Yajnesh Rai

Fall May Be Best Time for Buyers to Move | Realtor Magazine

A slower fall season in home buying may help more lingering home buyers to jump in.

Prices are easing somewhat. For the second month in a row, the median price of an existing home dropped. It reached $253,500 in August, after reaching a record high of $263,300 in June, according to the latest data from the National Association of REALTORS®.

“Median sales prices typically decline a bit heading into the fall,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Summer is a big time for home purchases, so that families settle in before school starts in the fall. In the fall, the types of homes that sell are smaller for people without kids. So they tend to be less expensive.”

Existing homes are proving to be a bargain compared to newer homes. The median price of a new home reached $313,700 in July, which is 23.7 percent higher than an existing home.

Home buyers may find attractive mortgage rates this fall. Mortgage rates are still under the 4 percent psychological threshold, which can be a luring incentive for borrowers. Freddie Mac reported last week that the 30-year fixed rate averaged 3.78 percent, holding steady at a 2017 low.

Studies have shown that fall can be the best time to buy. A study conducted by RealtyTrac in 2015 found that October was the best month for home buyers. Purchasers in October paid 2.6 percent below the estimated market value at the time for their home, according to the analysis. In other words, buyers interested in a $300,000 home tend to see a $7,800 discount on it in the fall. Oct. 8 was found to have the best day for bargains too, with an average of 10.8 percent below estimated market value, according to the study.

Home sales in August started to decline heading into the fall season. Sales of existing homes fell 1.7 percent from July to August, but NAR mostly blamed the decrease on the limited number of listings for sale on the market.

Properties are staying on the market for less time, so buyers will need to be ready to act fast. Fifty-one percent of homes sold in August were on the market for less than a month, according to NAR. Properties typically stayed on the market for just 30 days in August.

6 Things You Need To Know About Retirement Before You Turn 30

If you’re in your 20s, retirement doesn’t seem high on the priority list. It’s hard to give a lot of attention to a financial milestone that’s 20 to 30 years off when you’re trying to figure out how you’ll pay off your student loans and buy a house in the next 15 years. Nonetheless, these are your most valuable years when it comes to saving for retirement. The money you put into your retirement accounts—and other long-term investments— in your 20s has the most opportunity to grow. In other words, time is really on your side when you start saving for your retirement as a young professional. Once you’re on sure-footing in terms of setting up your first retirement account—either a 401(k) through your work, or an IRA if you’re self-employed—it’s time to start looking into other ways to grow your money. Here are six retirement-related things you should know (or at least start looking into) before you turn 30.

How do you prepare for retirement beyond opening a 401(k)?

1. Why it’s important to cut back now to benefit later.

In general, delayed gratification will never be as enticing as swiping your card now. Understanding the value of putting money away because it could be worth more later (thanks to those lovely investment returns) is crucial. “Absolutely spend on experiences and creating memories with friends and family,” says Stephen Ng, a New Jersey-based financial advisor. “However, where can you make small changes to save more? Can you pack lunch for work a few more times a week? Can you buy one less cup of coffee a week? Make one less online purchase?”

2. What you can expand to after your first retirement account.

After you are signed up for your employer-provided 401(k)—hopefully with matching—you’ll want to take the next step toward planning for retirement. You may want to diversify or give yourself the option to contribute more to your retirement account than your company may allow. “If you are eligible, contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA,” says Ng. “The total maximum contribution to both types of IRAs is $5,500 per year. With a traditional IRA, you get the tax deduction but pay the tax when you withdraw after age 59 and a half. With a Roth IRA, you do not benefit from the tax deduction upfront; However, the funds will be tax-free at the time of withdrawal. If you think your tax bracket is going to be higher in the future, it is beneficial to contribute to a Roth IRA now.”

 

3. How you want to diversify your portfolio in the next five years.

Other than retirement, what do you want to save for or invest in? In addition to putting money away for retirement and emergencies, you want to put money into other investments—whether that’s a certain company, an after-tax investment account, or real estate. “Instead of renting, think of saving to purchase real estate,” says Ng. “Millennials have a tremendous window of opportunity where we are in a historically low-interest rate environment. Therefore, if you are thinking of buying a house or condo, the borrowing rate from mortgage companies is much lower than in the past. In addition, housing prices have not fully recovered since the last major correction in 2005. This is a window of opportunity.”

