This Market Report Is Hot off the Press

This market report is hot off the press! Learn about what the increase in homeowners recently means for buyers and sellers.

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I am back with the September edition of the hot-off-the-press market report!

Summer’s over and homes are still flying off the market. More and more people are jumping into homeownership. Market Watch quotes consumer confidence rose in July to the second-highest level in 16 years.

Americans shrugged off all the drama of President Trump’s Washington, and took heart in the best labor market in a decade. Homeownership rates in the US actually went up 63.7%—the highest rate in three years.

The bottom line is that the economy is strong and improving. Interest rates remain low, and employment is high. When combined with the coming demographic shift as more millennials enter the prime household creating years, this suggests that the housing market is on a steady course for the foreseeable future.

As a matter of fact, people were surveyed with this question: “What would be the best way to invest your money—money that you wouldn’t need for 10 years or so?” Sure enough, real estate was the No. 1 answer.

Another reason why more and more people are becoming homeowners is wealth. According to state representative Loretta Sanchez, homeownership is the first rung on the ladder of wealth creation in our nation. The average worth of a family that owns a home is $225,000, while that of one who is renting is only $5,000. This means that the net worth of a homeowner is 45 times more than a renter.

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This means that the net worth of a homeowner is 45 times more than a renter.

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Of course, because more people are becoming homeowners, the supply of homes continues to be very low. This makes the current market an even better time to sell. That’s why my coming-soon listing program is so vital in this new market.

Check out these next stats:

• Homeowners who sold in the second quarter realized an average price gain of $51,000 since the purchase—the highest average price gain for home sellers since 2007.
• This represented an average return of 26% on the previous purchase price of the home.
• Homeowners who sold in the second quarter of 2017 had owned an average of 8.05 years.

Additionally, mortgage rates are projected to go up by next year, which could cause some buyers not to be interested in moving anymore. Waiting will cost more in price and interest rate for the buyer, making your home less affordable for buyers, and possibly lowering the value of your home.

These next statistics always make me chuckle. The difference between what a homeowner believes their house is worth and what the appraiser thinks its worth is just short of a 2% difference. When selling, I run the home through my pinpoint pricing analysis to make sure that we get the price that the home will appraise for, and save thousands for my clients.

If you’re thinking of selling in the next three months or three years, come to one of my home selling seminars—the next one is January 20th at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Washington. It’s a great way to get information and tips on how to sell your home, and I’ll give you my eight secret strategies guaranteed to save you thousands on buying a home. Visit HomeSharkSeminar.com or give us a call.

What's Going On in Our Local Market?

What is going on in our local market? Today, I’m bringing you an update of the latest numbers for the suburbs of Philadelphia. 

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While today’s market may have cooled off slightly from previous years, demand is absolutely hot. 

As someone who has been in real estate for 25 years, I can say that I’ve never seen an August with demand quite like what we’re seeing right now. Buyer demand is far outpacing our supply.

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I’ve never seen an August with such high demand.

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Financing is still available, which is great news. Even though prices continue to rise, homes are actually becoming more affordable.

Contrary to what many people tend to believe, renting can actually be much more expensive than buying. For example, the percentage of income needed to afford median rent is now 29.2%. The percentage of income needed to buy a median home is actually much lower—just 15.8%. 

As more and more renters become buyers, demand continues to rise. The share of home shoppers who are renters has gone up from 45% in the first quarter of 2015 to 55% in the first quarter of this year.

Now is a great time to buy. This is especially the case since Freddie Mac is projecting that mortgage rates will increase. 

Additionally, high demand and rising home values mean that there are also a lot of opportunities for sellers in today’s market. Homes are selling very quickly. I’ve personally helped many sellers to obtain top dollar by using two of my websites: www.ComingSoonListings.com and www.PreHouseInspection.com. 

Many owners are finding that they are able to get more than they expected from their home. The more equity you have, the better position you’ll be in when it comes time for you to make your move. 

Whether you’re thinking of selling now or later, we hope you’ll join us at our Home Selling Sharks Seminar on October 7th, 2017 at the Hilton Garden Inn. Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. and the seminar will begin an hour later at 9:30 a.m. For more information on that, you can visit www.homesharkseminar.com. 

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What Do Rising Home Prices Mean for You?

Home prices are continuing to rise. What does that mean for you?

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Today I’ve got the July edition of the Hot Off The Press Market Report. It’s real juicy this month, and we’re going to focus on pricing because prices continue to be an issue.

