The Role Access Plays in Getting Your House Sold

So, you’ve decided to sell your house. You’ve hired a real estate professional to help you with the entire process and you’ve been asked what level of access you want to provide to potential buyers.

There are four elements to a quality listing. At the top of the list is Access, followed by Condition, Financing, and Price. There are many levels of access you can provide to your agent to be able to show your home.

Here are five levels of access you can provide to a buyer, each with a brief description:

• Lockbox on the Door – This allows buyers the ability to see the home as soon as they are aware of the listing, or at their convenience.

• Providing a Key to the Home – Although the buyer’s agent may need to stop by an office…

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Millionaire to Millennials: The Costly Mistake of Not Buying Now

On his personal website, self-made millionaire David Bach makes a striking statement:

 “Not prioritizing homeownership is the single biggest mistake millennials are making.” 

He further stated, “Buying a home is an escalator to wealth.”

Bach explains:

“Young adults in particular aren’t hopping on this escalator, and it’s a costly mistake…If millennials don’t buy a home, their chances of actually having any wealth in this country are little to none.”

He then elaborates on the game of homeownership:

“Start by crunching the numbers…actually do the math...This way, you’re really clear on your goals and you won’t just say to yourself, ‘I’ll never afford this!'

A good rule of thumb is to make sure your total monthly housing…

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How Much Do You Know About Down Payments?

Whether you’ve owned a home before, or you’re ready to jump into homeownership for the first time, there are always a lot of questions swirling around about what is truly required for a down payment, and how to best source down payment assistance. Let’s tackle these two today.

1. How much do you really need for a down payment?

There is a long-standing misconception about down payment requirements. A survey from Fannie Mae shows only 17% of consumers know the minimum options are actually between 1 - 5% of the purchase price and 40% don’t know how much they need at all.

There are many mortgage loans available that require as little as 3% down for first-time buyers, and some ask for only 3.5% down from repeat buyers. There are even…

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Appreciation Is Strong: It Might Be Time to Sell

There’s no doubt that today’s housing market is changing, and everything we see right now indicates it is time to sell. Here’s a look at why selling now is likely to drive the greatest return on your largest investment.

Home values have been appreciating for several years now, growing at a strong, steady, and impressive pace. In fact, the average annual appreciation rate since 2012 has nearly doubled the average rate from the more normal market of the 1990s (think: pre-bubble).

Appreciation, however, is projected to shift back toward normal, meaning home prices will likely keep climbing over the next few years, but they are not projected to continue to increase at such a high rate.

Here’s What That Means for Homeowners:

As…

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#99 Monday Morning Mortgage Tip: Barb Adelaine with BankStar

Every Monday Morning at 8:15am, join me on my Facebook page as I sit down with a local lender, and do a live interview and talk about a Mortgage Tip that may help YOU with your next Real Estate Purchase. 

This morning I sat down with Barb Adelaine from BankStar. Today, she explained why speaking with a local lender can help secure lower mortgage rates.  You can reach Barb at 605.696.8562 or barb.adelaine@bankstar.com.  Her office is located at 1301 6th St., Brookings SD 57006 or on the web at www.ebankstar.com 

 The Benefits of Speaking to a Local Lender

- Good morning everybody. Shane here from the Brookings home team powered by Century 21. It's Monday morning again, 8:15. It's a dreary, rainy Monday. Unfortunately the weekend…

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2nd Annual Lynn Mennis Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser

Tossing Beanbags at the Lynn Mennis Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser

 Last month, I was honored to take part in the second annual Lynn Mennis Memorial Scholarship Beanbag Fundraiser. This year it was held on August 24 at The Wild Hare in Brookings and I can’t say enough about how great this event really is.

 Nearly two years ago, Lynn suddenly and unexpectedly passed. Everyone loved him and he was a big part of communities throughout the state of South Dakota as the President of the state’s Home Builder’s Association at the time.

 Since then, this tournament has been established to support high school and college students in Brookings and the surrounding area who are going into building trades and planning to work in South…

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Open House-Saturday, September 7th

406 Wren Cir, Brookings, SD

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$ Click for current price
4 BEDROOMS | 2 Baths (2 full ) BATHROOMS | 2048 SqFt

A GREAT LOCATION! This 2007 Split Level home with a Walk Out sits in a cul-de-sac neighborhood. In 2016 it took on a makeover to include exterior paint, a 4 season room adding approx 180 sq. ft., and a Gas Fireplace. Underneath the 4 Season Room, enjoy the tiled floor patio with a fan and beautiful landscaping, Inside the home you have an open Dining Area/Living Room with vaulted ceilings. 6 Panel, Solid Core doors for each room and the Lower Level bathroom…

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Why All the Chicken Littles Should Calm Down

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released their 2019 Q2 Homeownership Report. Some began to see the sky falling, believing the report showed Americans may be stepping back from their belief in homeownership.

The national homeownership rate (Americans who owned vs. rented their primary residence) increased significantly during the housing boom, reaching its peak of 69.2% in 2004. The Census Bureau reported that the second quarter of 2019 ended with a homeownership rate of 64.1%, which is down from the 64.8% rate for the fourth quarter of 2018. Based on this news, some started to question the consumer’s belief in the idea of homeownership as a major part of the American Dream.

Everyone Calm Down…

It is true the homeownership rate did…

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3 Expert Insights On Inventory In The Current Market

The current housing landscape presents greater home values, low interest rates, and high buyer demand. All of these factors point to the strong market forecasted to continue throughout the rest of the year.

There is, however, one thing that may cause the industry to tap the brakes: an overall lack of housing inventory. Buyer demand naturally increases during the summer months, but the current supply is not keeping up.

Here is a look at what a few industry experts have to say:

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at National Association of Realtors

“Imbalance persists for mid-to-lower priced homes with solid demand and insufficient supply, which is consequently pushing up home prices.”

Mark Fleming, Chief Economist of First American

…

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How to Increase Your Equity Over the Next 5 Years

Many of the questions currently surrounding the real estate industry focus on home prices and where they are heading. The most recent Home Price Expectation Survey (HPES) helps target these projected answers.

Here are the results from the Q2 2019 Survey:

• Home values will appreciate by 4.1% in 2019

• The average annual appreciation will be 3.2% over the next 5 years

• The cumulative appreciation will be 16.8% by 2023

• Even experts representing the most “bearish” quartile of the survey project a cumulative appreciation of over 6.7% by 2023

What does this mean for you?

A substantial portion of family wealth comes from home equity. As the value of a family’s home (an asset) increases, so does their…

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