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Your children have finally moved out and you and your spouse now live alone in a four-bedroom colonial (or a similar type of house). You have two choices to make: Remodel your house to fit your current lifestyle and needs Sell your house and purchase the perfect home Based on the record of dollars spent on remodeling and renovations, it appears that many homeowners are deciding on number one. But, is that the best long-term solution? If you currently live in a 3-4-bedroom home, you probably bought it at a time when your children were the major consideration in determining family housing needs. Along withRead More →

According to Black Knight Financial Service’s Mortgage Monitor Report, 1.5 million Americans have purchased a home with down payments under than 10% over the last 12 months. This is great news for buyers as this marks a 7-year high. Many mortgage programs offered by agencies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae allow buyers to put down as low as 3% to purchase their dream homes. The strength of the housing market has aided buyers who used low-down-payment programs to buy. As a recent CNBC article points out, “Defaults on recent low down payment loans, so far, are slow, but that is as much a factorRead More →

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey. Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts, and investment & market strategists about where they believe prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number. The results of their latest survey: Home values will appreciate by 5.0% over the course of 2017, 4.0% in 2018, 3.2% in 2019, 3.0% in 2020, and 3.0% in 2021. That means the average annual appreciation will beRead More →

The results of countless studies have shown that potential home buyers, and even current homeowners, have an inflated view of what is really required to qualify for a mortgage in today’s market. One such study by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania revealed that many millennials have not yet considered purchasing homes simply because they don’t believe they can qualify for a mortgage. A recent article about millennials by Realtor.com explained that: “About 72% of aspiring millennial buyers said they’re waiting because they can’t afford to buy…” The article also explained that 29% of millennials believe their credit scores are too low to buy.The problemRead More →

Some Highlights: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released their latest Quarterly Home Price Index report. In the report, home prices are compared both regionally and by state. Based on the latest numbers, if you plan on relocating to another state, waiting to move may end up costing you more! Alaska & West Virginia were the only states where home prices are lower than they were last year. Source: Housing Market & Real Estate News Lenora LostaunauLenora is a full-service San Diego real estate agent, serving residents county-wide, and those looking to live in San Diego. She specializing in Metro and Coastal San Diego, with a Masters DegreeRead More →

One of the main reasons why For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) don’t use a real estate agent is because they believe they will save the commission an agent charges for getting their house on the market and selling it. A new study by Collateral Analytics, however, reveals that FSBOs don’t actually save anything, and in some cases may be costing themselves more, by not listing with an agent. In the study, they analyzed home sales in a variety of markets in 2016 and the first half of 2017. The data showed that: “FSBOs tend to sell for lower prices than comparable home sales, and inRead More →