Monday, August 28, 2023 / by Richard Eimers
Mortgage rates are sitting at their highest levels in many years. Higher mortgage rates mean higher monthly payments, less affordability for home buyers, and slightly fewer transactions. And with fewer transactions, inventory is building up just a bit as we approach the end of the summer. When will inventory peak for the year?
Every week Altos Research tracks every home for sale in the country. We analyze all the pricing, supply and demand, and all the changes in that data and we make it available to you before you see it in the traditional channels. If you aren’t using Altos market reports with your clients, your buyers and sellers, now might be the time to step up. Go to altosresearch.com and book a free consult with our team. Because everyone is worried about what’s happening right now. They need you to help them see clearly. The data we cover here in these national videos is available for every zip code in the US. Join us to dive in.
I’m Mike Simonsen, I’m ...
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Monday, August 28, 2023 / by Richard Eimers
Room Transformations That Show the Power of Staging
Home staging can make a difference. Here’s the proof.
About 80% of buyer’s agents say staging helps their clients better visualize living in a home. A third say it can even increase the home’s value between 1% and 10% when compared to similar homes that aren’t staged, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2023 Profile of Home Staging.
Regina Leahy, founder of Connecticut-based staging firm Simply Staged(link is external), shows what transformations are possible in key areas of a home, including painted white interiors, decluttering while opening layouts and incorporating a few decorative accessories.
Case in point: The listing price for a recent property Leahy staged went from $699,000 to $772,000 after she worked to completely declutter the home. The staged home received multiple offers on the first weekend it was listed and sold for $805,000.
Check out some of these before ae ...
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Monday, August 28, 2023 / by Richard Eimers
Digital forms of currency can pose significant risks to both buyers and sellers. Know the safeguards to put in place in case cryptocurrency is ever used in one of your transactions.
While it’s still rare that buyers use a form of digital currency to purchase real estate, it’s happening in some areas of the country and could become more widespread in the future. Cryptocurrency is a digital payment that uses encryption to secure and verify transactions, allowing purchasers to bypass a bank. Transactions are stored in a digital ledger called a blockchain.
“Despite recent volatility in the value of cryptocurrencies, the public failure of many crypto firms, and the decade-old predictions of imminent collapse, cryptocurrencies appear to be here to stay,” Matt Troiani, senior counsel and director of legal affairs at the National Association of REALTORS®, says in the latest “Window to the Law” video. More than 420 million people worldwide own crypt ...
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Friday, August 25, 2023 / by Richard Eimers
In a seasonally adjusted month-to-month comparison, July sales were 4.4% higher than June sales. Year-to-year sales were up 31.5%.
WASHINGTON – New-home sales hit a 17-month high in July as construction continues to hold an outsized percentage of the home-sale market. The industry has been slowly ramping up even as the existing-home market pulls back because homeowners with ultra-low mortgage rates are opting to stay in place rather than move.
In a seasonally adjusted month-to-month comparison, July sales were 4.4% higher than June sales. Year-to-year sales were up 31.5%, according to a joint report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau.
A new home’s median price was $436,700 in July, according to the report, down 8.6% from $478,200 one year earlier as more builders focus on a lower end of the new-home market.
“With the median price of a new home running close to that of an existing home, many homebuyers are opting for ...
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