Archives for June 2019

4 Tips for Making a Competitive Offer in Today’s Market

So, you’ve been searching for that perfect house to call ‘home,’ and you’ve finally found it! The price is right, and in such a competitive market, you want to make sure you make a good offer so that you can guarantee that your dream of making this house yours comes true!

Below are 4 steps provided by Freddie Mac to help buyers make offers, along with some additional information for your consideration:

1. Determine Your Price

“You’ve found the perfect home and you’re ready to buy. Now what? Your real estate agent will be by your side, helping you determine an offer price that is fair.”

Based on your agent’s experience and key considerations (like similar homes recently sold in the same neighborhood or the condition of the house and what you can afford), your agent will help you to determine the offer that you are going to present.

Getting pre-approved will not only show home-sellers that you are serious about buying, but it will also allow you to make your offer with confidence because you’ll know that you have already been approved for a mortgage in that amount.

2. Submit an Offer

“Once you’ve determined your price, your agent will draw up an offer, or purchase agreement, to submit to the seller’s real estate agent. This offer will include the purchase price and terms and conditions of the purchase.”

Talk with your agent to find out if there are any ways in which you can make your offer stand out in this competitive market! A licensed real estate agent who is active in the neighborhoods you are considering will be instrumental in helping you put in a solid offer.

3. Negotiate the Offer

“Oftentimes, the seller will counter the offer, typically asking for a higher purchase price or to adjust the closing date. In these cases, the seller’s agent will submit a counteroffer to your agent, detailing their desired changes, at this time, you can either accept the offer or decide if you want to counter.

Each time changes are made through a counteroffer, you or the seller have the option to accept, reject or counter it again. The contract is considered final when both parties sign the written offer.”

If your offer is approved, Freddie Mac urges you to “always get an independent home inspection, so you know the true condition of the home.” If the inspector uncovers undisclosed problems or issues, you can discuss any repairs like drain cleaning service, electrical maintenance, ac repair, etc. that may need to be made with the seller or even cancel the contract altogether. For air conditioning repair and maintenance, one may consider getting help from a professional a/c service like Affordable Air Solutions or other services that do ac repair in Tampa, FL or ac repair in Lancaster, TX.

4. Act Fast

The inventory of homes listed for sale has remained well below the 6-month supply that is needed for a ‘normal’ market. Buyer demand has continued to outpace the supply of homes for sale, causing buyers to compete with each other for their dream homes.

Make sure that as soon as you decide that you want to make an offer, you work with your agent to present it as quickly as possible.

Bottom Line

Whether buying your first home or your fifth, having a local real estate professional who is an expert in his or her market on your side is your best bet in making sure the process goes smoothly. Let’s talk about how we can make your dream of homeownership a reality!

Real Estate Marketing Statistics June 2019

Monthly Sales Up 7.1% in Greater Phoenix

Higher Incomes in Greater Phoenix Fueling More Contracts and Rising Prices

For Buyers:
Re-sale prices are not predicted to come down this year. Between August 2018 and January 2019 it looked like the market was going to balance out and cause prices to stabilize around the 2nd half of 2019. However two things happened to change that prediction. First, average 30-year mortgage rates dropped from a high of 4.94% in November 2018 to 3.82% as of June 2019. That alone has saved buyers around $177/month on a median-priced $279,000 home with 4% down.

Second, private sector annual earnings in Greater Phoenix rose 1.8% in April after an 8-month period of stagnation. In the last decade home prices have gone flat just twice, in 2011 and 2014. Both times there was a corresponding decline in annual earnings. If annual earnings continue to grow and interest rates remain low, the Greater Phoenix seller market will continue to push home prices up this year.

For Sellers:
The May peak buyer season is over. From this point through the end of the year it’s not uncommon to see contract activity gradually decline 30-40%. The good news is that despite the predictable decline, listings under contract are coming in 3.7% higher than this time last year. It’s not evenly distributed along all price points however. Contracts on listings over $600K are up 3.4% while the $500K-$600K range is up an impressive 33.5%!!

Contracts between $250K-$500K are up 16.1% and the low $200K’s are up 8.1%. Lack of inventory under $200K means that contracts in this range are down 20.6%. Expect your highest annual appreciation rates to be between 6-10% in the $150K-$225K range as this is where the majority of investor flip activity lies. $225K-$500K appreciation is between 3-5% and over $500K is between 1-3%.

If you’re interested in purchasing or selling a home you can start by Contacting Us directly or start searching for your new home here Anthem, Desert Hills, New River, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale or Surprise.

What is Really Happening with Home Prices?

Home values have softened over the last twelve months. We are no longer seeing 6-7% annual appreciation levels for the national housing market. The current numbers are closer to 4%. Some have suggested that year-over-year appreciation levels could fall to 3% or less this year.

However, a stronger-than-expected economy and a good spring housing market have changed some opinions. Some analysts are now predicting that home value appreciation may begin to increase as we move forward.

Here are three examples:

Mark Fleming, Chief Economist of First American

“Data on the movement of unadjusted house prices during the early spring home-buying season won’t be available for a few more months, but it’s quite likely that price appreciation will accelerate again.”

***CoreLogic*’s April “Home Price Insights**”

“Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 3.7% in March 2019 compared with March 2018…The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 4.8% on a year-over-year basis from March 2019 to March 2020.”

***Pulsenomics*’ Quarterly “Home Price Expectation Survey”**

The 2018 4^th Quarter survey called for 3.8% appreciation for 2019.
The 2019 1^st Quarter survey raised the appreciation projection for this year to 4.3%.

Bottom Line

Price appreciation has slowed over the past year. However, a strong economy and a good housing market have many experts thinking that home values might re-accelerate moderately throughout the rest of this year.