new house - The Jenn Pfeiffer Team

July 12, 2024

You’ve Scraped Together Just Enough Money To Buy a House—but Can You Afford What Comes Next?

By Julie Gerstein | Realtor.com Maryland home inspector Welmoed Sisson recently met homebuyers who were about to purchase a house at the very top end of what they could afford. “They told me at the start of the inspection that they had pretty much no budget for repairs,’” Sisson says. Although their finances were stretched thin, they were hoping it would be OK since, as Sisson recalls, “the real estate agent swore the house was move-in ready.” Even though the house looked fine to the untrained eye, Sisson could instantly tell the property was riddled with problems that would cost a bundle to fix. “Just in walking around the exterior, I spotted at least $50,000 worth...

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June 5, 2024

Buying

The Sweet Spot for Buying Luxury Homes

From our friends at the kcm blog If you’ve been looking for a home at the high end of your market, but haven’t found the right one, you may have put your search on hold. But according to recent data, now may be the time to jump back in. Here’s why. There Are More Luxury Homes To Choose From What’s considered the top-end of the market, or a luxury home, will always vary by location. But generally speaking, they’re homes that are valued in the top 5% of any given market. According to a recent report from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, the selection of luxury homes is increasing (see graph below):As the graph shows,...

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June 4, 2024

Buying, Selling

What To Expect if You Buy or Sell a Home This June

From our friends from the KCM blog June is a busy month in the housing market because a lot of people buy and sell this time of year. So, if you’ve got a move on your mind and you’re looking to make it happen this month, here’s a snapshot of what you need to know to make sure you’re ready. If You’re Buying This June A lot of homebuyers with children like to move after one school year ends and before the next one begins. That’s one reason why late spring into summer is a popular time for homes to change hands. And whether that’s a motivator for you or not, it’s important to realize more buyers are going to be looking...

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May 31, 2024

Buying

You’ll Never Guess Which Generation Has the Lowest Mortgage Rates

By Keith Griffith | realtor.com A recent breakdown of mortgage rates by generation contains a few surprises, finding that millennials on average secured lower rates than baby boomers. The report earlier this month from Freddie Mac shows that millennials are tied with Gen X for the lowest home loan rate at origination, at 4%. Mortgage rates for boomers are slightly higher, at 4.1%, despite that generation’s much higher propensity for refinancing. For the silent generation, which preceded the boomers, rates average 4.3%. Meanwhile, the youngest adult generation, Gen Z, has the highest average mortgage rate, at 4.9%. That’s likely because the oldest members of Gen Z, who are now 27, are more...

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May 21, 2024

Living

Worried About Home Maintenance Costs? Consider This

From our friends at the KCM blog If one of the main reasons you’re hesitant to buy a home is because you’re worried about the upkeep, here’s some information you may find interesting on both new home construction and existing homes (a home that’s been lived in by a previous owner). Newly Built Homes Need Less Upfront Maintenance If you can afford it, you may find a newly built home could help ease your worries about maintenance costs. Think about it, if everything in the house is brand new, it won’t have the wear and tear you may see in an existing home – and that means it’s less likely to need repairs. As LendingTree says: “Since...

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March 5, 2024

Buying

Buying Houses Before Finding Spouses

By Debra Kim| The New York Times Single men traditionally get a head start in homeownership and reap the benefits faster, but single women are thinking creatively to close the gap. Rachel Rodman always dreamed of owning her own home, but life kept getting in the way. She became a mother at 19, then went through a complicated divorce that left her financially depleted. For many years, she felt resigned to renting with her son, James, now 14. Ms. Rodman, 33, earns a steady income as an events producer for SXSW, the annual festival of creative arts and technology held in her hometown, Austin, Texas. Still, she never felt she had...

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February 1, 2024

Buying

Is the Housing Market Bouncing Back—or Bouncing Back and Forth?

By Margaret Heidenry | REALTOR.COM Is the housing market bouncing back in 2024—or just bouncing back and forth? There have been some signs of housing inventory recovering, with the number of homes actively for sale growing by 7.9% year over year in January, according to a recent Realtor.com® report. That’s “notably higher compared to last year,” according to Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. Mortgage rates have also subsided from their 23-year high of 7.79% in October to 6.69% in the week ending Jan. 26 for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, according to Freddie Mac. But despite this double dose of promising news, Hale doesn’t expect that America’s housing affordability crisis will improve all that quickly. Rather, she predicts it...

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January 26, 2024

Buying

Experts Project Home Prices Will Increase in 2024

From our friends in KCM Even though home prices are going up nationally, some people are still worried they might come down. In fact, a recent survey from Fannie Mae found that 24% of people think home prices will actually decline over the next 12 months. That means almost one out of every four people are dealing with that fear, and you might be, too. To help ease that concern, here’s what experts forecast will happen with prices this year. Experts Project a Modest Increase Check out the latest home price forecasts from eight different sources (see graph below): The blue bar on the left means, on average, experts think home prices will go up over 2% by the end of this...

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January 25, 2024

Buying, Selling

Are More Homeowners Selling as Mortgage Rates Come Down?

By our friends in KCM If you’re looking to buy a home, the recent downward trend in mortgage rates is good news because it helps with affordability. But there’s another way this benefits you – it may inspire more homeowners to put their houses up for sale. The Mortgage Rate Lock-In Effect Over the past year, one factor that’s really limited the options for your move is how few homes were on the market. That’s because many homeowners chose to delay their plans to sell once mortgage rates went up. An article from Freddie Mac explains: “The lack of housing supply was partly driven by the rate lock-in effect. . . . With higher rates, the...

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January 17, 2024

Buying

What to Look for in a Multigenerational Home

By Kristine Gill | Better Homes & Gardens More and more people are living in multigenerational homes. Here are some features to look for in a home for everyone, according to experts. More and more, Americans are finding themselves living in multigenerational households. Some do it for financial reasons, while others are looking to care for aging relatives more easily. As more and more people seek to bring multiple generations of the family together under one roof, you might find yourself on the market for a home that can accommodate this type of living arrangement. “The demand for multigenerational homes has exploded over the past few years, especially since the...

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new house Tag

You’ve Scraped Together Just Enough Money To Buy a House—but Can You Afford What Comes Next?

The Sweet Spot for Buying Luxury Homes

What To Expect if You Buy or Sell a Home This June

You’ll Never Guess Which Generation Has the Lowest Mortgage Rates

Worried About Home Maintenance Costs? Consider This

Buying Houses Before Finding Spouses

Is the Housing Market Bouncing Back—or Bouncing Back and Forth?

Experts Project Home Prices Will Increase in 2024

Are More Homeowners Selling as Mortgage Rates Come Down?

What to Look for in a Multigenerational Home

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