10 Reasons to Buy Now….
Many people are too young to remember the interest rates in the 1980’s. But I do, I bought my first house in 1987 and our interest rate was 11%. We didn’t think anything of it at that time we were too excited to start our lives and family in our new home. So, in my video I am covering 10 good reasons why it’s okay to purchase a home in today’s market. My name is Cindy Clarice and I’m a full time RE/MAX Platinum realtor.
First
First, let’s review the 30-year mortgage rates for perspective. Back in 1981 the interest rate was 18%. They were 6% in 2008 and close to 5% in 2018. So 6%to 7% now is more the norm, regardless of whether they are higher than a year ago.
Second
Number two when mortgage rates are higher, home prices level off because there are some buyers whose finances are so tight they can’t handle even one percentage point. So, the bidding wars that were so common this past couple of years are pretty much over. It’s back to homeowners lowering prices again, which was almost always the norm.
Third
Third you can refinance if and when rates go down. Just because you lock into a rate doesn’t mean paying that for however long you own the property. Refinancing makes a lot of sense if you plan to stay put for several years. A rule of thumb says that you’ll benefit from refinancing if the new rate is at least 1% lower than the rate you have.
#Four
Number four there are mortgage alternatives to the 30 or 15 year fixed rates. Adjustable rate mortgages offer flexibility, especially if you’re uncomfortable with the lock-in rates. BUT the long-term rates could rise, so nothing is for sure.
#Five
Number five the covid-19 pandemic was a major reason mortgage rates dropped the last few years. Lower interest rates helped make that so. But the pandemic was an outlier, so almost everything was skewed. Mortgage rates are still good now. And with the Fed telegraphing that its’s likely to continue raising interest rates now is a good time to lock in, even at 6% to 7%.
#Six
Number 6 you are likely not going to own your new home for 30 years, so the rate is only in effect for how long you live there. And when you sell, you’re likely to. make a profit. The average tenure of people who sold their houses in 2020 was 6.3 years.
#Seven
Number 7 almost no one ever gets the absolute best mortgage rate and almost no one gets the worst. So, don’t let a number stop you from buying a house. Better to buy now and start building equity that to keep renting with no profit.
# Eight
Number 8 higher mortgage rates mean higher interest rates, so money you may have in financial accounts will rise.
# Nine
Number 9 experts recommended paying no more than 33% of your monthly income on housing costs like mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. So, if you’re still within that range don’t sweat it.
# Ten
Number 10 you can typically lock in your rate for anywhere between 30 and 60 days, although some lenders rate locks for up to 90 days. Ask your lender if they have a “float down” option, which would keep your rate from increasing while allowing you to snag a lower one if mortgage rates fall before closing.
I hope you enjoyed the information I’m sharing from Rismedia by Michael Caterevas
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Before You BUILD….
If you are thinking of building a house in the current market condition but nervous because you might of heard night mares of other buyers waiting over a year to get their house built, due to shortage of workers and the back order of supplies. Well in my video I am going over what The National Association of Home Builder’s are saying about builders confidence. Hi my name is Cindy Clarice, I’m a full-time RE/MAX Platinum realtor. Stay to the end so you are confident on how you want to move forward with your real estate needs.
According to National Association of Home Builder’s
Well, according to the (NAHB) the National Association of Home Builder’s index measuring the confidence of builders in the new home market has fallen for the ninth straight month. A 3-point month-over month drop put the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) at 46 in September. NAHB’s chief economist Robert Dietz said, with the exception of the period immediately after the onset of the 2020 pandemic, the index was at its lowest point since May 2014.
The Continuing Decline in the Index
The continuing decline in the index is another sign that elevated interest rates, persistent building material supply chain disruptions and high home prices are coming to take a toll on affordability. Dietz said. The HMI is projecting an ongoing decline in the volume of single-family housing starts, as noted in the graph.
The Housing Market Index
The Housing Market Index is derived from a monthly survey that gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,”fair”, or “poor”. The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high”, “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
All Three Index Components
All three of the index’s components posted fell from their August levels. The component derived from questions about current sales conditions dropped 3 points to 54, while future sales expectations and perceptions of buyer traffic were each down 1 point to 46 and 31, respectively.
