home buyers Archives

March 22, 2024April 25, 2024

It’s Election Year. How Will This Affect Sellers and Buyers?

As we enter an election year the current administration points to how strong the economy is. But there’s a disconnect between these regular public assurances and people’s life experiences. So many are either locked into their current mortgages or just completely sidelined from the market.

This is no joke: High mortgage rates. Wages lagging while housing prices soar. The whole environment where homeownership is treated as a privilege rather than a norm. Recently, Fortune highlighted a daunting challenge for prospective U.S. real estate buyers: to afford a home in today’s market, they need an annual income increase of almost $50,000 compared to their pre-pandemic earnings.

So, will the runup to the election bring any opportunities to current owners and hopeful buyers?

March 15, 2024April 25, 2024

State of the Home Buyer: White House Promotes New Set of Tax Credits

Housing affordability remains out of reach for many in the U.S. population today. What’s the matter?

Mortgage interest rates haven’t eased in any kind of significant way so far this year. Maybe in June…

More than half of U.S. renters report struggling to pay for housing every month.

Some would like to buy their own homes, but at this point call that a dream.

Joe Biden’s March 2024 State of the Union address laid out the latest plan to help. Here’s an update on the issue, and how the administration intends to deal with it.

December 14, 2023April 25, 2024

Update! Fed Signals 2024 “Pivot” on Interest Rates. What Should Home Sellers and Seekers Know?

As we’ve all noticed, deed transfers really got stuck in a rut in 2023. Too few owners are selling their homes. Supply is down. Prices are up.

A core issue? The Federal Reserve. Over the past two years, the Fed has hiked rates in order to banish inflation and to tighten up the economy. So, if you think it’s a terrible housing market out there, interest rates have absolutely factored into your frustration.

But finally, the Fed has announced it will not hike interest rates again in the coming year. The “signal” from the Fed is that sometime in 2024 it will even cut those high rates.

Time to buckle up? Let’s take a look.

October 2, 2023April 25, 2024

Frustrated Home Buyer? It’s Not You. Affordability Is the Worst It’s Been in a Century

Given today’s incomes, mortgage interest rates, and the prices on homes, we just had the least affordable month for U.S. housing in our century.

September 2023 was the second record-breaking month this year. We might be headed for a third record before the year’s over.

In fact, the last time it was this hard to buy a home was back in the early 1980s.

September 29, 2023April 25, 2024

How Today’s Demand for Pet-Friendly Homes Impacts Buyers, Sellers, and Agents

It’s a steadily growing trend in real estate: the demand for pet-friendly homes. It impacts the way we create, furnish, and market homes.

Let’s explore how this phenomenon is evolving. Then we’ll look at what matters most from the perspective of a buyer, a seller, or a real estate agent.