With higher mortgage rates and moderating buyer demand, conditions in the housing market are different today. And if you're thinking of selling your house, it's important to understand how...
Are you prepping to buy your first home? If so, one of the steps you should take early on is making sure you're financially ready for your purchase. Here are just a few of the financial fundamentals you'll need to focus on as you set out to buy a home.
Your credit is one element that helps determine which home loan you'll qualify for. It also impacts your mortgage interest rate. While there are many factors that go into your mortgage application, a higher credit score could lead to a lower monthly payment in the long run.
So how do you make sure...
The 2022 housing market has been defined by two key things: inflation and rapidly rising mortgage rates. And in many ways, it’s put the market into a reset position.
As the Federal Reserve (the Fed) made moves this year to try to lower inflation, mortgage rates more than doubled – something that's never happened before in a calendar year. This had a cascading impact on buyer activity, the balance between supply and demand, and ultimately home prices. And as all those things changed, some buyers and sellers put their plans on hold and decided to wait until the market felt a bit more predictable....
If you're thinking about retirement or have already retired this year, you may be planning your next steps. One of your goals could be selling your house and finding a home that more closely fits your needs.
Fortunately, you may be in a better position to make a move than you realize. Here are a few things to think about when making that decision.
From 1985 to 2008, the average length of time homeowners typically stayed in their homes was only six years. But according to the National...
It’s hard to believe 2022 has already come and gone…and what a year it’s been! In terms of real estate, this year has been a wild ride here in Marin. If you’ve been involved in or even keeping an eye on the market throughout the year, you would have witness how market conditions have changed over the last twelve months. While the beginning of the year was filled with intense buyer competition and some unbelievably fast DOM statistics, the latter half of the year has been entirely different. While home prices have been holding strong, competition has reduced as a lot of buyers have been impacted by increased interest rates. So where are we now? Currently, Marin is taking influence from the biggest factor of the moment: seasonality. We are at the typical end-of-year calm, where we are seeing a decrease in new listings, people enjoying the end of their year and taking time off for the holiday season! It’s the perfect time to pause, reflect on the year, and use those details to inform...
Did the frequency and intensity of bidding wars over the past two years make you put your home search on hold? If so, you should know the hyper competitive market has cooled this year as buyer demand has moderated and housing supply has grown. Those two factors combined mean you may see less competition from other buyers.
And with less competition comes more opportunity. Here are two trends that may be the news you need to reenter the market.
Over the last two years, more buyers were willing to skip important steps in the homebuying process,...
Waiting until spring before getting serious about your home search? Why waste valuable time when there are plenty of things you can be doing to get ahead of the curve! I hear buyers say they are simply waiting until the spring to get serious about their home search for a variety of reason. Some are hoping there will be more listings to shop through. Others think they might get a better deal in the new year.
And honestly…a lot of other buyers have that very same idea! Every year, we see an influx of buyers who paused their search in the winter only to pick it back up in the spring - at the same time as everybody else. What this effectively means is there will be a lot more buyers shopping for the same inventory that you are at the same exact time, and buyer competition will drastically increase. My first piece of advice would be to NOT wait until spring, if possible for you. Why would you put your buying power at a disadvantage when there are fewer buyers actively looking right now, and you might...
