The 3 Most Important Factors in Buying a Home

What are the most important things to consider when searching for a home? I’ll go over the top three today.

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There are three things most people look for when buying a home:

1. Location. 53% of buyers will focus on location first. They want to be close to their place of work, their family, great schools, or amenities, like the beach. Location is, without a doubt, the most important feature for buyers.

2. Price. Many buyers will buy with a loan, so they'll have a monthly payment, property taxes, utility bills, HOA fees, and all the other expenses that come with the territory of buying a house. Most buyers we work with try to stay within a certain price point so that they're not out of their comfort zone. We to make sure they're not 'house poor.'

3. Layout. They want to make sure the home flows well and that they can imagine themselves living in the home and creating memories.

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These are the three things about a
home that you don't have
 the ability to change.

”

Keep in mind that these are three things you can't necessarily change. Your home isn't going to move, so you have to be happy in that location. Price is a matter of staying in your financial comfort zone in your monthly payment. You also need to be happy with the layout because most buyers won't have enough money to seriously reconfigure their home's layout.

I hope this gives you a new way to think about what's important when buying a home. If you have any questions about buying a home or you have other real estate topics you'd like to see me discuss in a video, feel free to give me a call, send me an email, or leave a comment on our website or social media pages.

I look forward to hearing from you!

What Does the Rate Increase Mean for You?

Interest rates finally increased this last month. What does that mean for you going forward?

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If you haven’t already heard, the Fed met this month and interest rates have gone up. They also announced that they will be increasing them three more times in 2017. This is going to cause the cost of homeownership to rise over time when it comes to your monthly payment.

The cost of owning a home today has already gone up from just last week because of the increases. What does this mean for buyers and sellers?

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Savvy buyers are moving 
up their timelines.

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The most savvy buyers out there are moving up their timelines. If they were looking to buy in the next six months, they are now looking to buy in the next two. They know that interest rates are volatile and the longer they wait, the more they will have to pay for their home.

For the sellers out there, you can’t sell your home unless you have a buyer. If buyers are moving up their timeline and looking to buy in January or February, sellers would miss out on a lot of these buyers by waiting until spring to sell. In the spring, inventory dramatically increases and you’ll have much more competition. That equals less demand for your home.

If you’re looking to buy and have the lowest payment possible each month, the sooner you purchase the better. I hope this advice helps anybody who is curious about what’s going on in the real estate market and how the Fed increasing the rate will affect you.

If you have any questions for me at all, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

When Is the Best Time to Upgrade to a New Home?

Based on the market trends that we’re seeing, the best time to list your home so you can upgrade to a new one is in January or early February.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Are you considering selling your home and upgrading to something bigger? If so, should you do that now in winter or wait until the spring?

First, I want to give you an update on how our market is doing. Inventory levels are still really low here in Orange County. We’re currently looking at two month’s worth. That means if no new homes are listed, based on how fast homes are selling now, we’d have nothing left on the market in two months. This puts us in a strong seller’s market.

Additionally, prices are still going up. Despite many people’s suspicions about how the election would affect prices, we’re still seeing them rise. Interest rates, unfortunately, are also on the rise. If you’re a buyer looking for the lowest possible monthly payment, the sooner you buy, the better your monthly payment is gong to be.

If you’re looking to sell your current home and buy something bigger, the best time to list your current home is in January or early February. This is because inventory levels in January, February, and March stay pretty low. When inventory levels are low, demand is high. As a homeowner, you want high demand for your home so you can get top dollar for it. In April and May, inventory significantly increases, so if you wait until the spring market to list your home, you’re going to have a lot more competition and a lot less demand.

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The trick is to list your home when inventory levels are low.

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The reason why it’s a great idea to list your home in January or very early February is because it takes a few weeks to get your home ready to sell, and it takes a certain amount of time to market your property and show it to different buyers. In addition, you have to deal with the escrow period, which can take anywhere from four to six weeks.

In a perfect world, if you list your home in mid- to late-January, you’ll be in a position to buy at the very end of March or early April—just in time for the inventory surge. Not only have you already sold your home for a record price because you sold it during a time when inventory was low, but now that you’re buying in April, inventory has increased and given you more options and less demand to deal with. As a buyer, you’re going to able to buy your home at a much better price.

If you have any questions about a specific scenario or a video idea you’d like me to cover in the future, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you. Until then, happy selling!