Blog | Lake Norman Real Estate

3 Reasons to Sell Your Home Now

May 16, 2022 by Kristen House Leave a Comment

Why is now a good time to sell your house?

Before we get into the top 3 reasons to sell your home now, let’s talk about why right now is the best time to sell your home. Currently our market is white hot and a seller’s market. Inventory is low, meaning there aren’t many homes on the market, and the ones that ARE on the market don’t last long. If you sell your home now, it is very likely it won’t stay on the market for very long, and you’re likely to get top dollar for it.

Why are houses so expensive in 2022?

The price of homes in the United States has steadily been rising for decades, but this recent jump in home prices has been influenced by several factors:

-Lower mortgage interest rates

-Increase in Local Zoning Regulations

-Higher building costs associated with supply shortages

-Demographic change

-Change in land prices

As the cost of financing decreases, more potential home buyers decide to pull the trigger on buying a home, the demand for homes increases, thus raising prices.

3 Reasons to Sell your Home Now!

Home sellers are most likely to get top-dollar for their homes in the months of May and June and July
- These months offer potential seller premiums of 10% or more above market value
Inventory is VERY Low
- There is a limited number of available homes for purchase, meaning that when a listing comes onto the market, it will likely sell pretty quickly, and you are more likely to receive as offer over asking price to secure a sale
Homes are selling in record time
- The median number of days on the market has been falling since 2017, and as of April 2022 the median stood at 34 days on the market

Need more detail? Read our recent post about the #1 reason to sell your house in 2022!

Want to see how much Inventory is on the market in your area? Click here!

Does Inflation Help Homeowners?

April 27, 2022 by Christy Walker Leave a Comment

Does Inflation Help Homeowners?

Does inflation affect home prices?

There is a true link between any good with a limited supply and inflation. This means that when there are fewer properties available prices will be more expensive than if there were a multitude of properties available.

Of course, there are several factors that will affect home prices, such as demand. One of the biggest factors that will increase demand is interest rates. When interest rates are low and home buying can be considered more affordable, the demand for available properties increases. However, if the supply of homes of constant but demand stay the same, prices of homes will increase.

Prospective home buyers in larger cities feel this effect more strongly, as there is usually less available properties.

Is home ownership good during inflation?

There are many benefits to owning a home during a volatile economy. Buying a home and locking in your financing can help stabilize what is probably your largest expense, housing. If you’re able to get a fixed rate for your mortgage, your housing expenses will be consistent for up to 15-30 years!

Even when housing prices and mortgage rates increase, buying a home can set you up for long-term stability and success-. Even if you buy today you’ll be protected from increasing costs in the future. During times of inflation, it’s imperative that you invest money into assets that will appreciate in value, rather than losing value over time. Most experts project that mortgage rates will continue to increase throughout 2022, so locking in rates as soon as possible has never been more important.

Inflation and real estate 2022

Experts are projecting that mortgage rates and prices will continue to rise throughout the end of 2022, so there’s never been a more opportune time to lock in your rate and find your dream home. Keep in mind that demand and bidding wars may increase as other home buyers attempt to get ahead of price increases.

Blog content from Investopedia, Keeping Current Matters & Market Watch

Why is it Important to Shred Documents?

April 26, 2022 by Christy Walker Leave a Comment

Why is it important to shred documents?

Why should you shred documents? What’s the point?

Why Shred documents?

There are multiple reasons you should be shredding your old documents and paperwork. Whether business or personal, it’s imperative that you keep clutter and outdated papers out of the way.

Of course, you could just throw these documents away, or recycle them, but this leaves sensitive information out in the open for anyone to read, or possibly steal your information or identity. Shredding old documents is the only sure way to keep prying eyes off your printed information.

When it comes to disposing of old documents for a business, this MUST be done on a regular basis to keep work areas free of old clutter. Leaving old documents intact for disposal puts clients and employees at risk of identity theft, so always shred these documents thoroughly.

Paper Shredding Event 2022

Here at Christy Walker & Associates, we regularly shred our old documents and forms to keep our clients and associates safe from identity theft, but we wanted to give our community an opportunity to join us and shred their own documents!

