Should You Buy a Home Now?

Home prices are incredibly high right now, so why is it a good time to buy a home? I’ll explain today.

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Since home prices are so high, is now really a good time to buy a home?

While price is certainly an important factor to consider, you should also pay attention to the long-term cost of your home’s mortgage.

Right now, it’s especially important to consider how much the home will appreciate in the next several years and how much it will cost to borrow the funds to purchase the home. In other words, you need to pay attention to interest rates. 

Pay attention to interest rates and appreciation.

The Fed has signaled a faster pace for raising interest rates in 2017. By the end of the year, rates could go up as much as 0.75%. We also don’t expect home prices to go down anytime soon. As a buyer, the longer you wait, the higher the price of that home will be. Rising interest rates can also have a huge impact on the cost of the home.

In order to make up for a 1% increase in rates, the cost of the home would have to go down by 10% if you want to keep mortgage payments the same. As you can see, interest rates have a huge effect on home purchasing power.

Such a sharp decrease in home prices does not seem likely given the current demand in Lane County. Our market is No. 1 or 2 in the nation in terms of appreciation.

Ultimately, if you plan on buying a house in 2017, I encourage you to do so sooner rather than later. If you have any questions about buying in our current market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Is Now the Right Time to Sell Your Home?

Is now the right time to sell your home? I would say yes, and there are a few reasons why.

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Is now the right time to sell your home?

As you know, inventory in our market has been very low the past few months. In December, we only had 1.7 months of inventory. Now we’re up to 2.1 months of inventory, but that is still extremely low. If no new listings came onto the market, there would be no homes left for buyers to purchase in two months.

If you want to sell your home, now is a good time to be on the market. It is a seller’s market and there is a lot of demand from buyers who want to make their move before interest rates go up again.

Now is a great time to sell your home.

I also want to mention that if you have a mortgage on your home, as most of us do, you should consider making one extra payment a year. Doing so will take seven years off of a 30-year mortgage and three years off a 20-year mortgage.

Finally, I also want to offer you a free copy of my book, “Moving Forward: 25 Essential Rules for Buying and Selling Real Estate Without Going Crazy.” Go to  www.movingforwardfreegift.com or send me an email to get your free copy.

As always, if you have any real estate questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Will Prices Stabilize in 2017?

We have one of the lowest inventory levels in the country. What does this mean for buyers and sellers?

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

A very recent report came out stating that Portland was No. 8 on the list of the worst sufferers of the housing crunch nationwide. Seattle was ranked No. 1. Guess who was No. 2? Eugene, Oregon. It may be hard to believe, but it’s true. Here in Lane County, we’re down to just 1.7 months of inventory.

This means if no new listings came on the market, we would be out of homes to sell in under two months. This has stressed the rental market as well.

As a result, prices in Lane County have risen about 8.3% in the last year. This is good news if you’re a seller, but not so much if you’re a buyer. The question is, will it continue? The real estate gurus say it will, at least for the next year.

If you’re on the fence, it’s time to get off.

Interest rates are also expected to climb up to 5% by the end of the year. This will increase the cost to buyers and cause fewer of them to be out in the market. We have been spoiled for the last decade with these incredibly low rates. Even if we do get up to 5%, that’s still a historically low number.

What does this all mean for you? If you’re on the fence about buying or selling, it would benefit you to act sooner rather than later.

If you have any questions for us or are interested in buying or selling, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to send you a copy of my book “Moving Forward” which contains the 25 essential rules for buying and selling. I look forward to hearing from you.