Prices are continuing to rise, and we’re going to see more and more headlines about prices as we move through the rest of the summer. However, they’re going to be talking more about the challenges of these rising prices. 

Right now, interest rates are said to be rising, so buyers are a little nervous. This is not just the first-time homebuyer that’s nervous, but the trade-up seller that’s also being affected. Prices are higher than they were during the housing boom in 2006. 

Some people are saying that this is evidence of the housing market heading for another crash. That is not the case. When you compare the current price increases with what normal appreciation would have looked like if there wasn’t a bust in 2008, then we’re right on track with current prices. 

Home values are where they should be, and now is the time to sell. In the last 12 months, prices have gone up 6% nationally and, in most markets, the level of appreciation is actually accelerating.

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Home values are where they should be, and now is the time to sell.

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There will be a surge in prices in this fall market, so get me to your home right now so we can get your home ready to sell by the time fall comes. 

We offer a free room-by-room consultation online at FreeRoomByRoom.com, and if you’re thinking of selling in 2018, come to our next Home Selling Sharks Seminar. Our next seminar is October 14, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Washington, PA.

If you have any other questions or you’re looking to buy or sell your home, give us a call. We’d be happy to help!

Home Values Up in 2nd Quarter 2017

Our spring season was crazy—but why? Homeowners are realizing the tax advantages of owning a home.

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Thank you for joining me for another Hot Off the Press market report. We had an incredible spring, where 90% of the metro areas are boasting year-over-year gains. Why is this happening?

Buyers are starting to realize the tax advantages of homeownership right now. I looked at the four major tax advantages of home ownership, according to the Tax Policy Center’s Briefing Book.

1. Mortgage Interest Deduction. “Homeowners who itemize deductions may reduce their taxable income by deducting any interest paid on a home mortgage.”
2. Property Tax Deduction. “Homeowners who itemize deductions may also reduce their taxable income by deducting property taxes they pay on their homes.”
3. Imputed Rent. “The return on homeownership is excluded from taxable income.”
4. Profits from home sales. “Homeowners may exclude from taxable income up to $250,000 of capital gains on the sale of their home.”

Americans still think that real estate is the American Dream. 34% believe that real estate is the best long-term investment. 

Why are prices going up? It is generally a result of supply and demand. As a nation, we are at 3.8 months of inventory. That’s nothing! That’s what’s driving prices up, but not in every price range. 

Right now, we have way less than six months inventory for first-time buyer homes, so we have a seller’s market. A little more inventory for move-up homes will bring it closer to a neutral market. In the premium market, we’re in a buyer’s market because we have more than seven months of inventory and in our area, more than nine months of inventory.

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Inventory is historically low compared to the last six years.

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June is our “Celebrate National Homeownership Month.” Homebuyers want more privacy, a place for their family to grow, some stability, control over their future, and putting their hard-earned money to work for them. 

Homeowners: if you have any thoughts about moving, you need to get started now. There’s not a lot of inventory on the market. In the next few weeks, we’ll talk about some great tips for homeownership.

If you have any questions or you’re looking to buy or sell a home, give me a call. I’d be happy to help!

Real Estate Wave is Building - Jump In

Home prices and interest rates are both going up in our market; however, as you’ll see, this is good news for both buyers and sellers.

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Hello raving fans and welcome to the latest edition of my Hot Off the Press Market Report. 

Spring is here and people are very confident about the economy right now. Prices are rising—they went up an average of 7.2% across the United States compared to last year. In the video above, I have a few slides to show you that reveal some interesting numbers about our current market and what the future holds for buyers and sellers.  

The first is a home price expectation survey of where experts project prices will be over the next five years. There are three different projections ranging from most optimistic to most pessimistic. Overall, they are all projecting prices to rise at least 6.3%, and the most optimistic predicts an increase of 26.7% over the next five years. 

These are important figures, and I mention them because as I take these projections and apply them to a house purchased in January 2017, you can see they have a considerable impact on that home’s equity just based on appreciation. Year over year, if you would’ve bought that house for $250,000, it would be worth $292,000 in five years. That means you and your family’s net worth would increase by almost $43,000 just by purchasing a home. 

The chief economist from Quicken Loans says “Tight inventory has been a key to contributing factor to the year over year growth in home value prices. This steady growth could very well lead to more availability, driving homeowners to consider cashing in on their growing equity by putting their home on the market.”