On Saturday, April 9th we partnered with both Davidson and Cornelius police departments to hold our very own shredding events for members of our community. We had a fantastic turnout, over 200 community members were able to safely and securely dispose of their unwanted paper documents! We hope everyone left this event feeling a little safer!

Need to know more about how to shred your documents securely? Contact our friends over at Shred-it!

Where Are Mortgage Rates Headed?

April 13, 2022 by Christy Walker Leave a Comment

Where are Mortgage Rates Headed?

There’s never been a truer statement regarding forecasting mortgage rates than the one offered last year by Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American:

“You know, the fallacy of economic forecasting is: Don’t ever try and forecast interest rates and or, more specifically, if you’re a real estate economist mortgage rates, because you will always invariably be wrong.”

Coming into this year, most experts projected mortgage rates would gradually increase and end 2022 in the high three-percent range. It’s only April, and rates have already blown past those numbers. Freddie Mac announced last week that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is already at 4.72%.

Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com, tweeted on March 31:

“Continuing on the recent trajectory, would have mortgage rates hitting 5% within a matter of weeks. . . .”

Just five days later, on April 5, the Mortgage News Daily quoted a rate of 5.02%.

No one knows how swiftly mortgage rates will rise moving forward. However, at least to this point, they haven’t significantly impacted purchaser demand. Ali Wolf, Chief Economist at Zonda, explains:

“Mortgage rates jumped much quicker and much higher than even the most aggressive forecasts called for at the end of last year, and yet housing demand appears to be holding steady.”

Through February, home prices, the number of showings, and the number of homes receiving multiple offers all saw a substantial increase. However, much of the spike in mortgage rates occurred in March. We will not know the true impact of the increase in mortgage rates until the March housing numbers become available in early May.

Rick Sharga, EVP of Market Intelligence at ATTOM Data, recently put rising rates into context:

“Historically low mortgage rates and higher wages helped offset rising home prices over the past few years, but as home prices continue to soar and interest rates approach five percent on a 30-year fixed rate loan, more consumers are going to struggle to find a property they can comfortably afford.”

While no one knows exactly where rates are headed, experts do think they’ll continue to rise in the months ahead. In the meantime, if you’re looking to buy a home, know that rising rates do have an impact. As rates rise, it’ll cost you more when you purchase a house. If you’re ready to buy, it may make sense to do so sooner rather than later.

Bottom Line

Mark Fleming got it right. Forecasting mortgage rates is an impossible task. However, it’s probably safe to assume the days of attaining a 3% mortgage rate are over. The question is whether that will soon be true for 4% rates as well.

Blog Content By Keeping Current Matters – Originally Published April 13th, 2022

What To Look For In A Neighborhood

March 18, 2022 by Christy Walker Leave a Comment

What to Look for in a Neighborhood

Is 2022 the year you plan on buying a house? If it is, congratulations! That’s an amazing accomplishment. Buying a home can be both an exciting and stressful experience. There are various aspects to consider when finding the right home. For example, location, home size, cost, and features are all items you’ll be taking into consideration when you look at potential houses. Also before getting started learn the terms that go along with the home buying process.

Filter Neighborhoods by Price

In terms of location, a great way to start is by having a list of what you are looking for in a future neighborhood. If this is your first home and you plan on staying there for a long time, it’s especially crucial that you enjoy the surrounding area!

Before you start researching neighborhoods, you should ask yourself, how much house can I afford? This will tell you how much of a home you can afford and help give you a realistic idea of the neighborhoods you should be looking in. You’ll be able to eliminate any areas that are out of your budget and make your house hunt more productive and efficient.

Calculate Proximity To Work

If you still work in an office every day, ensure your new home is a reasonable and easy commute to your workplace. Use Google Maps to look at travel times. Make sure to consider traveling during peak times like the morning and evening when you look at the data.

You will need to factor in if your new commute would include tolls, highways, or bridges. A daily commute can be a large part of your day, so make sure you look at homes that will allow for a practical commute. Also consider the distance to grocery stores, entertainment, gas, and gyms.