4. The value of putting your money in now.

You also want to know exactly how your money is working for you. What kind of returns can you expect on your various investments? How does that fit into your long-term investment strategy? Ng says, “A 25-year-old that puts a one time investment of $2,000 in their 401(k), with an average return of 8% per year, will have $43,339 at age 65. If the same person waited till age 55 and invested the same amount of $2,000, with an average return of 8%, that investment is $4,318 at age 65. That is the power of compounding.”

 

5. What your end goal (for retirement) is.

Patrick Renn, a Georgia-based CFP and author of Finding Your Money’s Greater Purpose says, “Each individual needs to start with the end in mind. Establish what will be needed at ‘retirement’ age and work back to today to determine what amount needs to come out of each paycheck to achieve that goal. The benchmarks at age 30, 35, 40, etc., can then be established and compared as progress is made.”

7 Common Mistakes First Time Home Buyers Need to Avoid

When you buy your dream house, there are many things to be happy about and this is especially true if it is your first time buying a house. It is possible that you end up making a few mistakes during your purchase. This is completely acceptable and a few glitches on the way are always acceptable. To make things a little smoother for you, we have compiled a list of the seven home common mistakes that first time home buyers generally make.

1. Know Your Budget and Stick to The Same

Budget is the first thing that every homebuyer plans beforehand. But many of them tend to still stretch or exceed their budget when they finally buy a house. The first rule is to not see anything that might exceed your budget. If you set your heart at something which is way more overpriced, most of the times you will end up buying it. This will lead you to reduce your monthly investments and make major lifestyle changes to pay off a higher mortgage than what you originally intended.

2. Don’t Be Indecisive

Many homebuyers are unable to make a decision even after going through many options. You need to decide which features you need and which you don’t in your new home. Some compromises will be needed if you have budget constraint and you need to accept that. Also, don’t rely on too many options as it might confuse you.

3. Think Long Term

It is advisable to have a clear vision about how your house will fit in your future. Some of the questions that you need yourself are–Are planning to re sell your house in the future or it is a long term investment? You need to be happy with the house that you invest in even after four to five years.

4. Not Taking the Help Of A Professional

When it comes to buying a house for the first time, it is better to trust an expert’s opinion. You can’t work your way in an open house without knowing any agent. A real estate agent can be an important home buying resource and can help you even save money when you finally decide to invest in a house. So, do take the help of a professional if you seriously need to buy a house!

5. Don’t Forget To Look Over Your House Multiple Times

When you finally make a choice and decide to invest, be sure to re-examine your house for any necessary repairs etc. Negotiate with the seller beforehand to make sure you are getting what you were promised. Many buyers have to shell an additional monetary investment to get the things they had been promised by the seller. Once the dotted line is signed, many sellers shy away from associating themselves with any problems that suddenly pop up. So, make sure you have checked your investment properly before making a decision.

6. Don’t Forget to Keep a Check on Secondary Factors

Before you buy the house of your dreams, check out additional factors that come with your investment. These factors include your new neighbours, the surrounding views and the community. A house comes with many things and these factors will have an impact on your new life. A good community, friendly neighbours and a pleasing view will improve your day to day life.

7. Don’t Be Impressed Easily

During an open house or when the seller displays his house for your benefit, a lot of things are exaggerated and many weak points are underspecified. Don’t be hasty in making your decision by being impresses by the staging of the house or by the buyer’s words. Try to make a practical decision only after analyzing all the pros and cons. The layout of the house, your needs etc should take precedence; not the overall decoration of the house.

These were the seven important points you need to pay heed to while buying a house for the first time. Make sure to make the right investment that fits into your vision for the present and the future.

What to Do if Your Home Doesn’t Sell

Has your property been on the market for months with little buyer interest? With a competitive fall market ahead, it may help to reassess the condition of your home, make necessary updates, then re-list a new and improved staged property to generate new buzz and buyer interest. Here are some questions sellers should ask themselves to get their home on top of the list and ahead of the competition.

Family Room Staging by PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating

Does it Make the Best First Impression?

The key is to look at your home from the perspective of the buyer. With more than 97 percent of homes sold on the Internet, the first point of engagement for buyers today is the online listing. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to feature professional quality photos using the best lighting to encourage buyers to schedule a showing. Once they arrive, be sure that your curb appeal and front entry are well maintained, tidy, and welcoming by trimming bushes, cleaning walkways, making repairs, and adding seasonal touches to the front porch.

