sell their homes in 26 days or less for Top Dollar. Just go to www.HomeSharkSeminar.com to sign up for our next seminar on February 20th or pick a date for one in the future. Thanks for listening and see you in 2 weeks when we talk about how to make sure you do not pay more than you should in real estate commissions when selling your home.

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