He is 100% correct. With prices going up, there’s more equity in every single homeowner’s home. I want to make sure you are aware of that equity, and if you decide to make a move, I’ll help you understand that you have the ability to move because there is extra equity in the house. If you are looking to making a move, now might be a great time.

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If you’re looking to make a move, now might be a great time.

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Interest rates are projected to go up along with prices this year. If you’re looking to buy a house right now, you should be aware of the two things that will determine what you pay on a monthly basis: interest rates and the original price. Both of them are increasing, which is phenomenal.

There is no reason to wait to buy right now; if you wait, you’ll only pay more. Do increases in prices and rates mean that people will stop buying homes? No! Since 1988, the median asking price for rents has steadily increased. Historically, the cost of renting is much higher than the cost of buying. The percentage of income needed to afford median rent is 29.2%, while the percentage of income needed to afford a median home is just 15.8%.

As I keep saying, if you’ve had any thoughts about moving, now’s the time. There are not enough homes on market and there are lots of buyers who can’t find homes. If you’re thinking you can’t get a mortgage, don’t decide anything before you talk to one of our trusted lenders. Just call us at 215-576-8666 for their contact information.

Are you, or someone you know, going to be selling their home within the next 2 years? Sign up for our FREE Home Selling Shark Seminar Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 6:00 p.m@ The Hilton Garden Inn, Fort Washington.  Sign up now! @ www.HomeSharkSeminar.com seating is very limited for our Spring Seminar and our event will fill up fast!

Stay tuned for my next video where I’ll address the topic of home staging. If you have any other questions in the meantime, feel free to contact me any way you can. I’d be happy to help you.

Booming Spring Market Is Upon Us

We’re creeping up on the second quarter of 2017, which means that interest rates are rising and many home sellers are about to enter the market.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search 

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 

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Welcome to my latest market report! Today I’m coming to you live from Hawaii, so let’s jump right into the news.

Right now, research shows that people are very confident in the economy, the job market, and what’s taking place in real estate. In fact, a recent Gallup poll states that Americans view the economy more positively since the election in November than they did in the previous nine years.

Now I have a question for you: When do you think most listings come on the market? The answer is the second quarter of each year, which is coming up. 

This means if you’re thinking about selling your home but waiting until April, May, or June to put it on market—don’t! That’s when everyone else puts their homes on the market. We know that buyers are out there right now and we can get your house sold quickly. Let’s put it on the market now before the rest of the competition—including some new construction in many markets—hits the market too. 

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If you’re thinking about selling your home, don’t wait until spring.

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I’m not the only one saying this. Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist at realtor.com, stated in his latest article that “In most markets most years, the optimal time to list is in the spring so that the maximum number of potential buyers view the home. This year, the conventional wisdom of buying and selling may need to change. Inventory levels at the beginning of 2017 are at multi-year lows. Sellers now face very little competition.”

If you’re a move-up buyer or just want to buy another home, pay very close attention to interest rates. The 30-year fixed rate skyrocketed at the end of 2016 and then came down a little bit, but now it looks like it’s bouncing around. I don’t think this will have a major impact on how many people will buy houses. 

Also, in a recent survey of loan officers that asked them how they thought rising rates will impact demand for purchase mortgages, 16.7% said it would have no impact because there is not enough supply to fulfill current demand. Another 16.7% said rising rates will weaken demand. I agree with that assertion. The vast majority of people moving on—they’re just going to have to pay more.

If you’re a first-time buyer or a seller who’s thinking about buying, you have to take into consideration that if you wait until later in the year, you will have to spend more money. The Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, and the NAR are all projecting that interest rates will continue to rise throughout the year.

As you can see in the slide in the video above, if we average out the mortgage rate projections of the next three quarters, interest rates are going to be almost a half a point higher this time next year than they are right now. Why would anybody wait until the end of the year when they know they’ll pay more on an interest rate?

Some people assume that because interest rates are going up, prices will decrease. That’s not what the experts think. In the past month, home prices have risen 1.1%, and it’s likely going to rise even further. As the CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said, “Very low mortgage rates sparked demand, and with inventories low, the result has been a pickup in home-price growth.”

If you want to sell your home fast in 26 days, we have two Home Selling Shark Seminars coming up this month. The first is a breakfast seminar on March 25th from 8:30 a.m and 9:30 a.m. The second is an evening seminar on March 28th. They will both be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ft Washington, PA. To sign up, just go to www.HomeSharkSeminar.com. 