Kitchen Staging by PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating

Does it Appeal to The Target Market?

According to a National Association of REALTORS(R) recent trends report, 66 percent of today’s first-time buyers are millennials, and they are looking for a home that is in move-in ready condition. These buyers will turn away instantly if the home is dated and gives the impression that it’s in need of renovation. They will, however, ultimately pay more for a home that looks fresh and inviting. Be sure that necessary repairs and cosmetic updates are made such as freshening up walls and cabinets with a coat of neutral paint, polishing hardwood floors, replacing lighting, hardware, appliances, etc.

Dining Room Staging by PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating

Can Buyers Visualize Living in This Home?

Whether selling an occupied or vacant home, keep in mind that If buyers can’t emotionally connect, it won’t be memorable. Consider renting furniture for vacant properties to show buyers how they can use their own furnishings in the space.  For occupied properties make sure there are no distractions such as personal items on walls, shelves and tables. Showcase every key room from the entry to the basement with a clean look and minimal accessories such as colorful pillows, wall art and simple vignettes.

Family Room Staging by PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating

Are Key Features Highlighted?

Be sure that your home’s best assets are not hidden. Is your stone fireplace covered with a cluttered mantle or distracting wall art? Are hardwood floors covered up with dated carpeting? Are floor to ceiling windows hidden behind heavy curtains? Are built-in shelves cluttered with old books and photos? If so, remove and simplify to show these features off, bring new life and increase perceived value to your home.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Effect: Home Staging Tips to Spark Love at First Sight

It’s no secret that a properly staged home can sell faster than an empty one. But how far do you need to go to inspire the “chocolate chip cookie effect,” where a buyer walks in the front door and immediately feels right at home? Sellers often look to their agent for home staging advice, which can be based on initial impressions and feedback from early showings.

Here are five tips for effectively staging a home before the next potential buyer walks in the door.

1. Create a Welcoming Entry Way

When it comes to selling a home, the importance of curb appeal can’t be stressed enough. Buyers need to fall in love at first sight — which happens around the time they pull up to the front of a property. For sellers who need to spruce up their yard, recommend inexpensive outdoor projects like a garage door replacement or an exterior power wash.

2. Enlist All Five Senses

Rather than focusing solely on how a home looks, give buyers a multisensory experience. Smells like fresh-baked cookies or scented candles can help create a welcoming, comfortable atmosphere. Calming music can also help to set the proper mood for open-house tours.

3. Encourage Decluttering

When a buyer walks into a home, they need to believe in the possibility that this house could belong to them. Seeing personal articles like photographs, kids’ artwork, or pet toys can detract from the appearance of a home that’s ready for move-in. Any loose papers and other stray items should be removed from countertops and tables to avoid distraction.

4. Turn on the Lights

To avoid a dark and dingy look, be sure to maximize the use of available lighting. Open curtains for natural light and turn on overhead lights in every room. If further accent light is needed, consider bringing LED candles or portable lights to showings.

5. Keep It Natural (and Neutral)

Neutral colors are still a favorite of house hunters looking to add their own style to a home’s decor. If you decide to add accessories for staging purposes, go for neutral accents such as throw rugs, shower curtains and towels or linens. If sellers are willing, replace window treatments or repaint rooms with dated color schemes. Natural touches like flowers and plants can also add a breath of fresh air to a home.

Home staging can range from simple decorative touches to repainting rooms or removing furniture. As buyers move through the house, they should have a clean, consistent experience designed to show off the home’s best features and make them want to move in immediately. 

Study: Staging Could Lead to 10% Price Boost | Realtor Magazine

Fifty-nine percent of real estate professionals say staging a listing contributes to receiving higher offers from buyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Staging. Sixty-two percent of agents also say staging “slightly” or “greatly” decreases the time a listing spends on the market.

The amount of money sellers stand to gain from staging their home is significant. Thirty-one percent of practitioners surveyed say that staging a home before listing could lead to a jump in the sale price of five to 10 percent. In other words, a $300,000 home could potentially see a $15,000 to $30,000 price increase. That would easily pay for the cost of the staging, according to NAR’s report.

