Real Estate Blog - Realtor

Should I Sell My House This Year?

If one of the questions you’re asking yourself today is, “Should I sell my house this year?” the current Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) Survey from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) should boost your confidence as it relates to the current selling sentiment in the housing market. Even with all the information overload in the media circling around talk of a possible recession, the upcoming 2020 election, and more, Americans feel good about selling a house now. That’s some news to get excited about!

As the graph below shows, as of Q4 2019, 75% of people surveyed indicate they believe now is a good time to sell a home:

In the case of those with a yearly salary of $100,000 or more, the results jumped even…

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First-Time Buyers Are Searching for Existing Homes This Year

In the latest Housing Trends Report, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) measured the share of adults planning to buy a home over the next 12 months. The report indicates the percentage of all buyers that will be first-time buyers looking to purchase a home grew from 58% in Q4 2018 to 63% in Q4 2019.

The results revealed,

“Millennials are the most likely generation to be making plans to purchase a home within a year (19%), followed by Gen Z (13%) and Gen X (12%)…Prospective buyers in the youngest two generations are primarily first-time buyers:  88% of Gen Z buyers and 78% of Millennial buyers are reaching out to homeownership for the first time in their lives.”

With a high demand from first-time homebuyers and a…

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How Buyers Can Win By Downsizing in 2020

Home values have been increasing for 93 consecutive months, according to the National Association of Realtors. If you’re a homeowner, particularly one looking to downsize your living space, that’s great news, as you’ve likely built significant equity in your home.

Here’s some more good news: mortgage rates are expected to remain low throughout 2020 at an average of 3.8% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan.

The combination of leveraging your growing equity and capitalizing on low rates could make a big difference in your housing plans this year.

How to Use Your Home Equity

For move-up buyers, the typical pattern for building financial stability and wealth through homeownership works this way: you buy a house and gain equity over several…

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Episode #114-Monday Morning Mortgage Tip with Stephanie Murray at Dacotah Bank

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 Stephanie Murray from Dacotah Bank. Listen as Stephanie talks about home equity and how that may work for you. You can reach her at 605.692.8600 or stephanie.murray@dacotahbank.com  Her office is located at 1441 6th St., Brookings SD 57006 or on the web at https://www.dacotahbank.com/brookings

Hey, good morning everybody, how ya doing? Shane here from the Brookings Home Team, powered by Century 21. I'd mentioned to Stephanie here as I came in, got the Superbowl hangover. Hopefully you guys are up and awake…

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Make the Dream of Homeownership a Reality in 2020

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. led and inspired a powerful movement with his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Through his passion and determination, he sparked interest, ambition, and courage in his audience. Today, reflecting on his message encourages many of us to think about our own dreams, goals, beliefs, and aspirations. For many Americans, one of those common goals is owning a home: a piece of land, a roof over our heads, and a place where our families can grow and flourish.

If you’re dreaming of buying a home this year, the best way to start the process is to connect with a Real Estate professional to understand what goes into buying a home. Once you have that covered, then you can answer the questions below to make the best…

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The 2 Surprising Things Homebuyers Really Want

In a market where current inventory is low, it’s normal to think buyers might be willing to give up a few desirable features in their home search in order to make finding a house a little easier. Don’t be fooled, though – there’s still an interest in the market for some key upgrades. Here’s a look at the two surprising things buyers seem to be searching for in today’s market, and how they’re impacting new home builds.

Homebuyers Are Not Giving Up Their Garages

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently released an article showing the percentage of new single-family homes completed in 2018. The data reveals,

• 64% of new homes offer a 2-car garage

• 21% have a garage large enough to hold 3 or more cars

• …

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Enjoying the Indoors at Cubby's Futsal Tournament

Every year, I love volunteering at the Cubby’s Indoor Futsal Tournament! I’m a big soccer fan and it can get cold in the Midwest during the winter months (duh, right?), so when I can’t be outside enjoying the sport, this tournament gives me the chance to stay warm and STILL enjoy this sport.

 As a quick recap, this tournament brings in teams from all over, as far away as Spearfish, Sioux City, Brandon, Yankton and Vermillion, to name a few. This year there were nearly 100 teams and 19 divisions for boys and girls ranging in age from 10 to 19 years old.

Games kicked off at 5pm on Friday night and roughly 200 games were played throughout the weekend on five courts at four different locations around Brookings. Camelot Intermediate School,…

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Housing Inventory Vanishing: What is the Impact on You?

The real estate market is expected to do very well this year as mortgage rates remain at historic lows. One challenge to the housing industry is the lack of homes available for sale. Last week, move.comreleased a report showing that 2020 is beginning with the lowest available housing inventory in two years. The report explains:

“Last month saw the largest year-over-year decline of housing inventory in almost three years with a dramatic 12 percent decline, pushing the number of homes for sale in the U.S. to the lowest level since January 2018.”

The report also revealed that the decline in inventory stretches across all price points, as shown in the following graph:

George Ratiu, Senior Economist at realtor.com, explains how this…

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Homes Are More Affordable Today, Not Less Affordable

There’s a current narrative that owning a home today is less affordable than it has been in the past. The reason some are making this claim is because house prices have substantially increased over the last several years.

It’s not, however, just the price of a home that matters.

Homes, in most cases, are purchased with a mortgage. The current mortgage rate is a major component of the affordability equation. Mortgage rates have fallen by over a full percentage point since December 2018. Another major piece of the affordability equation is a buyer’s income. The median family income has risen by approximately 3% over the last year.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) releases a monthly Housing Affordability Index. The latest…

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2020 Luxury Market Forecast

By the end of last year, many homeowners found themselves with more equity than they realized, and at the same time their wages were increasing. When those two factors unite, it can spark homeowners to think about making a move to a larger or more expensive home in the luxury space. That said, now is a perfect opportunity to take a look at the forecast for the 2020 luxury market.

Three Things to Think About in the 2020 Luxury Housing Market

1. Prices

The U.S. economy is strong today, with buying opportunities throughout the luxury end of the market. Thomas Veraguth, Strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management, says in Barrons.com,

“There’s a good link between luxury real estate prices and [economic] growth.”

…

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