The Role Access Plays in Getting Your House SOLD!

 So you've decided to sell your house. You've hired a real estate professional to help you with the entire process and they have asked you what level of access you want to provide to potential buyers. There are four elements to a quality listing. At the top of the list is Access, followed by Condition, Financing and Price. There are many levels of access that you could provide to your agent to be able to show your home.

Here are five levels of access that you could give a buyer with a brief description:

1. Lockbox On the Door - this allows buyers the ability to see the home as soon as they are aware of the listing, or at their convenience.
2. Providing a Key to the Home - although the buyer's agent may need to stop by an office to pick up the key, there is little delay in being able to show the home.
3. Open Access with a Phone Call - the seller allows showing with just a phone call's notice.
4. By Appointment Only (example: 48 Hour Notice) - Many out-of-town/state buyers and relocation buyers visit an area they would like to move to and only have the weekend to view homes. They may not be able to plan that far in advance, or may be unable to wait the 48 hours to be shown the house.
5. Limited Access (example: the home is only available on Mondays or Tuesdays at 2pm or for only a couple of hours a day) - This is the most difficult way to be able to show your house to potential buyers.

In a competitive marketplace, access can make or break your ability to get the price you are looking for, or even sell your house at all.

BUY OR STAY?

Home Sales Expected to Increase Nicely in 2017

The National Association of Realtors, The Mortgage Bankers' Association, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are all projecting that home sales will increase in 2017. Here is a chart showing what each entity is projecting in sales for this year and the next.  As we can see, each is projecting sizable increases in home sales next year. If you have considered selling your house recently, now may be the time to put it on the market.

The Effect of Student Loan Debt

The Effect of Student Loan Debt on Homeownership Writers and politicians are very concerned about increasing costs of college and student loans on the average young person. The amount of outstanding student debt in the US is now $1.25 trillion, and debt is a prerequisite in getting a degree and joining the labor force. This has coincided with a decline in homeownership in the US to a period we haven’t seen in the 60s, with similar low rates for young buyers. As home prices are higher in California, expenses that hurt young people's ability to save translate into more drastic effects on Millennial homeownership in California. A recent C.A.R. poll showed that almost 60% of California Millennials said that they were very concerned about their overall debt; further student loans were rated as the most worrisome type of debt. In the U.S. as a whole, student loans have replaced credit cards as the second most amount of debt held (behind mortgage debt). Do higher levels of loan debts affect homeownership? As it turns out, having a college degree is a much bigger determinant of homeownership than the amount or existence of student debt and that the weak labor market since the Great Recession has affected homeownership more than debt. Between the recession and now, the rate of homeownership dropped from 35% to 26% for degree holding millennials, and from 23% to 17% for non-degree holding millennials. There is ample evidence that student loans hinder the ability to accumulate wealth and thus delays homeownership. But over the long term this evens out. People who have successfully completed
college degrees have higher earnings over their lifetimes than those without. While non-degree seekers own more homes than degree seekers in their early 20s, by the time they turn 27, that reverses. By the age of 30, people who graduated with student debt have the same homeownership rates as people who graduated debt free. The amount student loan debt is much less than what is often written about in the media. The typical borrower has an average debt of $25k, with a median of $13k. Thirteen percent of borrowers have more than $50k of debt, and 3% of borrowers have more than $100k (a majority of these borrowers have also gone to graduate school). C.A.R. asked millennials who have purchased whether they thought that student loans were delaying their homeownership. Of millennials who were most worried about debt, 76% claimed that it kept them from homeownership; but only 25% of all millennials said that it was. When Millennial home purchasers were asked same question, 27% said that debt delayed purchasing. Homeownership and student loans are linked, but not in as drastic a way that many writers worry about.

Market Update for September

MARKET UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER

As anticipated at the outset of the year, demand has remained high through the first three quarters of 2016, propping up sales and prices despite heavy reductions in inventory and months of supply across the country. With rental prices and employment opportunities in a consistent climb, year-over-year increases in home buying are probable for the rest of the year but not guaranteed.

New Listings were down 3.6 percent for Single Family homes but increased 3.5 percent for Townhouse-Condo properties. Pending Sales decreased 40.1 percent for Single Family homes and 43.8 percent for Townhouse-Condo properties. 

The Median Sales Price was up 5.3 percent to $632,000 for Single Family homes and 2.9 percent to $410,000 for Townhouse-Condo properties. Months Supply of Inventory increased 2.9 percent for Single Family units and 3.6 percent for Townhouse-Condo units. 

In general, today's demand is driven by three factors: Millennials are reaching prime home-buying age, growing families are looking for larger homes and empty nesters are downsizing. However, intriguingly low interest rates often prompt refinancing instead of listing, contributing to lower inventory. Recent studies have also shown that short-term rentals are keeping a collection of homes off the market.

Have you put aside enough money for closing costs?

Have You Put Aside Enough for Closing Costs?

There are many potential homebuyers, and even sellers, who believe that you need at least a 20% down payment in order to buy a home, or move on to their next home. Time after time, we have dispelled this myth by showing that there are many loan programs that allow you to put down as little as 3% (or 0% with a VA loan). If you have saved up your down payment and are ready to start your home search, one other piece of the puzzle is to make sure that you have saved enough for your closing costs. Freddie Mac defines closing costs as: "Closing costs, also called settlement fees, will need to be paid when you obtain a mortgage. These are fees charged by people representing your purchase, including your lender, real estate agent, and other third parties involved in the transaction. Closing costs are typically between 2 and 5% of your purchase price." We've recently heard from many first-time homebuyers that they wished that someone had let them know that closing costs could be so high. If you think about it, with a low down payment program, your closing costs could equal the amount that you saved for your down payment. Here is a list of just some of the fees/costs that may be included in your closing costs, depending on where the home you wish to purchase is located: Government recording costs Appraisal fees Credit report fees Lender origination fees Title services (insurance, search fees) Tax service fees Survey fees Attorney fees Underwriting fees Is there any way to avoid paying closing costs? Work with your lender and real estate agent to see if there are any ways to decrease or defer your closing costs. There are no-closing mortgages available, but they end up costing you more in the end with a higher interest rate, or by wrapping the closing costs into the total cost of the mortgage (meaning you'll end up paying interest on your closing costs). Home buyers can also negotiate with the seller over who pays these fees. Sometimes the seller will agree to assume the buyer's closing fees in order to get the deal finalized. Bottom Line Speak with your lender and agent early and often to determine how much you'll be responsible for at closing. Finding out you'll need to come up with thousands of dollars right before closing is not a surprise anyone is ever looking forward to.

Mortgage Rates by Decade

Mortgage Rates by Decade Compared to Today [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some Highlights: The interest rate you secure for your mortgage greatly influences your monthly housing costs. In the 1980s, 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged in the high 12s making the monthly principal and interest payment over $2,000. Interest rates are still at historic lows; this is a great time lock in your housing cost and protect yourself from increasing rents, or refinance your current mortgage