Frequently Asked Questions

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• Inventory  is still at record lows, with buyer demand at record highs. Anyone who  wants to sell their home will be in a good position to do it quickly and  for a good price.
• Low  mortgage rates (even though there has been an uptick), means this is  the perfect time to move up or downsize your current living situation  for an affordable price.
• In  such a competitive market, the seller has the upper hand. This can be  advantageous when it comes to negotiating terms, repairs, moving dates  and more.

• This question has come up a lot this year, and for good reason.
• Moving  in this market does require a plan.  To sell first and rent or stay  with family till the second house is secured.  Finance the new home then  sell the old, in this market well prepared homes sell quickly and you  can possibly still sell the old home before closing on the new. Last  option, list your home contingent on you finding your new home.
• It’s  important to note that while pre-owned inventory may not be plentiful,  the new construction homes hitting the housing market are a good option  to explore.

• Affordability  is one of the hottest real estate topics of the year, and there’s a lot  of misinformation floating around about what exactly that means for  homeowners.
• It’s easy for a potential buyer to assume that increasing values equates to decreased affordability. But there are actually a lot of different factors that determine that-not just the price.

To  best explain this, it’s good to turn to visuals. This graph is a great  way to show that although home prices are rising, so is affordability.

This is concerning for two big reasons:

-a buyer doesn’t want to purchase a home at the height of the market to then have values drop
-some homeowners may put their selling plans on hold to wait out the market if values drop

However,  homeowners today have equity in their homes:

1) because lenders  tightened lending guidelines since the recession and

2) the limited  inventory has pushed up values due to strong demand for housing.

Struggling homeowners today, may be able to sell instead of going into foreclosure.