We often talk about why it makes financial sense to buy a home, but more often than not, the emotional reasons are the more powerful or compelling ones. No matter what shape or size your living space is, the concept and feeling of home can mean different things to different people. Whether it’s a certain […]
Browsing Category: Move-Up Buyers
Want to Sell Your House Faster? Don’t Forget to Stage! [INFOGRAPHIC]
Some Highlights: The National Association of Realtors surveyed their members & released the findings of their Profile of Home Staging. 62% of seller’s agents say that staging a home decreases the amount of time a home spends on the market. 50% of staged homes saw a 1-10% increase in dollar-value offers from buyers. 77% of […]
House-Buying Power at Near-Historic Levels
We keep hearing that home affordability is approaching crisis levels. While this may be true in a few metros across the country, housing affordability is not a challenge in the clear majority of the country. In their most recent Real House Price Index, First American reported that consumer “house-buying power” is at “near-historic levels.” Their […]
Rising Interest Rates Have Not Dampened Demand
Since the beginning of the year, mortgage interest rates have risen over a half of a percentage point (from 3.95% to 4.52%), according to Freddie Mac. Even a small rise in interest rates can greatly impact a buyer’s monthly mortgage payment. First American recently released the results of their quarterly Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI), […]
How Long Do Most Families Live in a House?
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) keeps historical data on many aspects of homeownership. One of their data points, which has changed dramatically, is the median tenure of a family in a home, meaning how long a family stays in a home prior to moving. As the graph below shows, over the last twenty years (1985-2008), the median tenure […]