Q: What Do You Need to Know to Take Advantage of Our Market?

Here’s what you need to know to take advantage of our market. 

If you’re looking to take advantage of our Eugene real estate market, there are two important changes that have occurred over the past few months (primarily due to the pandemic) that you need to be aware of.

First, interest rates have dropped. Last year, we thought they would go up during 2020, but the bottom line is that they haven’t. Last year they averaged roughly 4.2%, but this year the average has fallen to 3.2%. They may creep back up in the future, but at the moment they’re historically low.

If you’re a buyer, this means you must do your part to lock in a low rate. Just because you get approved for a loan doesn’t mean you’ll get the best rate. You need two factors working in your favor to get a low rate: your debt ratio and credit score. You need to improve your debt ratio and lower your debt.

Second, the peak listing season has been delayed to June through August, so don’t panic—there is plenty of time to get into the market. I will say this, though: It’s not about timing the market; it’s about how much time you are on the market. Year over year, the median home price has risen from $285,000 to $320,000. This is a pretty steady increase, and I’ll assume it will continue to rise.

This means the best time to buy a house is whenever you can. The housing market will always increase over time, and right now it’s fair to think that it will increase at a yearly rate of about 5%.

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The best time to buy a house is whenever you can.

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In other words, if you bought a $300,000 house right now with a monthly mortgage of $1,800, you’d gain $83,000 worth of equity in five years. Keep in mind, that’s just the appreciation. That doesn’t even coin the five years of payment toward your principal. That also doesn’t count all the tax benefits you receive just by owning a home. Think about that: You can increase your equity by $83,000 just by living in a house. On the other hand, if you rented for five years for $1,800 a month, you’d pay the property owner $108,000 during that time.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a proponent of homeownership, and that’s just one example of why you should get into a home as quickly as you can.

If you’d like to start your home buying journey or have any real estate needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here to help.

Q: Why Is Our Market Like a Coiled Spring?

Our market has a lot of pent-up demand that will soon be released.

Right now, our real estate market is like a coiled spring. We know that it’s getting ready to explode soon. For the last few months, inventory has risen slightly, but things are changing now. Our average price is still up year over year, and this summer will be like a regular spring market. Buyer demand is increasing, and more and more sellers are getting their homes on the market. To learn more, watch this short video.

Q: How Do You Buy & Sell During COVID-19?

Buying and selling homes during COVID-19 isn’t as hard as you’d think.

How in the world can you buy or sell a house during the COVID-19 pandemic? It’s actually not as hard as it might seem.

If the property is vacant you can often view it in person with your Realtor as you would normally. However, if the home isn’t vacant, things will go a bit differently.

For an occupied home, your Realtor will need to bring preventative measures like masks and gloves to protect you, the homeowners, and themselves. Have the Realtor be the one to open cupboards, drawers, and doors with a gloved hand.

Many Realtors have also implemented sign-in sheets; these can help with contact tracing—if someone involved with the transaction does come down with COVID-19, we’ll be able to contact others who might’ve been exposed.

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  It’s just safer to make sure that you, your Realtor, and the homeowner are being protected.

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One other, easy safety measure is to have only your Realtor go into the homes that you wish to view and have them do a virtual tour via FaceTime, Google Meet, or a similar app. Once you’ve selected a home to put an offer on, then you and your Realtor can go in for an in-person walk-through.

Since Oregon isn’t a hotbed of viral spread we’ll probably begin to relax our quarantine measures in the near future. For now, it’s just safer to make sure that you, your Realtor, and the homeowner are being protected.

If you have any questions about buying or selling amid the pandemic or concerning real estate in general, please reach out via phone or email. I would love to help you.