The majority of buyer’s agents say that staging makes it easier for their clients to visualize the property as their future home. The most important rooms to stage are the living room, master bedroom, and kitchen, according to the study. Thirty-eight percent of listing agents say they suggest all their clients stage their homes.

Twenty-five percent of listing agents say their client pays for the staging prior to listing. However, 21 percent say they personally offer to stage a home; 14 percent recommend an affordable home staging service to their client, according to the survey.

5 Things Your Real Estate Agent Wants You to Know About Buying a House – 24/7 Wall St.

If you are looking to buy your first house, there are approximately a million things you will have to deal with that may be new to you. Fortunately, a good real estate agent knows most of them.

In fact, if you have found an agent you believe and trust, that agent should know all of them. But you can make the agent’s life a lot easier if you know just a few things about the process.

The real estate pros at Realtor.com have come up with a list of just five things you should know or do to make the home-buying experience go more smoothly both for yourself and for the agent.

Here’s the list along with a few comments from the pros.

Know how much you can afford before you start looking. The best way to do this is to get preapproved by your mortgage lender. You can get a rough idea by using one of the many available online mortgage calculators, but getting a preapproval from a lender limits your search and makes it possible to make an offer quickly into today’s tight housing market.

Don’t call the listing agent. Typically the sellers will have their own agent and you will have your own agent. Let the two agents do the negotiating, otherwise the sellers’ agent may think that you don’t trust your agent and you are giving away your negotiating power.

Stop talking around other agents. Loose lips can sink deals. During a showing or an open house, avoid comments about how many houses you’ve looked at, how much you want the house or how much you can spend. Again, you’re giving away your (and your agent’s) negotiating power.

Don’t try to look at every house in a 100-mile radius. If you give your agent a clear description of what you’re looking for and stick to it, you won’t waste a lot of anyone’s time by trying to look at dozens of properties.

Don’t get cold feet once you commit to a house. Everyone’s heard of buyer’s remorse. The symptoms include thinking you’ll find another house even more perfect or worrying about whether you’ll lose your job.

 

Mortgage Applications Surge on Lower Rates | Realtor Magazine

Home buyers and homeowners are taking advantage of some of the lowest interest rates in a year. Mortgage applications for refinancings and home purchases jumped 9.9 percent higher last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Still, the MBA reports the weekly index remains about 19 percent lower the same week a year ago, which is mostly attributed to a decrease in refinancing applications.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.03 percent last week, dropping from 4.06 percent the week prior, the MBA reports.

“Overall, mortgage rates continued to decline last week with the 30-year fixed rate decreasing 3 basis points to its lowest level since the 2016 election,” says Joel Kan, an MBA economist. “Rates have decreased almost 20 basis points since mid-July.”

 

Applications for home purchases soared 11 percent last week and are now 7 percent higher than a year ago, the MBA reports.

Applications for refinancings increased 9 percent during the week. Refinance applications, however, are still 35 percent lower than the same week a year ago, when interest rates were lower.

Kan says mortgage applications likely would have gone even higher last week if it wasn’t for two major hurricanes to strike the U.S. over the past two weeks.

 

“To illustrate the impact of the two major hurricanes … mortgage applications for the state of Texas ran about 25 percent lower than the state’s weekly average for the year to date, reflecting the impact of Hurricane Harvey,” says Kan. “Additionally, in the most recent week we saw mortgage applications in Florida fall 48 percent lower than its 2017 weekly average, as many residents evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. In comparison, the level of applications for the nation last week was only 12 percent lower than its 2017 average.”

Bay Area housing: Sunnyvale home sells $800,000 above asking

MARKET IS HOT!! The amount of money over asking can buy another house in other parts of the bay area!!

A house in Sunnyvale just sold for close to $800,000 over its listing price.

Your eyes do not deceive you: The four-bed, two-bath house — less than 2,000 square feet — listed for $1,688,000 and sold for $2,470,000.

“I think it’s the most anything has ever gone for over asking in Sunnyvale — a record for Sunnyvale,” said Dave Clark, the Keller Williams agent who represented the sellers in the deal. “We anticipated it would go for $2 million, or over $2 million. But we had no idea it would ever go for what it went for.”

 

This kind of over-bidding is known to happen farther north in cities including Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View. But as those places have grown far too expensive for most buyers, future homeowners have migrated south to Sunnyvale, a once modest community that now finds itself among the Bay Area’s real estate hot spots.

