Skip to main content

Things Have Changed



The soothsayer in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar issued his famous warning "Beware the Ides of March."  Who knew that in 2020, around the middle of March, the world, as we knew it, would force such dramatic changes on us from the Coronavirus.

In America, it has brought our economy to its knees as we sheltered in place for over four months.  During this time, changes have affected our lives and many of those changes could be permanent.

Previously, smaller homes were becoming the trend for not only efficiency but upkeep so owners would have more time to do things including travel.  Now, travel is minimal and our world, in some respects, is reduced to our home.

For families with children, their home has become a school.  With so many people working from home, it has become our office or store or studio.  If there is more than one working adult in a home, it needs to have space for each party to work.  The home fitness industry is experiencing record sales in exercise equipment so the home can become a gym.

Since we're all spending more time at home, it is also the place to recreate.  We're cooking more; a larger kitchen and dining area would be nice.  We want to enjoy the yard, garden, pool or balcony and our current home may not even have them or we'd like to upgrade. 

People are wanting and needing more space to do all of these things at home.  Many experts are anticipating that these changes we thought were temporary may be part of the new normal even after a vaccine and cure have been discovered.

If you have had any of these thoughts and would like to know more about how to buy or sell a home in our current market, we would love to tell you about the many options available while being responsible to stay safe.  Whether it is buying for the first time, moving up or moving on, I would like to help.  Call me at (315) 761-5058.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Make Your Home Offer the Most Appealing

Sales in February 2023 were up 14.5% month over month and still down 22.6% year over year according to the NAR Housing Snapshot.   The median sales price dipped 0.2% to $363,000 and there are 2.6 months supply of homes on the market compared to 1.7 months a year ago. "Inventory levels are still at historic lows, and consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties." According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of REALTORS�. It is still important to have a strategy for potentially competing with other buyers on the house you want to buy.   The plan should include several available provisions and options, so that at the time of drafting the sales offer, you can consider exactly what to include based on the situation. Unless a person is paying cash, you need to be pre-approved by a trusted mortgage professional long before you start looking at homes.   Include the written pre-approval letter along ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Getting Comfortable with the New Normal Mortgage Rates

The biggest shock to homebuyers is the soaring mortgage rates of 2022 that doubled in one year resulting in approximately 15 million mortgage ready buyers displaced from the market due to affordability issues. As of February 23, 2023, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was at 6.5%.   While that is twice as high as it was on January 6, 2022, it is still lower than the 7.75% average rate since April 2, 1971, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. When rates increase at a rapid pace like this, it takes time for the public to adjust and begin to accept it as the new normal. Prior to the housing bust that led to the Great Recession, the normal for mortgage rates was in the 6% range and existing home sales were over 6.5 million for three years.   From 2007 to 2014, home sales were closer to 5 million with 2008-2011 at just above 4 million annually. From January 17, 2008 to March 5, 2020, mortgage rates averaged 4.32%.   In this 12-year period...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Would You Give?

Yogi Berra said he’d give his right arm to be ambidextrous. While most first-time home buyers are not going to that extreme, it is interesting to see what sacrifices are being made according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. 43% - cut spending on luxury or non-essential items 34% - cut spending on entertainment 27% - cut spending on clothes 14% - canceled vacation plans 9% - earned extra income through a second job 7% - sold or decided not to purchase a vehicle 44% - did not need to make any sacrifices Forty-percent of first-time buyers experienced some difficulty during the mortgage application and approval process. Single, male buyers expressed a higher incidence of difficulty than single females and married or unmarried couples. Pre-approval from a qualified mortgage lender before the home search process begins is still considered the best advice for all buyers ...
Post a Comment
Read more