Indicators of Weakening Market
Dietz said the survey revealed other indicators of weakening market. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they reduced home prices, a 5-point increase from August and more than half said they were using incentives to boost sales, including mortgage rate buydowns, free amenities and price reductions.
So now that you know feel free to reach out to see if there is money on the table for you if you decide to build.
I appreciate if you subscribe to my channel I do a new video every week, like these and lifestyle videos.
As always please feel free to reach out
And stay Safe!
Sellers Are going To Have to Be Aware
Sellers are going to have to be aware the market is softening we are seeing True
Tale signs that there is a change coming. These past couple of years, sellers were able to put their homes on the market with hardly any preparation. And in areas where there was an occupancy required the sellers weren’t even full filling their obligations and pushed them off on the buyer because THEY COULD!
Listings 🏠 🏠 🏠 were getting offers during the coming soon phase…..And in neighborhoods, where the school district maybe wasn’t the best normally those listings sat longer on the market. But in the past we saw homes even in those neighborhoods that were updated sold in bidding wars as well.
Sellers, had it easy they didn’t have to pay for a home 🏠 warranty , negotiate a building inspection 🧐 , and in many cases didn’t even have to worry about an appraisal ＄ . Lots of time even a cash buyer 💸
.
Closing Cost wasn’t even a thought to ask the sellers to pay especially for first time home buyers – it was another cost the buyer 😢 had to accrue.
In My Video Show Signs Of CHANGE
➡️➡️➡️In my video I am going to go over signs that us realtors are seeing in our business everyday the change that is happening in our local market. My name is Cindy Clarice, I’m a full time RE/MAX Realtor stay to the end if you are thinking of putting your house on the market you want to be prepared.
You hear on the News 📣 what is going on in the real estate market 🏠 Nationally. I’m covering the pulse of our local real estate market – the shifts that we are seeing.
Need To Prepare
First, we have seen less showings on our New Listings – resulting to more days 📆 on the market. It can become more stressful on the sellers having to keep their house in showing condition and having to leave whenever a showing is scheduled. Especially, irritating for sellers who work from home.
Second, in the past several years - when a hot property came on the market it would receive Multiple Offers and usually way over asking price before the seller even had an opportunity to do an Open House. These days we are seeing more Open House’s.
Home Tours
Third, our Title company puts together a list of homes 🏠 🏠 🏠 that are For Sale that agents have submitted to her for the Weekly Tuesday’s Agent Tour. Well, in the past couple of years the list has been small to sometimes not even one house to tour Because they sold so Fast. However, now the list of homes to tour is starting to grow and the need for the agent tour caravan is becoming a Prominent Necessity again.
Fourth, we are seeing Price Reductions – Sellers are no longer able to Come out on the Market with the Inflated Price – like they have in the past with multiple offers and over the Crazy High Price they are asking already for the house.
Investors
These past couple years have been great for Investors to sell their Rental Properties. They were able to sell their house with their Tenants In Them and not have to disturb them with any showings until after an Offer Has Been Accepted.
Who Controls Market Share
Sellers are finding out they are having to Reign Back on the control of the market share – with fewer buyers able to buy their home. As we start to see more homes staying on the market longer than we have in the past several years 😳.
Local Market
That is why I want to show you the stats from the St. Charles County Board of Realtors In my first chart I ran the statistics for homes that sold in St. Charles County within the past 12 months the median sale price and the median days on the market.
Median Sale Price NOW
And just to clarify what median homes sales price means is that half the homes sold for over this price and half the homes sold for less than this price. You can see going back the past 12 months in the month of June is when we had the peak for the median homes that sold which was $345,000. And we have seen a decline in July and August at $324 Next month September stats will be in.
And in the last chart I want to show you the months of inventory we have for St. Charles County the stats are from the past 12 months. From October 2021 we have seen a gradual growth from 0.81 months of inventory to the latest in August our inventory grew to 1.13 months of inventory.
If You Are Thinking of Selling
If you are thinking about Selling Your Home - its never too early to Reach Out and see what you need to do to get top dollar for your home in the quickest amount of time.
Please subscribe to my channel I do a new video every week, lifestyle videos and other real estate market Updates.
