Market Update

Some Highlights:

• Historically, the choice between renting or buying a home has been a close decision.
• Looking at the percentage of income needed to rent a median-priced home today (30%), vs. the percentage needed to buy a median-priced home (15%), the choice becomes obvious.
• Every market is different. Before you renew your lease again, find out if you could use your housing costs to own a home of your own!

Highlights:

• 5.45 million existing homes were sold in 2016! This is the highest mark set since 2006.
• Inventory of existing homes for sale dropped to a 3.6-month supply, the lowest level since NAR began tracking in 1999.
• The median price of homes sold in December was $232,200. This is the 58thconsecutive month of year-over-year price gains.

It is common knowledge that a large number of homes sell during the spring-buying season. For that reason, many homeowners hold off on putting their homes on the market until then. The question is whether or not that will be a good strategy this year.

The other listings that do come out in the spring will represent increased competition to any seller. Do a greater number of homes actually come to the market in the spring, as compared to the rest of the year? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently revealed the months in which most people listed their homes for sale in 2016. Here is a graphic showing the results:

The three months in the second quarter of the year (represented in red) are consistently the most popular months for

According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2017 Rental Affordability Report, buying a home is more affordable than renting in 354 of the 540 U.S. counties they analyzed.

The report found that “making monthly house payments on a median-priced home — including mortgage, property taxes and insurance — is more affordable than the fair market rent on a three-bedroom property in 354 of the 540 counties analyzed in the report (66 percent).”

For the report, ATTOM Data Solutions compared recently released fair market rent data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development with reported income amounts from the Department of Labor and Statistics to determine the percentage of income that a family would have to spend on their monthly housing cost (rent or

Many people wonder whether they should hire a real estate professional to assist them in buying their dream home or if they should first try to do it on their own. In today’s market: you need an experienced professional!

You Need an Expert Guide if You Are Traveling a Dangerous Path

The field of real estate is loaded with land mines; you need a true expert to guide you through the dangerous pitfalls that currently exist. Finding a home that is priced appropriately and is ready for you to move into can be tricky. An agent listens to your wants and needs, and can sift through the homes that do not fit within the parameters of your “dream home.”

A great agent will also have relationships with mortgage professionals and other experts that you

Some Highlights:

• Realtor.com recently shared “5 Habits to Start Now If You Hope to Buy a Home in 2017.”
• Setting up an automatic savings plan that saves a small amount of every check is one of the best ways to save without thinking a lot about it.
• Living within a budget now will help you save money for down payments and pay down other debts that might be holding you back.

Some Highlights:

• For the 4th year in a row, the Northeast saw a concentration of High Outbound activity.
• Oregon held on to the top stop of High Inbound states for the 3rd year in a row.
• Much of this Outbound activity can be attributed to Boomers relocating to warmer climates after retiring.

Some Highlights:

• The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released their latest Existing Home Sales Report.
• First-time homebuyers made up 33% of all sales in October.
• Homes are selling quickly with 43% of homes on the market for less than a month.
• A limited supply continues to drive up prices for the 56th consecutive month.

If you are planning on listing your home for sale, make sure that you don’t overlook the condition of your kitchen. A recent article on realtor.com listed “7 Signs Your Kitchen Is Way Overdue for a Renovation,” in which they warned:

“Dated kitchens—just like bathrooms—are a major barrier for resale. Buyers want modern amenities and styling, and most aren’t interested in renovating post-purchase.”

Kitchen remodels can be pricey, with many complete remodels costing $20,000 or more. But not every kitchen needs a full remodel. There are many smaller projects that will help buyers see themselves trying their favorite Pinterest recipe in your home!

Here are a couple of project ideas that, if you’re handy or know someone who is, could end up

Recently there has been a lot of talk about home prices and if they are accelerating too quickly. In some areas of the country, seller supply (homes for sale) cannot keep up with the number of buyers out looking for a home, which has caused prices to rise.

The great news about rising prices, however, is that according to CoreLogic’s latest US Economic Outlook, the average American household gained over $11,000 in equity over the course of the last year, largely due to home value increases.

The map below was created from CoreLogic’s report and shows the average equity gain per mortgaged home from June 2015 to June 2016 (the latest data available).

For those that are worried that we are doomed to repeat 2006 all over again, it is important