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Monday, November 12, 2018
5 Home Building Tips
Ever bought a brand new home?
It can be a totally different experience. Depending on your timing and need, you can select a builder home that is ready to go - or - you can order a home and make it custom to your liking. Either way, you will have a home nobody has lived in before - all yours!
If you have the time to order a home from the ground up, the level of customization will vary based on home price and builder. The experience is amazing - and so is living in it on completion. I would love to help you with the project and that is why I earned the new construction certification - 2 of them actually!
Sunday, November 11, 2018
The Rental Trap!
On average, nationwide, owning is 26.3% LESS than renting in 100 of the major US metro areas. You read that correctly - ownership is less than renting. Remember, real estate is local. The difference between renting and owning in your metro area may be more or less. The differences recorded vary from 2% less in Honolulu to 48.9% less in Detroit.
For the newbies who have joined us - another way to look at this is you can make 360 rent payments and another will be due next month and the following months - or, you can make a mortgage payment 360 times and own your home. It is money in the bank!
On this one, I am going to point you to today's report. Get the details there by clicking on the link above.
Some myths just will not go away. The fact is, you can buy a home with good credit and very little down. Exploring the option cost you nothing but a little time. We are here to help.
If you are thinking of making your first home purchase, the first thing to do is get pre-approved. You will know not only IF you qualify, but how much you qualify for. If for some reason you do not qualify at the present time, you can find out what you must do to change that. It is not as difficult as a lot of folks think.
Once you are pre-approved, you know the price range to shop in (or under) and any offer that you decide to make has credibility. The seller will have a greater level of confidence in your ability to complete the purchase. If you have any questions about this, call and let's talk through it. Once upon a time, I bought my first house!
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Future Home Prices
There is a prediction of a recession during the next 24 months - but, what exactly is a recession and how does it impact home prices. As we have shared previously, a recession does NOT mean lower home prices. A recession is simply a fall in GDP for two consecutive quarters. History teaches us that home prices during the last 5 or so recessions have gone up - yes, up!
While many believe a recession is imminent, those same folks believe home prices will continue to rise - just not at the same rate. Does a home sound like a good investment to you? You can live in your investment!
What is the number one regulator of price? It is supply and demand. The population is growing and there are only so many homes available for sale. The lack of properties for sale has been ongoing and is expected to continue into next year - and perhaps beyond... which we will look at in a future report.
As the market returns to a more "normal" state of supply/demand, the appreciation rate will likely slow down. Is that a bad thing? No! A nice steady and reasonable rate of appreciation is a sign of a balanced market. It serves us well.
Right now, the laws of supply and demand are working as they should. The lack of supply causes prices to increase. As we stated previously, when demand softens we will see price appreciation slow - not stop, just slow to a lower rate. That is a good sign and an opportunity for market adjustment allowing affordability to stabilize.
Get in there now and let your home investment work for you.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
2008 vs 2018
The primary difference is the loose lending habits of 2008 compared to today's controlled financing options. Secondary, the runaway building that created huge inventory issues to today's housing shortage. There is simply no comparison. Have a look at today's report for more details.
The first myth is a pending housing bubble. Solid reasons for calling this a "myth" are in the paragraphs immediately above. The second myth is that a recession will cause another crash. This is a common misconception based on misinformation. A recession is simply a fall in GDP for two consecutive quarters.
Historically, the last 5 recessions caused home prices to INCREASE. The third myth is that housing will enter an affordability crisis. In historical terms, homes are cheaper than before and interest rates would need to rise to over 6% before buying a home would be less affordable!
Experts seem to agree; a housing crash will not repeat any time soon. I am going to point you to today's report to read their comments.
New home sales in reported August were up 12.7% from last year! The report shows builders are ramping up construction to fill the demand. But, a housing shortage of homes still exists. This is a great time to sell if it is time to move on and a great time to buy before higher prices and/or interest rates impact your buying power.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Friday, November 2, 2018
Millennial Generation
There is so much speculation about the adequacy of Social Security and the age of eligibility for future retirement, giving yourself an edge makes sense. In a lifetime of renting, you can collect receipts and next month, look forward to another payment and another receipt - forever.
Or, you can invest in a home and use that next egg any way you choose when the time comes. Checkout today's report and see what a millionaire has to say to millennials.
Are we in an "Age of Millennials"? Without a doubt, they are coming of age and they are the best educated, most able generation ready to invest in a home of their own. In the right column of this blog, there is a link to our special publication dedicated to Millennials. Check it out.
The truth is - homes are more affordable today than 25, 20 or even 11 years ago! That is a bold statement, so I am going to suggest you click through to today's report and read it in detail (it's a short read).
Waiting costs money. The cost is added year after year for 30 years. Today's chart is a quick look at the impact of rising interest rates.
For something more in depth, checkout our blog page on how interest rates affect your buying power: https://www.sanantoniorealestate.blog/p/what-is-purchasing-power.html
In the six years that Trulia has conducted a cost of rent vs cost of buy study, this is the first time that two metro areas were cheaper to rent than to buy. Both cities are on the West Coast (San Jose and San Francisco). That does not signal a trend - real estate is high in both cities.
The remaining 98 metro areas in the study remain cheaper to own that to rent. That is pretty solid!
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Search Alexa for Homes
If you are ready for a new way to search, a new way to call your agent, a new way to book a showing, a new way to list your home - visit our site www.SanAntonio.Homes - under "Search" click "Voice Search" - try the app. AI is here and it is going to get better! (That AI sometimes looks like AL - and, while Artificial Intelligence is developing rapidly, AL remains here for you too!)
If you do not have Alexa in your house, you are missing out on a lot of fun. Just last night I asked her to turn off the television. She said we don't have one. We argued (yeap, me and a machine argued). She won - I must call it a TV and THEN Alexa will turn it on or off.
Oh lordy! Here I go explaining again. AL does NOT stand for Alexa. AL is ME, your licensed human real estate professional. UGH!
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