Close to tech employment centers, it makes for a convenient commute — and prices there, too, are now pushing the limits of middle-class buyers. The house that sold for $782,000 over asking in Sunnyvale — it’s on Prunelle Court — is about 3.5 miles from Apple’s new spaceship campus.

The buyers, who work in tech, had been hunting for a home for a while — but kept getting out-bid, said Mini Kalkat, the Intero agent who represented them: “They lost two before they bid on this one, so we kind of knew what the numbers would be. It’s a crazy market, but there’s a way to maneuver the market.”

The property is one of more than 50 South Bay homes that sold in the last month for at least $200,000 above the listing price. More than half of those deals were made in Sunnyvale. Others were made in Cupertino, Saratoga and West San Jose, according to Alain Pinel agent Mark Wong. He compiles a monthly list of such “over-asking” transactions.

Over-asking sales are at least partly the result of agents’ sleight of hand. It’s become common strategy to list homes under their market value in order to entice Silicon Valley buyers; they are all too willing to fight over the few houses available in this chronically tight market.

Now that this fierce competition is moving southward on the Peninsula, the market there is tilting sharply upward: “Sunnyvale’s so expensive, it’s starting to be unaffordable,” Clark said, “and we’re starting to see Santa Clara prices pop up.”

Given prices to the north, spending less than $2.5 million for a house in Sunnyvale on a large lot — about 13,000 square feet — “wasn’t a wrong move,” Kalkat said.

The house on Prunelle Court sold in seven days last month, and the deal closed Sept. 1.

The property attracted more than 20 bids, and the winning bid “wasn’t an outlier,” Clark said. “There were lots of people who gave very good, high prices” for the property, which he described as “nothing special, just a typical Sunnyvale house in a nice Sunnyvale neighborhood.”

The backyard and front yard are small. The side yard is “unusually large, which I think was enticing to a lot of people” along with the home’s move-in condition, according to the agent.

These days, it seems most buyers work in tech.

“I sell lots of houses in Sunnyvale and every time we have a buyer, they work at one of the tech companies, usually one of the big ones,” Clark said. “And they generally use their stock options to make the purchase.”

Typically, he said, buyers want a short commute and good schools: “And it’s usually a family with one or two young kids,” moving to their new home “well ahead of the time their kids will be entering kindergarten.

“They work ahead.”

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Correction: September 13, 2017
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the home’s distance from Apple’s new spaceship campus. The home is about 3.5 miles from the campus.

The Impact Immigrants Have on Real Estate | Realtor Magazine

The impact immigrants have on U.S. real estate is growing, as 13 percent of the nation’s population—about 42 million people—hails from foreign countries, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “Immigrants are a big driving force for housing markets across the nation,” Kusum Mundra, an economics professor at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., told realtor.com®. “Most want the American dream, which is to own a home.”

But the road to homeownership for immigrants can be challenging. It takes an average of five to 10 years for immigrants to be able to purchase a home after arriving in the U.S., says Gary Painter, director of social policy at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price Center for Social Innovation. In 2016, about 40.7 percent of immigrants were homeowners compared to 66.1 percent of native-born Americans, according to a realtor.com® analysis. “Just like those born in the U.S., [immigrants] view home buying as putting down roots in the community,” Painter says. “On average, where immigrants are settling, property values have gone up.”

Many immigrants choose to settle in struggling cities that have lost jobs or residents, such as the Rust Belt, because they offer cheaper housing. Immigrants move in and may start businesses, which helps buoy those housing markets. “There are cities that were on the way down, and immigrants have revived them,” says George Masnick, senior research associate at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “They’re buying houses; they’re going to be the ones who keep the local economy vibrant.”

Economists point to Detroit as an example where this is occurring. The Detroit area’s population has plunged nearly 63 percent since its peak of 1.8 million residents in 1950. But since 1985, the city has become attracted a large percentages of Middle Eastern immigrants, according to realtor.com®. “People come into neighborhoods and buy houses that maybe were not kept up, and they fix them up and attract other people like themselves to the areas,” says Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 

The following metros have the highest percentage of immigrant residents, according to realtor.com®:

1. San Jose, Calif.
2. Miami
3. Los Angeles
4. San Francisco
5. New York
6. McAllen, Texas
7. Washington, D.C.