We are also having Homebuyer Workshop on March 23rd at 6 p.m. at the Abington Township Library. For more details on that, just visit www.CardanoBuyerWorkshop.com. 

If you have any questions about our market or are thinking about buying or selling a home, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. In the meantime, be on the lookout for my next video where I’ll discuss different parts of the staging process in the home sale.

Do Buyers or Sellers Hold the Edge in Our Market?

Going forward in 2017, there are plenty of reasons both buyers and sellers should jump into the market.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search 

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 

Call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Today I’m back with your latest market update! Let’s dive right into what’s been happening lately.

Interest rates have jumped up the last two months, and most experts are projecting that they’ll settle somewhere in the 4.5% and 5% range later on. This might cause buyers to get apprehensive about purchasing homes, so if you want to sell your house, you should put it on the market right now. If you wait, not only will the value of your existing home diminish, but later on in the year, as a move-up or move-down buyer, you’ll have to pay a higher interest rate on your new home.

In the video above, I’ve provided a slide depicting mortgage rate projections all the way into the first quarter of 2018.

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If you want to sell your house, you need to act fast.

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The annual average for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.65% in 2016, which is the lowest annual average ever recorded by Freddie Mac. Even though interest rates are creeping up, it’s still a great time to buy. If you have considered renting because interest rates are going up, just know that rent will always be going up too.

As you can see in the next chart in the video, the median asking rent in our market has increased every year since 1988. Zillow just reported that renters paid an accumulated $475 billion in 2016, which is a 4% increase over 2015.

If you’re still not convinced that buying is better than renting, here are five reasons homeownership is a great financial investment:

1. Mortgage payments can be fixed, while rents will only go up.
2. The equity in your home can be a financial resource later on.
3. You can build wealth without paying any capital gains.
4. A mortgage can act as a forced savings account.
5. Overall, homeowners can enjoy greater wealth and growth than any renter can ever can.

Owning a home is one of the most common ways households build long-term wealth. Instead of paying your landlord, you can pay yourself in the long run through paying down your mortgage. If you buy a house, you’re also capping your expenses. The taxes and insurance will go up a little bit, but your housing expense will remain constant.

If you or anyone you know is thinking about buying or selling a home, be sure to introduce them to me so I can help them. A great way to do this is by inviting them to our next Home Selling Shark Seminar. We’ll be holding two seminars in March—one on the 25th and one on the 28th. Both will be at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.homesharkseminar.com.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call. I would be happy to help you!

Where Is Our Real Estate Market Headed?

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.

For more details, visit homesharkseminar.com

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!

Market is Hot for Home Sellers

It’s winter, but the real estate market is not slowing down! Today, I’ll go over your latest market update.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search 

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 

Call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

I’m here with your latest real estate market update!

As the weather gets colder and the holidays approach, most home sellers think, “It’s December and the market is going to slow down. I’m not even going to think about putting my home on the market.” However, that’s not a good idea.

Why? Right now, the market is actually swarming with buyers. In fact, there are so many buyers that I just sold two homes that weren’t scheduled to hit the market until April! Inventory is incredibly low, so even if you’re not planning on selling til next year, pick up the phone right now to figure out what your next steps are. Now is still a great time to be on the market, as interest rates are still low and buyers are highly motivated.

Now, first-time buyers probably think that they need to put 20% down in order to buy a home. However, the average down payment for first-time home buyers has dropped down to 6% in 2016, while repeat buyers are putting 14% down. In fact, some first-time buyers are able to get in a home for less than 4% down. You don’t need to get an FHA loan; there are other loan products out there that allow you to put 3% down.

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Our winter market is swarming with motivated buyers.

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Right now, mortgage interest rates are at 3.5%, which is still incredibly low. Over the next 12 months, they’re expected to jump to 4.2%, which is quite a difference. Mortgage credit availability is also very good right now, so it’s easier for more people to get a mortgage.

As for what FICO score you need to buy a home, in 2016, 53% of closed loans had FICO scores between 600 and 748. In fact, 30% got a loan with a credit score under 700. This combined with low mortgage rates and increased mortgage credit availability makes now a great time to be a first-time buyer.

As for our sellers, you should know that inventory is extremely low right now. By putting your home on the market, you will be able to maximize the profits from your home sale.

