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Real Estate Professionals Are Experts at Keeping You Safe When You Sell
If you’re on the fence about whether or not you want to sell your house this year, there’s good news. For nearly two years, real estate professionals have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of buyers and sellers during the pandemic.
Today, they’re seasoned experts, not just in the art of buying and selling homes, but also in how to keep you safe throughout the process. Real estate professionals have learned new technologies plus safety and sanitation measures. As new variants emerge, those lessons continue to be key ways agents add value.
Real Estate Advisors Stay Current on Guidance for In-Person Showings
Agents don’t leave your health up to chance. They follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to ensure in-person showings are safe. NAR maintains industry-specific resources to ensure agents are informed on the latest recommendations and best practices.
Guidance from the CDC also equips real estate professionals with the know-how to employ sanitization and disinfectant measures during the health crisis, so they’re safe for you and your potential buyers.
Digital Tools Can Enhance Your Home Sale
In addition, agents are also well versed in using technology and digital tools to sell your home efficiently. In their guidance for realtors, NAR says:
“The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting members in unprecedented ways, and raises numerous unique and novel issues for the real estate industry.”
Real estate advisors have responded by reimagining the tech and tools they use. For instance, serving clients at a distance and limiting exposure to others is more important now than ever. That’s because restricting the number of people you need to interact with during the sales process is one of the best ways to keep everyone safe.
To accomplish this, agents now use a variety of methods to serve their clients, including:
- Virtual Open Houses, Tours, and Listing Appointments
- High-Quality Photos for Websites and Social Media
- eSignature
- Video Conferencing
Bottom Line
The health challenges we face today have fundamentally changed the way real estate professionals conduct business for the better. Let’s connect today so you have the latest tools on your side to feel safe and confident when you sell your house this year.
Put an experts eye on your home search! You’ll receive personalized matches of results delivered directly to you. We’ll take into account your goals, criteria, and preferences to find properties that are exactly what you were always dreaming of.
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Maybe with the leverage you currently have, you can negotiate a deal that will allow you to make the move of your dreams.
What’s your home’s value?
Contact one of Our Agents today!
Does Your House Have What Buyers Want?
The rise in remote work is changing what many Americans want in their homes. Many companies are choosing to delay reopening or go remote full-time, and today’s buyers are looking for homes with more space to support their work needs.
As a seller, if you no longer need the extra room you have in your home, rest assured there are buyers who do.
Remote Work Is Here To Stay
Remote work remains a reality for many Americans. A recent poll from Garter, Inc. shows many organizations have not yet returned their offices:
“. . . 66% of organizations are delaying reopening their offices due to new COVID-19 variants.”
And it’s not just companies that are choosing to remain remote for the time being – workers are seeking more flexibility. According to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers, nearly one-fifth of employees want to be fully remote in the future. The study also finds that many people are leaving jobs to seek out remote work opportunities:
“Among employees looking for new jobs, almost one in ten say it’s because they moved away from the office while working remotely and don’t want to go back on-site.”
More Remote Work Means a Greater Need for Home Offices
That’s leading today’s buyers to prioritize finding homes with more space so they can comfortably work from home. The 2021 Home Design Trends Survey from the American Institute of Architects finds that 69% of surveyed individuals still want at least one office at home. However, it also shows that more people are looking for multiple spaces in their home for remote work and virtual meetings (see graph below):
What Does This Mean for You?
If your house has extra space that you no longer need, buyers are interested, and now may be the perfect time to sell.
Your trusted real estate advisor can help you highlight many of the most sought-after features in your listing, including home offices. On the other hand, if you have extra room without a purpose, consider staging it as an area where remote work can happen. Your agent can help you with this as well by evaluating and preparing your space for potential buyers. They’ll make recommendations for how to stage the room, where to draw the eye, and what other sellers are doing to make their houses stand out.
Bottom Line
With the continued rise in remote work, more buyers are looking for homes that can support multiple home offices. If you have extra room you’re no longer using, consider selling. Let’s connect today to discuss the unique features in your house and how you can capitalize on any extra space to appeal to today’s buyers.
Put an experts eye on your home search! You’ll receive personalized matches of results delivered directly to you. We’ll take into account your goals, criteria, and preferences to find properties that are exactly what you were always dreaming of.
Start Here!