Research Safety & Surrounding Area

Everyone wants to feel safe and comfortable in their home, especially in a new area. Researching the safety and crime rates of the neighborhood is a good way to learn more. These safety tools can help you discover detailed information on your potential new neighborhood. Always drive around the neighborhood both during the day and at night. This way you can see any differences in daytime and evening traffic. Drive around any surrounding neighborhoods as well. You will most likely be visiting stores, restaurants, and shops around your new home, so make sure they are the right fit for you.

Learn About School Districts

If you have children or plan on having children, finding a neighborhood that is family-friendly should be on your list. This includes taking an in-depth look at the school district available. If you want to be in a neighborhood that has families and focuses on building community make sure to let your realtor know. A good realtor team will be able to help you narrow down houses that are a good fit on all levels. When looking at the community, focus on if they have kids’ activities or a recreation center. Also, understand what the commute for your kids looks like to school every day.

Find Your Forever Home

When you do your research on the neighborhood, you know if this home and area will be a good fit for you and your family. This is especially important if you plan on making this your forever home. Once you have found a home that fits your needs and a neighborhood you are excited to join, it’s time to think about what type of mortgage will be best for you. If you are confident in your home and are looking to pay less interest over time, looking into 15- year mortgage rates is a good idea. This type of loan allows you to pay your home off sooner and for less. A great benefit to a fixed mortgage is that your interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan, so you don’t have to worry about rising rates.

When you learn more about a potential home and the surrounding neighborhood, you should be confident in your buying decision. If the neighborhood is a good fit and the home fits your needs, then that makes your home buying decision a lot easier!

Bottom Line

If home is where the heart is, make sure your heart is in the right place. Get started on your neighborhood research and begin the home buying process with a trustworthy real estate agent. Contact us today to help you find your dream home!

The #1 Reason To Sell Your House In 2022

March 4, 2022 by Christy Walker Leave a Comment

The #1 Reason to Sell Your House in 2022

Almost every industry is currently struggling with supply chain disruptions. This also applies to the current U.S. housing market, where buyer demand far exceeds housing supply.

Purchaser demand is very strong right now. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just released their latest Existing Home Sales Report which reveals that sales surged in January. Existing home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.5 million – an increase of 6.7% from the prior month, with sales up in all regions. You may be asking yourself, should I sell my house in 2022? We say absolutely! However, there’s one big challenge.

Inventory Is At An All-Time Low

Because purchaser demand is so high, the market is running out of available homes for sale. The above-mentioned report states that the current months’ supply of inventory of homes for sale has fallen to 1.6 months. This prompts Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR, to say:

“The inventory of homes on the market remains woefully depleted, and in fact is currently at an all-time low.”

Earlier this month, realtor.com released their inventory data for January. It helps confirm this point. Here’s a graph comparing inventory levels for January over the last six years:

As the graph shows, new listings coming on the market have decreased over the last four years (shown in blue in the graph). The graph also reveals that carry-over inventory has plummeted in recent years. This is because listings are now sold so quickly, they don’t stay on the market long enough to carry over month-to-month (shown in green in the graph). In other words, homes are not staying on the market for months as they had prior to the pandemic. In the report mentioned above, NAR reveals that:

“Seventy-nine percent of homes sold in January 2022 were on the market for less than a month.”

Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, explains it like this:

“A higher velocity of sales (lower [Days on Market]) helps to explain a housing market characterized by both higher sales & lower inventory. Many resale transactions are happening so quickly that they ‘flow’ in & then out of the ‘stock’ between the fixed monthly measurement of inventory.”

Should I Sell My House in 2022?

Anyone thinking of putting their home on the market shouldn’t wait. A seller will always negotiate the best deal when demand is high and supply is limited. That’s exactly the situation in the real estate market today.

Later this year, inventory (and by extension, your competition) will increase as many homeowners are waiting to put their homes on the market in the spring and early summer.

In addition, Len Kiefer, Deputy Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, says:

“Housing starts start off 2022 strong, just edging out 2021 for most in January since 2006.”

As these newly built homes are completed, they will also become competition for your house. This gives you a tremendous opportunity right now. Don’t wait for that increase in competition in your area. If you want to sell in 2022 and are ready to start the process, today is the day to list your house.

Bottom Line

Reach out to us to get your house on the market at this optimal time to sell! 2022 should you your year to sell your house!

Blog Content By Keeping Current Matters – Originally Published 2/24/22