That’s it for our winter market update. Keep an eye out for our next Home Selling Shark Seminar on Saturday, January 21st, 2017. We will also have a buyer conference next January. Check out HomeSellingSharks.com for more details.

In the meantime, reach out to me with any real estate questions you might have. I would be happy to help you!

Philadelphia Market Update for October 2016

There is a lot of confusion in the market lately due to misinformation about real estate market numbers. Today I’d like to clear this up for you.

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There is a lot of confusion in the market right now, so I’d like to alleviate some that confusion for you today. If you’ve kept up with the market around the country, you may have read headlines from major media sources like “California Home Sales Come Tumbling Down to Earth” and “California Home Sales Gaining Momentum,” which only adds to the confusion.

To paint a clearer picture for you, I’m going to show you what’s really taking place in our market with facts and data.

When talking about the market on the whole, many people will only look at the years that really took off, usually between 2003 to 2005, when sales were extremely high. If you look at the numbers from the years before that, however, you’ll see that those numbers are much closer to the kinds of numbers that we’re seeing today. Many people wonder when the next big peak or valley is going to happen in our market because of the most recent crash.

If we look at data from a little further back, though, we see that from 1990 to 1999, home sales steadily increased almost every year. Why did this happen? It’s because populations naturally increase. The most recent crash occurred because these numbers shot up much too quickly.

Interestingly enough, if you look at the graph above that removes the numbers from 2000-2013, you’ll see that home sales today are sitting almost exactly where they were in 1999, before the bubble and the crash. This means that we’re almost exactly where we should be!

Is affordability a challenge in the current real estate market? Let’s look at the housing affordability index. This index measures whether or not a typical family earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan.

In the graph above, you’ll see that the higher the score is, the easier it is to buy a home. When people say that home affordability is down right now, they’re right if we compare it from 2009 to 2015. However, from 2009-2012, we were faced with a whole bunch of foreclosures and short sales, which also lowered the value of other homes around them, resulting in homes being sold at a major discount. So, of course prices were lower then and people were able to buy more! Since home prices are coming back today, the housing affordability index is shrinking.

If we go back all the way from 1990 to 2000, we’ll see that today’s affordability index is higher in number. The index may not be as high as it was in 2009 or 2015, but the homes that were sold during those times were sold at major discounts. If we compare the numbers from this year to the previous decade, you’ll see that we’re doing just fine when compared to earlier years.

This means that right now we’re in a very healthy market. With interest rates as low as they are, a family with a household income of less than $45,000 can afford to buy a median-priced home. Isn’t that amazing?

If we look at inventory of homes on the market, we see that we have much less inventory this year than we did last year, and this is reflected in the low numbers for foot traffic. I don’t necessarily that there are fewer buyers on the market looking for homes; there are simply fewer houses to look at! When more homes are listed, the market will balance itself out.

What does all of this mean to you if you’re thinking about selling your home? Now is a great time to list your home on the market because there are many buyers out there who are looking to buy homes.

This is an even better time to buy a home since interest rates are still under 4%. It’s also important not to let a low credit score deter you for applying for a mortgage; over 50% of buyers with credit scores between 500 and 750 closed mortgages this year. Don’t put yourself on the sideline because of your credit score.

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Now is the perfect time to buy or sell a home.

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Also, don’t forget about our next Home Selling Sharks Seminar on October 22nd at the Hilton Garden Inn at Port Washington. Register for your seat here today!

If you have any questions about buying or selling homes in our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone or email. I’d be happy to help you!

August Real Estate Market Report

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search 

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 

Call me at (215) 576-8666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

My team and I are loving every minute of this summer season. Our phones have been ringing off the hook, and buyers have been banging down our doors. Don’t get caught up in the idea that because the overall economy isn’t doing well, our real estate market will follow suit. Right now, the opposite is happening. The economy’s not so hot, but the housing market is booming.

Since the beginning of January, mortgage rates have fallen by .5%. The Brexit will probably keep those rates down for some period of time, but that is no guarantee. Mortgage rate projections show that interest rates will creep up over the next 12 months and, at that same time, interest rates will be almost a full point higher. No one knows for sure, but I wouldn’t guarantee that the great rates we’re seeing now will still be there six months or a year down the line.