Maybe with the leverage you currently have, you can negotiate a deal that will allow you to make the move of your dreams.
What’s your home’s value?
Contact one of Our Agents today!
Sellers Are Ready To Enter the Housing Market
One of the biggest questions in real estate today is, “When will sellers return to the housing market?” An ongoing shortage of home supply has created a hyper-competitive environment for hopeful buyers, leading to the ultimate sellers’ market. However, as the economy continues to improve and more people get vaccinated, more sellers may finally be in sight.
The Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) by Fannie Mae recently noted the percentage of consumer respondents who say it’s a good time to sell a home increased from 61% to 67%. Doug Duncan, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Fannie Mae, indicates:
“Consumer positivity regarding home-selling conditions nearly matched its all-time high.” (See graph below):
Fannie Mae isn’t the only expert group noticing a rise in the percentage of people thinking about selling. George Ratiu, Senior Economist at realtor.com, shares:
“The results of a realtor.com survey . . . showed that one-in-ten homeowners plans to sell this year, with 63 percent of those, looking to list in the next 6 months. Just as encouragingly, close to two-thirds of sellers plan to sell their homes at prices under $350,000, which would offer a tremendous boost to affordable housing for first-time buyers.”
Bottom Line
If you’re considering selling your house, don’t wait for more competition to pop up in your neighborhood. Let’s connect today to explore the benefits of selling your house now before more homes come to the market.
Contact one of Our Agents today!
See out Complete Inventory of Available Properties!
Maybe with the leverage you currently have, you can negotiate a deal that will allow you to make the move of your dreams.
What’s your home’s value?
With Home Values Surging, Is it Still Affordable to Buy Right Now?
Housing inventory is at an all-time low. Realtor.com just reported that there are 39% fewer homes for sale today than there were last year. At the same time, buyer demand remains strong. In a recent newsletter, research analyst Ivy Zelman explained:
“Although the headwind of severe supply constraints in most markets has contributed to slight moderation in seasonally-adjusted and year-over-year new pending contract growth for two consecutive months (albeit still growing strongly), the underlying strength of buyer demand, particularly for this time of year, remains apparent.”
Whenever there’s a shortage in the supply of an item that’s in high demand, the price of that item increases. That’s exactly what’s happening in the real estate market right now. As a result, home values are surging.
This is great news if you’re planning to sell your house. On the other hand, as either a first-time or repeat buyer, this may instead seem like troubling news. Purchasers, however, should realize that the price of a house is not as important as the monthly cost. Here’s how it breaks down.
There are several factors that influence the cost of a home. Two of the major ones are:
- The price of the home
- The mortgage rate at which a buyer can borrow the funds necessary to purchase the home
How do these factors impact affordability?
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) produces a Housing Affordability Index which takes these factors into account and determines an overall affordability score for housing. According to NAR, the index:
“…measures whether or not a typical family earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical home at the national and regional levels based on the most recent price and income data.”
Their methodology states:
“To interpret the indices, a value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home. An index above 100 signifies that family earning the median income has more than enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment.”
So, the higher the index, the more affordable it is to purchase a home. Here’s a graph of the index going back to 1990:
The blue bar represents today’s affordability. We can see that homes are more affordable now than they were from:
- 1990 to 2008
- 2017 to 2018
Buying a home today is just a little less affordable than it was last year, but still very affordable compared to historical housing market trends.
Note: During the housing crash from 2009 to 2015, distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) dominated the market. Those properties were sold at large discounts not seen before in the housing market.
Why are homes still affordable today?
The number one factor impacting today’s home buying affordability is record-low mortgage rates. There’s no doubt that prices are on the rise. However, mortgage rates have fallen dramatically. Last week, Freddie Mac announced that the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.72%. Last year at this time, the average rate was 3.68%.
If you’re considering purchasing your first home or moving up to the one you’ve always hoped for, it’s important to understand how affordability plays into the overall cost of your home. With that in mind, buying while mortgage rates are as low as they are now may save you quite a bit of money over the life of your home loan.
Bottom Line
At this point, home purchase affordability is still in a historically good place. However, we need to watch price increases going forward. As Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American noted in a recent post:
“Faster nominal house price appreciation can erode, or even eliminate, the boost in affordability from lower mortgage rates, especially if household income growth doesn’t keep up.”
