Yajnesh Rai

10 Features That Can Help a Home Sell Faster | Realtor Magazine

Homeowners are spending more to spruce up their homes. They spent an average of $12,361 in discretionary funds on remodeling in 2017—the highest since 2006, according to the latest report by the Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

But which household projects can actually better their chances of selling their home one day?

“Any time a buyer can walk into a house and see it already has the features they want, that’s a huge bonus for the seller,” Anna Maria Mannarino, who runs a design firm in Holmdel, N.J., told realtor.com®. “If buyers feel they need to add key features or designs, they’re going to calculate how much it will cost and then lower their bid.”

Realtor.com®’s research team pinpointed home features that can help sell a home in the fastest time for the best price. They analyzed more than 1 million single-family listings on realtor.com® in February and identified the home features found in homes most often with the highest list prices and that went under contract most quickly.

The 10 most profitable home features for sellers banking on quick sales, according to realtor.com®, are:

1. Chef’s kitchen/gourmet kitchen
2. Theater room
3. Home gym
4. Three-car garage
5. Solar panels
6. Quartz counters
7. Exterior lighting
8. Tennis court
9. Home office
10. In-ground pool

Fed Says It’s Done Raising Rates for This Year | Realtor Magazine

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday after its March meeting that it will leave its short-term interest rates unchanged and also signaled that it likely will not raise rates for the remainder of the year. This marks a sudden change to what had been five consecutive quarters of rate increases. Not only that, the Fed also did not rule out the possibility of a future rate cut.

The Fed’s key benchmark rate is now in the range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent. The Fed’s rate is not directly tied to mortgage rates but often influences them. Many Fed officials at Wednesday’s meeting hinted that a single rate increase is likely for 2020 and not likely in 2021.

The economy “is in a good place,” but Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell acknowledged that it is slowing compared to a year ago and will likely continue to slow into 2020. Powell, however, showed little concern about inflation.

Yields on the 10-year Treasury note, which often are more closely tied to long-term fixed mortgage rates, dropped significantly following the Fed’s statement. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.52 percent—the lowest level since January 2018.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the Fed announced it would likely reduce the monthly holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds from up to $30 billion to $15 billion beginning in May. That could ultimately have an impact on mortgage rates, says Mike Fratantoni, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s chief economist.

“The bigger news from this meeting was the clear signal that the Fed will stop allowing their balance sheet to shrink, and will begin to slow it to grow again starting this fall,” says Fratantoni. “Fed officials have noted that they would like to return the balance sheet to primarily Treasury assets, meaning that MBS will continue to roll off, with the proceeds being invested in Treasury securities … The Fed also noted the potential to sell ‘residual holdings’ of MBS at some point, but that they would give plenty of notice before doing so. Over time, these changes could put some upward pressure on mortgage-Treasury spreads—and ultimately—mortgage rates.”

Getting a Mortgage Becomes Easier for the Self-Employed | Realtor Magazine

Americans who are self-employed and freelance or contract workers have long had to struggle to qualify for a mortgage compared with those with W-2 forms or pay stubs that lenders can use to verify their incomes. For the self-employed, the mortgage process can be time-consuming and cumbersome. Lenders often require extra paperwork, such as full documentation of tax returns from the last couple of years (not just the electronic copy submitted to the IRS). Even after that, the person may still lack an income steady enough to qualify or face extra fees once they are approved.

 

Andrew Neel – Unsplash

 

However, mortgage financing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have recently made changes to an automated system that could help more self-employed individuals qualify for a mortgage.The new technology automates underwriting for loan applicants who are self-employed or have side income.

“Applications that previously would have taken days to analyze and verify may now take just minutes, thanks to the use of optical character recognition technology that reads tax returns, identifies what qualifies as eligible income, and integrates it into both companies’ electronic underwriting systems,” reports Kenneth Harney, a syndicated real estate columnist for The Washington Post.

This frees lenders from having to comb through tax documents and allows them to find the information they need in minutes. The new system now takes three to five days to process, which slashes hundreds of dollars in costs and trims the risk for the lender, Andy Higginbotham, a Freddie Mac senior vice president, told The Washington Post.

There were about 15 million self-employed individuals in 2015—which equates to about one of every 10 people in the workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adding automation to the mortgage approval process could give potential home buyers greater confidence as they shop for a home, says Josh Moffitt, president of Silverton Mortgage in Atlanta. It also could help with meeting contingency-clause financing deadlines in contracts.

Still, the programs are new, so not all lenders may offer this automated income verification to self-employed applicants yet. But housing experts say it may be valuable to self-employed individuals to find those that do.

How Will the Housing Market Fare This Spring? | Realtor Magazine

Real estate pros often anxiously await for the spring selling season, a time known for an uptick in home sales. But will spring be as hot for the housing market this year as it has been in the past?

 

© Perry Mastrovito/Image Source/Getty Images

 

Since the end of last year, home sales have slowed (a decline of 10 percent in December compared to a year prior), and properties have been sitting on the market for longer (46 days compared to 30 days a year ago).

