Stronger economy and soild job growth expected to boost home sales in 2015:
Housing Expectations for 2015
Category Archives: Home Buying
Reasons to Buy Before Spring
•Prices will continue to rise
•Mortgage rates are projected to increase
•You are paying a mortgage either way
•It’s time to move on with your life
Why Do Americans Buy a Home?
• Having a good place to raise children and provide them a good education.
• Having a physical structure where you and your family can feel safe.
• It allows you to have more space for your family.
• It give you more control over what you do with your living space.
• Owning a home is a good way to build wealth that can be passed along to your family.
Source: Keeping Current Matters
Regrets of the First-time Home Buyer
- 62% outgrew their homes quickly and wished they had purchased a larger home
- 40% feel they paid too much or should of put more down
- 38% were surprised by how much it costs to maintain a home
- 34% wished they had negotiated more or found a better mortgage rate
- 25% found out after moving in that they didn’t like the neighborhood
- 24% have regrets related to their yard
- 17% dislike their parking situation
Source: HouseHunt.com
10 Questions Home Buyers Need to Answer
You can make the home buying process go much smoother for yourself and your agent if you can answer these 10 questions in the beginning:
- Why buy and why buy now
- Are you working with a lender
- How many houses have you looked at already
- How do you prefer to be contacted
- What if we found the perfect house tomorrow
- What are your three favorite neighborhoods
- What is your favorite room in the house
- How important is outdoor/garage space
- How long do you think that you’ll live in the house that you buy
- What is a deal breaker for you
Consider a LeadingRE Firm for Your Real Estate Needs
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® is a network of over 500 of the very best real estate firms that are located in nearly 50 countries. These firms have 3,500 offices with 120,000 sales associates. In 2013 these firms had sales of $314 billion dollars representing over one million transactions, which placed Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® #1 in sales volume in the United States.
Sales volume numbers for 2013 were as follows:
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® – $314 billion
Coldwell Banker – $267 billion
Re/Max – $221 billion
Keller Williams – $131 billion
Century 21 – $122 billion
Prudential – $114 billion
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services – $80 billion
Real Living – $44 billion
Sotheby’s International Realty – $28 billion
ERA – $22 billion
Realty Executives – $19 billion
Better Homes & Gardens – $12 billion
Firms affiliated with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® can offer sellers global exposure of their home in addition to strong marketing expertise at the local level. Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® has the resources to market your property to the highest possible number of potential buyers. With 120,000 talented associates around the world, they expose your property to buyers on six continents ensuring more eyes are on your property. In addition they receive inbound clients from other affiliates around the globe who are interested in purchasing a home.
If you are looking for the best real estate firm to sell your home, then you need to consider a firm that’s affiliated with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®.
Source: Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
How Do Home Buyers & Sellers View Technology?
A recent independent poll commissioned by Discover Home Loans provides insight into how consumers use technology in the real estate buying and selling process, and how they view it as a resource. A few key findings point out how much consumers use technology for real estate activities:
93% – technology allowed them to do things remotely
92% – technology helped them save time
90% – reported an overall positive experience when using technology
89% – used some form of technology to help them with the home buying process
83% – technology helped them to stay organized
47% – technology helped them to save money
Where The Buyers Are
53% – Suburb / Subdivison
18% – Small Town
16% – Urban / Central City
11% – Rural Area
3% – Resort / Recreational Area
Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 2014 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends
Factors Influencing Urban Buyers’ Neighborhood Choice
64% – Quality of neighborhood
58% – Convenient to job
42% – Overall affordability of homes
36% – Convenient to friends or family
32% – Convenient to entertainment / leisure activities
29% – Convenient to shopping
27% – Convenient to parks / recreational facilities
26% – Design of neighborhood
20% – Convenient to schools
19% – Quality of school district
12% – Convenient to health facilities
8% – Availability of larger lots or acreage
7% – Convenient to airport
5% – Other
4% – Home in a planned community
Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Tips For a Smooth Loan Approval
•Don’t apply for new credit
•Don’t co-sign on a loan
•Don’t dispute anything on your credit report
•Don’t change bank accounts
•Don’t close any credit card accounts
•Don’t finance any elective medical procedure
•Don’t make a major purchase (car, boat, jewelry, etc.)
•Don’t max out or over charge your credit card accounts
•Don’t open a new credit card account
•Don’t take out a new loan
•Don’t transfer balances from one account to another
If you encounter a special situation, it is best to discuss it with your lender.
Source: Mortgage Options Lending