Overcoming Housing Market Fears

The recent headlines broadcasting mortgage rates surpassing the 7% mark have instilled a sense of apprehension among potential homebuyers. In a market perceived as increasingly unaffordable, it’s easy to feel discouraged. However, with the right mortgage strategy, you can transform this challenging market into an opportunity. Historical Perspective on Mortgage Rates While current rates hovering…

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The Real Impact of Unemployment on Mortgage Rates in 2024

If you’re waiting for mortgage rates to come down, you want to be paying attention to what is happening with inflation and the economy. Unfortunately, figuring out where the economy is heading in 2024 is not an easy task. We’ve been saying for a while that mortgage rates will start making meaningful progress lower once…

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Are You a Homebuyer Worried About Climate Risks?

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Kevin Brierton – 10.5.2023 The increasing effects of natural disasters are leading to new obstacles in residential real estate. As a recent article from CoreLogic explains: “As the specter of climate change looms large, the world braces for unprecedented challenges. In the world of real estate, one of those challenges will be the effects of natural catastrophes on…

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Are Home Prices Going Up or Down? That Depends…

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Kevin Brierton – 6.12.2023 Media coverage about what’s happening with home prices can be confusing. A large part of that is due to the type of data being used and what they’re choosing to draw attention to. For home prices, there are two different methods used to compare home prices over different time periods: year-over-year…

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The Main Reason Mortgage Rates Are So High

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Kevin Brierton – 6.7.2023 Today’s mortgage rates are top-of-mind for many homebuyers right now. As a result, if you’re thinking about buying for the first time or selling your current house to move into a home that better fits your needs, you may be asking yourself these two questions:  Here’s context you need to help…

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Keys to Success for First-Time Homebuyers

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Kevin Brierton – 5.31.2023 Buying your first home is an exciting decision and a major milestone that has the power to change your life for the better. As a first-time homebuyer, it’s a vision you can bring to life, but, as the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shares, you’ll have to overcome some factors that…

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The Benefits of Selling Now, According to Experts

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Kevin Brierton – 5.25.2023 If you’re trying to decide if now’s the time to sell your house, here’s what you should know. The limited number of homes available right now gives you a big advantage. That’s because there are more buyers out there than there are homes for sale. And, with so few homes on…

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Powerful Job Market Fuels Homebuyer Demand

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Kevin Brierton – 5.18.2023 The spring housing market has been surprisingly active this year. Even with affordability challenges and a limited number of homes for sale, buyer demand is strong and getting stronger. One way we know there are interested buyers right now is because showing traffic is up. Data from the latest ShowingTime Showing…

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What You Need To Know About Home Price News

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Kevin Brierton – 5.17.2023 The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will release its latest Existing Home Sales Report tomorrow. The information it contains on home prices may cause some confusion and could even generate some troubling headlines. This all stems from the fact that NAR will report the median sales price, while other home price indices…

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The Worst Home Price Declines Are Behind Us

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Kevin Brierton – 5.16.2023 If you’re following the news today, you may feel a bit unsure about what’s happening with home prices and fear whether or not the worst is yet to come. That’s because today’s headlines are painting an unnecessarily negative picture. Contrary to those headlines, home prices aren’t in a freefall. The latest…

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Buyer Activity Is Up Despite Higher Mortgage Rates

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Kevin Brierton – 5.3.2023 If you’re a homeowner thinking about making a move, you may wonder if it’s still a good time to sell your house. Here’s the good news. Even with higher mortgage rates, buyer traffic is actually picking up speed. Data from the latest ShowingTime Showing Index, which is a measure of buyers actively…

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Why Buying a Home Makes More Sense Than Renting Today

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Kevin Brierton – 5.1.2023 Wondering if you should continue renting or if you should buy a home this year? If so, consider this. Rental affordability is still a challenge and has been for years. That’s because, historically, rents trend up over time. Data from the Census shows rents have been climbing pretty steadily since 1988. …

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Why Today’s Foreclosure Numbers Are Nothing Like 2008

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Kevin Brierton – 4.27.2023 You’ve likely seen headlines about the number of foreclosures climbing in today’s housing market. That may leave you with a few questions, especially if you’re thinking about buying a house. Understanding what they really mean is mission-critical if you want to know the truth about what’s happening today. According to a…

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The Three Factors Affecting Home Affordability Today

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Kevin Brierton – 4.26.2023 There’s been a lot of focus on higher mortgage rates and how they’re creating affordability challenges for today’s homebuyers. It’s true that rates climbed dramatically since the record-low we saw during the pandemic. But home affordability is based on more than just mortgage rates – it’s determined by a combination of…

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5 Reasons Millennials Are Buying Homes

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Kevin Brierton – 4.18.2023 In the United States, there are over 72 million millennials. If you’re part of that generation and have thought about buying a home, you aren’t alone. According to Zonda, 98% of millennials want to become a homeowner at some point if they aren’t already. But why? There are plenty of reasons…

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