Explaining What’s Happening to Interest Rates
Here’s what you should know about our rapidly changing interest rates.
Why are mortgage rates rising? When will they go back down or go even higher? I was recently interviewed by money.com to talk about this. Here’s a link to the interview if you’d like to read it.
Going back to the topic of mortgage rates, we have a lot of uncertainty in the real estate market and the global economy today. When you ask what interest rates are doing, there are two driving forces behind it that we need to look at: The first thing is the traders’ level of uncertainty and their appetite to buy mortgage-backed securities. The second one is that interest rates tend to closely follow the ten-year Treasury yield.
What we know thus far is that as rates continue to be increased by the federal government in the central banks, the ten-year Treasury yield becomes more attractive, and the yields go up. Typically, mortgage-backed securities or interest rates trade somewhere about 100 to 120 basis points above those ten-year Treasury yields. If the ten-year Treasury yield is 3%, you should expect to see an interest rate of around 4.5%. However, in times of uncertainty, yields go further and further apart, and they get as much as 300 or 350 basis points apart.
When this happens, the ten-year rate is around 3%, but then mortgage interest rates are around 6%. Eventually, some of that uncertainty goes away. The tenure stays where it is, and mortgage rates snap back to their normal levels of 100 to 150 basis points. In fact, we saw this happen last week. Consumer inflation came out a little bit softer than expected, and overnight, you saw interest rates go from 7% to 5.5% and then to 5.75%.
Why does this matter for homebuyers and sellers? You have to pay attention because the market is moving fast. We’ve rarely seen volatility like this, but volatility creates opportunity. Reach out to one of our agents, and we will help you take advantage of the opportunities in this market. I look forward to hearing from you!
Price and Condition Affect How Your Home Sells
The importance of pricing your home correctly as the market shifts.
Do you know how to correctly price your home in this quickly changing market? We frequently get asked why one home isn’t selling or why one sold so quickly, and we believe that price plays a big part in this. The market has changed so much since the summer, and it continues to change, so it’s important that we all adapt, even with prices.
During this time last year, 41% of homes sold above their list price. Many people think that’s not possible today, but the truth is that at the end of September, 28% of homes still sold above their list price. We want to help sellers like you get this opportunity with your house, so we have some advice.
There are two components that you need to pay attention to, and they are price and condition. Know that your price has to be appropriate for the condition of your home. Great homes with great prices will sell quickly and oftentimes over their asking price. Great homes with average prices may sit on the market. Average homes with great prices can sometimes sell quickly. Lastly, average homes with average prices will sit for a very long time.
Therefore, make sure to work closely with your agent to pick the price that will cause your home to sell. It may not be the actual price it sells at, but you want to work hard to be competitive and to be seen as the best value in the market so that buyers naturally choose you. The last thing you want to do is have the house that sits on the market and helps the other houses around you sell.
Reach out to a member of our team with any questions about what your home is worth in today’s market. You can call or email us anytime, and we would love to hear from you.
How To Predict the State of the Spring Market
The factors that affect the market and its trajectory for the spring.
Are you wondering what we can expect for our market this spring? Many people are! There is a lot of speculation, but today I’m going to share the data that shows what is happening to our market and where it’s headed.
You can listen to the full video above or skip to specific topics using these timestamps:
0:00 — Introduction
0:30 — How population growth means the home sales just moved
1:36 — Interest rate relief and inflation
2:10 — The price for a 30-year mortgage is going down
2:48 — Expect to see a surge in demand
3:12 — The only times that home prices went down in the last 20 years
4:23 — Expectations for 2023
5:14 — Wrapping up
I am very encouraged about the possibilities in the spring market. If you are thinking about buying or selling, now is the time to act! Call or email me anytime if you want help or have any questions. I look forward to working with you.
What You Need To Know About Our Housing Market
What you need to know about our crazy housing market and its future.
So far, 2023 has been the craziest market I’ve ever seen. Interest rates are coming down, home prices are stabilizing, and everything is getting flipped on its head. Today I’ll break down what happened to our housing market in 2022, what has happened in 2023 so far, and what this all means for you.
You can listen to my full explanation in the video above or skip to each topic using the timestamps provided:
0:00 — Introduction
0:39 — Recapping 2022’s housing market
1:30 — What continued low supply means for our market
2:53 — Prices fell in the second half of 2022, but they were still up year over year
3:50 — Affordability has greatly impacted our market
5:06 — Great news for the future of housing prices
6:22 — Wrapping things up and how to reach me
If you have questions about this topic or anything else, please call or email me. I am always willing to help!
The Important Stats for the February Market
Presenting the market trends that emerged in throughout February.
Although March has just started, 2023 has already brought a lot of interesting changes to the housing market. Today, I’m here with a breakdown of some of the most critical market stats that have defined real estate in the past month.
Feel free to watch the full video above or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:
0:00 — Introduction
0:23 — Inventory
1:07 — Homes sold
1:43 — Home prices
2:48 — Interest rates
5:38 — Don’t wait for rates or prices to drop
6:20 — Wrapping up
If you have questions about the market or need help with your real estate plans, call or email me. I’d love to connect with you.
The Ultimate Guide to Safe Renting: Tips for Avoiding Rental Scams
The Ultimate Guide to Safe Renting: Tips for Avoiding Rental Scams
Here are tips to help you stay safe and avoid costly rental scams.
Renting a property can be a stressful and overwhelming experience, especially when you’re concerned about getting scammed. Unfortunately, rental scams are on the rise, and it’s important to know how to protect yourself.
One of the most common rental scams involves real estate agents. Here’s how it works: A real estate agent takes a new listing and posts it on various search portals, such as Movoto.com, Zillow, and Realtor.com. Scammers then take screenshots of the images and repost them on Craigslist, Facebook, and other websites, advertising the property for rent.
Unsuspecting renters call the scammer, who may even give them a tour of the property. The renters then send money to the scammer to rent a house that they don’t own. Unfortunately, the renters are now out of their deposit money, which can sometimes be thousands of dollars, and they have no way of getting it back.
“It’s important to know how to protect yourself.”
To avoid this rental scam, it’s important to do a little research online. Look up the address of the property and see if it’s also listed for sale. If it is, that’s a giant red flag. Call the listing agent who has the for-sale listing and ask if the property is actually for rent. The agent will know 100% of the time if the property is listed for rent.
If the property is not listed for sale online, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe. You still want to do a little bit of due diligence. Talk to the person advertising the property and ask for references from other people who rent from them. Ask your landlord for a reference, too. Protect yourself by making sure that you don’t send any money until you’ve got a fully executed lease agreement and that you have access to that property.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.
Low Credit Score = Low Interest Rate: Say What?!
Low Credit Score = Low Interest Rate: Say What?!
What you need to know about the truth of credit scores and interest rates.
Are you worried about the recent news that’s saying people with lower scores are getting better interest rates for their homes? If so, know that I’m here today to clear the air and show you the truth about this situation. This news has gotten a lot of action lately, but there are some misconceptions involved.
Listen to the video above for a full explanation, or skip to specific topics using these timestamps:
0:00 — Introduction
0:30 — The truth about credit scores and interest rates
1:30 — Analyzing the Loan Level Price Adjustment (LLPA) graph
2:05 — The reality of the situation
3:55 — Helping people with lower scores to incentive buying homes
5:02 — Wrapping up
Overall, just know that people still benefit significantly from higher credit scores. If you are still confused or have any questions about this, don’t hesitate to reach out! You can call or email me anytime, and know that I’m always happy to help.