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Current Buyer & Seller Perks in the Housing Market
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Today’s housing market is making a truly impressive turnaround, and it’s also setting up some outstanding opportunities for buyers and sellers. Whether you’re thinking of buying or selling a home this year, there are perks today that are rarely available, and definitely worth looking into. Here are the top two.
The Biggest Perk for Buyers: Low Mortgage Rates
The most impressive buyer incentive today is the average mortgage interest rate. Just last week, mortgage rates hit an all-time low for the eighth time this year. The 30-year fixed-rate is now averaging 2.88%, the lowest rate in the survey’s history, which dates back to 1971 (See graph below):
This is a huge advantage for buyers. To put it in perspective, it means that today you can get a lower rate than any of the past two generations of homebuyers in your family if you decide to purchase at this time.
“Historically-low mortgage rates are stoking demand for real estate, as buyers are rushing to lock-in low monthly payments,” said George Ratiu, senior economist with Realtor.com.
In addition, the National Mortgage News notes how today’s buyers have increasing purchasing power due to these low mortgage rates:
“Purchasing power rose 10% year-over-year…With interest rates hitting record lows, buyers were able to afford $32,000 “more house” as of July 23 than they could the year before with the same monthly payment.”
This is a great perk for buyers who are hoping to potentially get more for their money in a home, something many are considering today as they re-evaluate the amount of space they ideally need for their families. It is an opportunity not seen in 50 years, and one not to be missed if the time is right for you to buy a home.
The Biggest Perk for Sellers: Low Inventory
Today, there are simply not enough houses on the market for the number of buyers looking to purchase them. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR):
“Total housing inventory at the end of June totaled 1.57 million units, up 1.3% from May, but still down 18.2% from one year ago (1.92 million).”
The red bars in the graph below indicate that the inventory of homes coming into the market continues to decline. It was low as we entered the pandemic and has reduced even further this year. Houses today are selling faster than they’re being listed, and that’s creating an even greater supply shortage (See graph below):
The lack of inventory has been a challenging situation for a while now, and with low mortgage rates fueling buyer demand, inventory is even harder for buyers to find today. Buyers are eager to purchase, and because of the shortage of homes available, they’re encountering more bidding wars. This is one of the factors keeping home prices strong, an advantage for sellers. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR notes that this trend may continue, too:
“Home prices rose during the lockdown and could rise even further due to heavy buyer competition and a significant shortage of supply.”
With low inventory and high buyer demand, homeowners can potentially earn an increasing profit on their houses and sell them quickly in this sizzling summer market.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re thinking about buying or selling at home, there are some key perks available right now. Let’s connect today to discuss how they may play to your advantage in our local market.
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7 Home Renovations That Will Increase Your Resale Value Big Time
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Green Team Business Review – January 2018
The 2017 Scoreboard
The first order of business at the Green Team monthly market review meeting was the Agents’ Scoreboard. In Warwick, Jennifer DiCostanzo finished first, for the second year in a row. Jen closed out $10,500,000 in sales volume, beating Geoff Green’s single year, all-time Green Team record! Geoff was more than happy to relinquish the title “Number One All Time” to Jen. Nancy Sardo came in second, with sales at $7,200,00, more than doubling her total from 2016. Tammy Scotto was third with sales of almost $5,000,000, way up from $1,350,00 in 2016. Most agents had a solid year and saw increases over last year. Linda VanDeWeert saw her sales volume rise from $1,017,000 in 2016 to $2,147,000 in 2017. Perhaps the most dramatic difference was in Chris Kimiecik’s numbers, which went from sales of $260,000 in 2016 to $2,900,000 in 2017! With a total sales volume of $74,000,000, it looks like the Green Team will be among the top ten agencies in Orange County.
In the Sussex County office, Keren Gonen just finished her first year in the real estate business. She also finished number one on the scoreboard, with $4,300,000 in sales volume. She is, according to Geoff Green, a rising star! She is followed by Charles Nagy in the number two spot, with $3,600,000 in sales volume. Barbara Tesa is in third place with $3,300,000 in sales volume, which does not include sales from her previous agency. According to Geoff’s predictions, Barbara will be even higher up on the scoreboard in 2018!
“How is the Market?”
When asked this question, agents must be clear on the trends that have been occurring in their local markets and be able to explain them and the effect they may have on the client’s real estate needs.
