By Jillian Pretzel | REALTOR.COM
For most of 2023, homebuyers faced a daunting real estate market marked by dizzyingly high mortgage rates. Combined with steep home prices and a severe shortage of homes for sale, it’s no wonder many struggled or gave up their home search entirely.
But with this new year comes new hope: Could homebuyers get a break?
If you’re gearing up to buy a house soon, it’s time to forget the horror stories of last year and reset your expectations. Below are the old rules that no longer apply to the current real estate market—plus the new ones that will take their place this year.
1. Old rule:...
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From our friends in KCM
If you’re getting ready to buy a home, it’s exciting to jump a few steps ahead and think about moving in and making it your own. But before you get too far down the emotional path, there are some key things to keep in mind after you apply for your mortgage and before you close. Here’s a list of things to remember when you apply for your home loan.
Don’t Deposit Large Sums of Cash
Lenders need to source your money, and cash isn’t easily traceable. Before you deposit any cash into your accounts, discuss the proper way to document your transactions with your loan officer.
Don’t Make Any Large Purchases
It’s not just...
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From our friends in KCM
If you’ve owned your house for at least a couple of years, there’s something you’re going to want to know more about – and that’s home equity. If you’re not familiar with that term, Freddie Mac defines it like this:
“. . . your home’s equity is the difference between how much your home is worth and how much you owe on your mortgage.”
That means your equity grows as you pay down your home loan over time and as home values climb. While it’s true home prices dipped slightly last year, they rebounded and have been climbing in many areas since then. Here’s why that price growth is good news for you.
In the latest Equity...
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By Margaret Heidenry | REALTOR.COM
All that jingling that accompanied the holiday season may have come from not only sleigh bells, but also homebuyers merrily brandishing the keys to their newly purchased house.
Home shoppers across the country enjoyed 33,251 more real estate listings in December compared with this same month last year, according to the latest housing trends report from Realtor.com®. This is the second consecutive monthly bump in homes for sale, following a 17-month dry spell of dwindling inventory.
While overall inventory was up 4.9% annually in December, the even better news is that many were fresh to market.
ll that jingling that accompanied the holiday season may have come from not...
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From our friends in KCM
If buying or selling a home is your goal for 2024, it’s important to understand today’s housing market, know your why, and work with industry experts to bring your homeownership vision for the new year into focus.
Over the last year, the economy had a big impact on the housing market, and likely on your wallet too. That’s why it’s critical to have a clear picture of not just the market today, but also on what you want out of it when you buy or sell a home. Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, explains:
“The key to making a good decision in this challenging housing market is to be laser focused...
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From our friends in KCM
If you were worried buyer demand disappeared when mortgage rates went up, the data shows there are plenty of interested buyers still out there. The housing market isn’t as frenzied as it was during the ‘unicorn’ years when buyer demand was through the roof, mortgage rates were historically low, and home values rose like we’ve never seen before. But that doesn’t mean the market is at a standstill.
Nationally, demand is still high compared to the last normal years in the housing market and plenty of buyers are making moves right now. Here’s the data to prove it.
Showing Traffic Is Up
The ShowingTime Showing Index is a measure of how frequently buyers are touring homes....
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By our friends in KCM
When you read about the housing market, you’ll probably come across some information about inflation or recent decisions made by the Federal Reserve (the Fed). But how do those two things impact you and your homebuying plans? Here’s what you need to know.
The Federal Funds Rate Hikes Have Stalled
One of the Fed’s primary goals is to lower inflation. In order to do that, they started raising the Federal Funds Rate to slow down the economy. Even though this doesn’t directly dictate what happens with mortgage rates, it does have an impact.
Recently inflation has started to cool, a signal those increases worked and are bringing inflation back down. As a...
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By our friends in KCM
If you’re looking to buy a home, your down payment doesn’t have to be a big hurdle. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 38% of first-time homebuyers find saving for a down payment the most challenging step. But the reality is, you probably don’t need to put down as much as you think:
Data from NAR shows the median down payment hasn’t been over 20% since 2005. In fact, the median down payment for all homebuyers today is only 15%. And it’s even lower for first-time homebuyers at 8%. But just because that’s the median, it doesn’t mean you have to put that much down. Some qualified buyers...
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