How Current Interest Rates Can Have a High Impact on Your Purchasing Power

How Current Interest Rates Can Have a High Impact on Your Purchasing Power | Simplifying The MarketAccording to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are currently at 4.61%, which is still near record lows in comparison to recent history! The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power. Purchasing power, simply put, is […]

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Is Your First Home Within Your Grasp Now? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some Highlights:

According to the US Census Bureau, ‘millennials’ are defined as 18-36-year-olds.
According to NAR’s latest Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the median age of all first-time home buyers is 32.
More and more ‘old millennials’ (25…

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Renters Under 50 Want to Buy a Home!

Renters Under 50 Want to Buy a Home! | Simplifying The MarketEvery year, the New York Federal Reserve publishes the results of their Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE). Each survey covers a wide range of topics including inflation, labor market, household finance, credit access and housing. One of the many questions asked in the housing section of the survey was: Assuming you had the financial resources […]

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Homeownership: “A Man Is Not a Complete Man, Unless He Owns a House”

Homeownership: "A Man Is Not a Complete Man, Unless He Owns a House" | Simplifying The MarketThe famous quote by Walt Whitman, “A man is not a whole and complete man, unless he owns a house and the ground it stands on,” can be used to describe homeownership in America today. The Census revealed that the percentage of homeowners in America has been steadily climbing back up since hitting a 50-year low in 2016. […]

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5 Ways Tax Reform Has Impacted the 2018 Housing Market

5 Ways Tax Reform Has Impacted the 2018 Housing Market | Simplifying The MarketStarting late last year, some predicted that the 2018 tax changes would cripple the housing market. Headlines warned of the potential for double-digit price depreciation and suggested that buyer demand could drop like a rock. There was even sentiment that homeownership could lose its coveted status as a major component of the American Dream.  Now […]

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Real Estate Tops Best Investment Poll for 5th Year Running

Real Estate Tops Best Investment Poll for 5th Year Running | Simplifying The MarketEvery year, Gallup surveys Americans to determine their choice for the best long-term investment. Respondents are given a choice between real estate, stocks/mutual funds, gold, savings accounts/CDs, or bonds. For the fifth year in a row, real estate has come out on top as the best long-term investment! This year’s results showed that 34% of […]

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Home Inspections: What to Expect

Home Inspections: What to Expect | Simplifying The MarketSo you made an offer, it was accepted, and now your next task is to have the home inspected prior to closing. Oftentimes, agents make your offer contingent on a clean home inspection. This contingency allows you to renegotiate the price you paid for the home, ask the sellers to cover repairs, or even, in some […]

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What If I Wait Until Next Year to Buy a Home?

What If I Wait Until Next Year to Buy a Home? | Simplifying The MarketWe recently shared that national home prices have increased by 6.7% year-over-year. Over that same time period, interest rates have remained historically low which has allowed many buyers to enter the market. As a seller, you will likely be most concerned about ‘short-term price’ – where home values are headed over the next six months. As a buyer, […]

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50% of Homes Sold in 30 Days in March [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some Highlights:

The National Association of REALTORS® recently surveyed their members for their Confidence Index.
The REALTORS® Confidence Index is a key indicator of housing market strength based on a monthly survey sent to over 50,000 real estat…

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4 Reasons Why Today’s Housing Market is NOT 2006 All Over Again

4 Reasons Why Today’s Housing Market is NOT 2006 All Over Again | Simplifying The MarketWith home prices rising again this year, some are concerned that we may be repeating the 2006 housing bubble that caused families so much pain when it collapsed. Today’s market is quite different than the bubble market of twelve years ago. There are four key metrics that explain why: Home Prices Mortgage Standards Mortgage Debt […]

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How Much Has Your Home Increased in Value Over the Last Year?

How Much Has Your Home Increased in Value Over the Last Year? | Simplifying The MarketHome values have risen dramatically over the last twelve months. In CoreLogic’s most recent Home Price Index Report, they revealed that national home prices have increased by 6.7% year-over-year. CoreLogic broke down appreciation even further into four price ranges, giving us a more detailed view than if we had simply looked at the year-over-year increases in national median […]

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