As always please feel free to reach out ☎️ 📧💻
And stay safe,
The Factory in Chesterfield Valley
There are lot’s of exciting events coming up in St. louis and St. Charles some are free and some are for the family. My name is Cindy Clarice and I’m a full time RE/MAX Platinum realtor. On September 16, at The Factory in Chesterfield Valley they are going to be featuring Christopher Cross, popular artist in the 80’s. Songs Ride Like the Wind. Tickets range from $49.50 - $69.50 I’ll have a link to find out more details.
Denzel Curry
And at the pageant on September 20th Denzel Curry a young rapper from the Miami area will be performing a balance of rhymes packed with intense, introspective content. With an evolving production palette that draws on hazy cloud rap and classic hip-hop song craft. Show begins at 8:00 and tickets are still available for $35.00.
27th Mosaic Art Festival
In St. Charles on Friday September 16th they will be having the 27th Mosaic Art Festival it is free and open to the public. It is a 3 day festival including 80 juried artists from more than 15 states who will exhibit artwork available for purchase. The art festival will be held on North Main in the historic area of St. Charles.
National diaper Need Awareness Week
And a charitable event happening in the St. Louis area Diaper Bank will be observing National Diaper Need Awareness Week. From September 26th thru October 1st. They provide individuals, organizations, communities, and electric officials the opportunity to engage in real talk and simple actions while drawing national attention to the issue of diaper need. They are hoping to collect 150K diapers during the month of September. I will have a link for more details if you would like to help.
Please feel free to reach out ☎️ 📧 💻
And stay safe 😄
Congratulations!!
Your offer got accepted 🖐 🖐 🖐 . Your Home Buying Process clock begins to tick – “Time Is Of Essence.” The next step of the home buying process is the Building Inspection. In my Video I go over 3 Major concerns my clients were made aware of during their inspection.
➡️ ➡️ ➡️ FIRST, you will notice at your inspection the inspector turns the dishwasher on so it can run thru a full cycle not only checking to see that it works properly but there is no leaks. Next with turning on all the faucets for a period of time to check for any leaks as well. Along with checking your water pressure and your water lines. These are only some of the items that the inspector will be assessing as he is checking the plumbing.
Once he is done on the roof inspecting for wear and tear, and if the seller has disclosed in the seller's disclosure - the age of the roof – he will assess the roof and give his recommendation for the life expectancy of the roof. And many times after the inspector has viewed the roof if he detects any hail or storm damage he’ll recommend for the seller to contact their homeowners insurance and have them send an agent out to inspect the roof and many times the roofs condition will qualify for a new roof. So the buyer gets a new roof and little money out of the sellers pocket.
As the inspector is walking around the Exterior of the home. Observing the concrete - driveway and sidewalks, he points out any major trip hazards. One of the COOL FEATURES this particular home had that my buyers and I liked was the double car garage door 🏠 front and back of the House. Well, the concrete slabs next to the garage floor sank quite a bit. The inspector pointed ➡️ ➡️ out how it happened over years and what the repair would involve. I asked the inspector, "just give us a rough estimate on what he thought the repair could cost". After listening to the inspector review my clients felt at ease and confident to move forward.
Luckily in this housing market 🏠, with this particular sale - the seller wasn’t selling the home as is and even offered my clients a 1 year home warranty. The only thing that came up on my buyers building inspection that they had a concern with was an issue with electrical. This home was built in 1968 and had aluminum wiring which many homes did in the 1960’s and 70’s due to the cost of copper wiring. That wasn’t the issue but there was a 14 gauge wire that needed repair for safety issues.
In most cases the seller will do repairs due to safety issues. Especially in our situation it was a minor cost. Even though the house was Well-Cared for the home had a list of items that came up on the inspection that needed attention. But they were small and minor and expected from a house this old. So the punch list on the inspection is becoming my buyers to do list as they live in the home.
After a great deal of time inspecting the house from the roof and attic all the way to the basement cracks. Which the sellers made very visible exposing the repairs to their foundation.
My buyers felt secure and confident 😄 after their inspection and excited to Move In!!
Always feel free to reach out ☎️ 📧 💻
And stay safe,