At the end of the year, in every region of the country, hundreds of homeowners have a tough decision to make. The ‘listing for sale agreement’ on their house is about to expire and they now must decide to either take their house off the market (OTM), For Sale by Owner (FSBO) or list it […]
According to Freddie Mac’s latest U.S. Economic & Housing Market Outlook, U.S. home sales in 2015 will show increase to the numbers associated with a normal real estate market. Here is their projection: “We are projecting a 4 percent rise in sales to 5.6 million, which would mark the highest level of annual sales since […]
As we close out a tremendous 2014 and look forward to an even better 2015, our team here at KCM wanted to say an extra special “THANK YOU” to you and every member of our KCM Family. Without the trust, support and dedication to the mission that you show out in the field, what we […]
Last week, we reported on the financial reasons that the New York Times felt that homeownership was important. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University performs a study every year surveying participants for the reasons that American’s feel are most important in regards to homeownership. There’s No Place Like Home The top 4 […]
The Winter 2014-15 Buyer & Seller Guides are now available for Download & Customization! As with prior seasons, we’ve provided you with “Things to Consider When Buying a Home” & “Things to Consider When Selling Your House” in both PDF and the ever popular, editable, Powerpoint version. Download Them Today! Simply Click on Content –> Buyer […]
There is no doubt that the housing market has recovered from the meltdown that occurred just a few short years ago. However, in some states home values still have not returned to the prices we saw in 2006 and 2007. Here is a breakdown showing where current prices are in each state as compared to […]
There are many people sitting on the sidelines trying to decide if they should purchase a home or sign a rental lease. Some might wonder if it makes sense to purchase a house before they are married and have a family. Others may think they are too young. And still others might think their current […]
There are many young people debating whether they should renew the lease on their apartment or sign a contract to purchase their first home. Based on a recent study, here are two reasons buying a home might make more sense: Members: Sign in now to set up your Personalized Posts & start sharing today! Not […]
Earlier this month, Zillow predicted that millennial buyers (under the age of 35) will become the largest group of buyers, overtaking Gen X (35-50 years old) by the end of 2015. Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow Chief Economist, explained: “Roughly 42 percent of millennials say they want to buy a home in the next one to […]
More listings expire on December 31st than any other time of the year. Many agents might lament this time of year and do not see it for what it is… an opportunity! Reach out to your listings that are about to expire and evaluate what may need to change in order to take advantage of […]
The New York Times recently published an editorial entitled, “Homeownership and Wealth Creation.” The housing market has made a strong recovery, not only in sales and prices, but also in the confidence of consumers and experts as an investment. The article explains: “Homeownership long has been central to Americans’ ability to amass wealth; even with […]
Below are the headlines from three separate news releases issued over a one month period: 11/3/2014 – Millions of Potential New Households Waiting Out the Recovery 11/11/2014 – Experts: First-Time Homebuyers’ Weak Finances Holding Back Housing Market And then, the contrarian view: 12/2/2014 – In 2015, Millennials Will Be Biggest Home Buying Group It sure […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Realtors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are each projecting mortgage interest rates to increase substantially over the next twelve months. What will that mean to the housing market in 2015? Last week, we posted a graph showing that home prices appreciated each of the last four times […]
Yesterday, HousingWire reported that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac formally announced their 3% down options on home purchases. Fannie Mae’s plan will be effective December 13, 2014 while the Freddie Mac plan will be available March 23, 2015. The HW article quotes FHFA Director Mel Watt: “The new lending guidelines released today by Fannie […]
At gatherings with friends and family this holiday season, people will seek you out to help answer their questions about today’s real estate market. Your use of visuals at these moments is just as crucial as it is during a scheduled consultation. You must have the necessary charts & data with you at all times. […]
CNBC’s Diana Olick recently reported that rents in the residential housing sector continued to rise in 2014. She interviewed Jed Kolko, Chief Economist at Trulia, who revealed: “Rents are rising because of strong demand that supply hasn’t kept up with. Nearly all the new households are renters, and young people moving out of their parents’ […]
There are some who are calling for a substantial drop in home prices should mortgage interest rates begin to rise rapidly. Intuitively that makes sense. The cost of a home is determined by the price of the home and the price of financing that home. If mortgage interest rates increase, less people will be able […]
As we finish 2014, it appears the real estate market is once again on solid footing and ready to advance forward over the next few years. The strength of the market can be viewed using two metrics: projected home values and projected house sales. We recently reported that the Home Price Expectation Survey revealed future […]
The National Association of Realtors’ most recent Existing Home Sales Report revealed that home sales were up rather dramatically over last year in five of the six price ranges they measure. Only those homes priced under $100,000 showed a decline (-6%). Every other category showed a minimum increase of at least 9.7%. Here is the […]
The FHFA released the 3rd Quarter Home Prices for 2014. Looking at the breakdown regionally, year-over-year, prices are up across the country. We always like to give you the regional outlook so you can compare different areas of the country. Breaking down prices by state, with the exception of Connecticut, the entire country is experiencing higher […]
![Millennial Homebuyers & Their Preferences [INFOGRAPHIC]](https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Millennial-Homebuyers.jpg)
![Year-over-Year Price Changes by Range [INFOGRAPHIC] | Keeping Current Matters](https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/07184911/12.12-InfoGraphic.jpg)