There was a slight drop in the last pending home sales report, and it caused quite a concern among the talking heads on all the news channels. But this concern is much ado about nothing, because this dip will fix itself. If we look at the buyer traffic by state, we see both buyer traffic and demand for housing has remained very strong. The reason the pending home sales numbers went down is because there wasn’t enough buyer traffic. In the majority of the country, however, the rate of seller traffic also dropped off dramatically. In other words, the reason for the dip was inventory, not demand.

Is now a good time to sell your home? Yes it is! The rate of housing supply in May dropped almost 10%, meaning there is an increase in the number of people looking to buy a house and a decrease in the number of homes available for sale. While prices are continuing to increase, those interest rates will eventually begin to creep back up. Once that happens, buyers won’t be able to offer you as much money as they can right now.

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Is now a good time to sell your home? Yes it is!

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If any of this gets you excited, pick up the phone and call me so we can work together to sell your home fast and keep money in your pocket where it belongs. Keep enjoying your summer, and we’ll see you back here in a few weeks!

The Latest Trends in Our Local Real Estate Market

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Summer is here and the market is hot! In fact, my predictions from last month seem to be gaining popularity with many other experts in the real estate field. I told you that we’re in a five-year pivot and on track to grow market sales strongly over the next five years, and it looks like that’s what’s happening.

If you look at pending home sales from January of 2016 to April, you can see that pending sales are dramatically increasing month to month. In fact, the April numbers far surpass the March numbers! There is tremendous demand for homes out there right now, and that demand will lead us to a phenomenal year (and a phenomenal 2017)!

I am not the only one who thinks that. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, says, “In spite of deficient supply levels, stock market volatility and the paltry economic growth seen so far this year, the housing market did show resilience and had its best first quarter of existing sales since 2007.”

That’s right - this year we had the best first quarter in a decade! Freddie Mac agreed, stating that “Home sales typically rise in the spring and summer months, and we anticipate an acceleration in home sales that would surpass 2007 by late summer.”

For racing fans out there, we had a Triple Crown of April home sale reports - existing home sales, new home sales, and pending home sales were all very positive. Again, the fact that home sales have increased so much simply indicates how strong demand is in our market.

That said, there are some naysayers worried about home prices. The home price expectation survey asked a panel of 100 economists, real estate experts, and investment strategists to identify the primary driver of real estate home values in the United States right now. Of those, 50% pointed to low inventory while 20% thought low mortgage interest rates are driving the market. In other words, 70% of experts say the market is dictating home prices. It all boils down to supply and demand.

We’re eventually going to get enough supply to match the demand. In fact, we’re already starting to see that in our local market. Sellers that have been waiting for the market to settle are anxious to finally make their move. That is why I’m so sure that we will see a skyrocket in the number of home sales but not in home prices.

If you have any questions, please give me a call or send me an email. If you are thinking about selling your home, check out www.homesharkseminar.com. Our next seminar will be in October. I look forward to speaking with you!

June Update: The Market Is On Fire

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Summer is nearly here and the housing market is on fire! In today's June edition of the hot off the press market report, I'm going to be a little controversial right off the bat. I believe we're in a five-year pivot in the real estate market right now. Some so-called "experts" like to say it's a seven-year pivot in recessions.

I think if we isolate the real estate market itself, it's in a five-year pivot based on the last 15 years. From 2001-2005 there was a boom with prices skyrocketing and the market was strong, even too strong in some places, allowing greed to replace integrity. Lending standards and appraisals standards might not have been where they needed to be, and, of course, it caused a market correction, causing the crash. The five years after, we had a very slow recovery coming back in the housing economy. We never really gained strong momentum.

I predict that the next five years are going to skyrocket. I'm not saying prices are going to skyrocket - I think sales are going to skyrocket.

Home price gains have clearly been a driving force in building positive equity for homeowners. Longer term, I anticipate a better balance of supply and demand in many markets, which will help sustain healthy and affordable home values in the future. Right now, we're starting to build a supply again. Prices went through the roof recently because the demand exceeded the listings on the market, and as people start to build equity in their homes, what we'll see is more people start to put their homes on the market. That will temper prices to a certain degree, and that's good news because it will lead to a healthy housing market. It's actually stronger than the stock market right now.

According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans view real estate as the best form of long-term investment in all income categories. This is really an incredible time for the market. If you're considering selling your home in the next six months or even the next two years, you need to call me right now! Don't forget to share this blog with your friends, family, and social circle, and be sure to join us at the next Home Shark Selling seminar. Click here to learn more.