Nevertheless, Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, says that “multiple data show definitively improving conditions” heading into the spring selling and buying season.

Consumer sentiment about home buying is turning more upbeat, and there have been greater reports of foot traffic at open houses, according to recent NAR surveys. The number of openings of lock boxes—which real estate pros use to access a key prior to unlocking a home for a showing—is “measurably higher” in January and February compared to the second half of 2018, according to NAR SentriLock data.

Further, the number of consumers applying for a mortgage to purchase a home is on the rise. “After the weak conditions of late last year, mortgage applications have picked up notably in 2019 with more consumers evidently searching for a home compared to one year ago,” Yun writes in his latest real estate column at Forbes.com. Also, contract signings to purchase a home rose 4.6 percent in January—another healthy sign about the market Yun points to.

With mortgage rates staying low, Yun expects more home buyers and sellers this spring. So far this year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fallen to under a 4.5 percent average. That means a typical home buyer could save nearly $100 per month due to the drop. In addition, wages are up 3.4 percent year-over-year on average, the hightest rate in a decade, .

“The slump is over” in the housing market, Yun notes. “Better times are ahead for home buyers.”

Report: Agents Say Staging Decreases Market Time, Boosts Sales Price | Realtor Magazine

Home staging is key to attracting home shoppers, and maybe even more so in an era where consumers are used to watching TV home-makeover shows, according to the newly released 2019 Profile of Home Staging report from the National Association of REALTORS®.

How I Staged It: The Makings of a Master Retreat

 

How I Staged It: Give the Fireplace Top Billing

Eighty-three percent of buyers’ agents say that staging a home makes it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home. More than half of sellers’ agents say that staging a home decreases the amount of time it spends on the market.

Staging may also offer a higher sales price too, according to the report, which is based on a survey of about 2,000 real estate pros. Forty-four percent of buyers’ agents say that staging a home increases its value. Twenty-five percent say staging can increase the home’s value by 1 to 5 percent, and 12 percent say it increases the value by 6 to 10 percent. Twenty-nine percent of buyers’ agent say that staging had no impact on the value of the home.

 

© Caiaimage/Paul Bradbury/Getty Images

 

Television shows about home buying may increasingly be influencing buyers’ expectations when it comes to the appearance of a home for sale. A median of twenty percent of buyers were disappointed by how homes they visit look compared with homes they see in television shows, according to the survey. Ten percent of real estate professionals surveyed said that their buyers felt homes should look the way they do on TV.

“Buying a house is more than a financial decision; it is an emotional decision as well,” says NAR President John Smaby. “Buyers aren’t just making an investment in a property, they are purchasing a place to call home; to raise their children; to begin a new chapter; or to retire to a new season of life. While every REALTOR® doesn’t use staging in every situation, the potential value it brings is clear to both home buyers and sellers.”

The real estate pros surveyed reported that the living room is the most important room in a home to stage (47 percent), followed by the master bedroom (42 percent), and then the kitchen (35 percent). Home sellers, however, agree those rooms are the most important to stage but in reverse order—citing kitchen, master bedroom, and living room for staging priorities.

Twenty-eight percent of sellers’ agents surveyed say they stage all of their clients’ homes prior to listing them. Thirteen percent of agents say they only stage homes that are difficult to sell, 7 percent stage only the homes in the higher price brackets, while 45 percent of sellers’ agents say they do not stage homes prior to listing them, according to the survey.

For those who do stage, who pays for it? The sellers’ agent most often does, according to the survey. Twenty-six percent of sellers’ agents say they pay the costs to stage a home; 18 percent of sellers will pay for staging themselves. Seventeen percent of agents say they offer home staging services themselves.

30-Year Rates Plunge 10 Basis Points This Week | Realtor Magazine

® REALTOR® Magazine

 

Home shoppers are finding some of the lowest mortgage rates in more than a year.

“Mortgage rates declined decisively this week amid various market reports, a strong bond auction, and further uncertainty around the Brexit deal, which all contributed to driving bond yields lower,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “At 4.31 percent, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at its lowest since February of last year. While these low rates will certainly get the attention of prospective home buyers, the supply of homes for sale remains stubbornly low.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending March 14:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.31 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 4.41 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.44 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.76 percent, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 3.83 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.90 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.84 percent, with an average 0.3 point, falling from last week’s 3.87 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.67 percent.

Dark Colors Make Rooms Smaller? Painting Myths You Should Know | Realtor Magazine

Painting a room can be one of the most budget-friendly ways to makeover a space. But some commonly held myths about choosing the right paint may prevent some homeowners from finding the truly perfect hue to enhance their space.

Realtor.com® recently spoke with painting experts to address some of these common myths about painting a home. Some of those include:

Dark paint colors make a room look small.

In fact, it’s just the opposite in many cases, says Ashley Blackmore, a real estate professional with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Western Colorado Properties. “If you use a dark color for an accent wall, it can truly make the home look much larger by adding variation to the eye,” Blackmore told realtor.com®.

Primers aren’t necessary.

Many homeowners believe they can skip the primer step, but it’s a crucial one to ensure the paint goes on correctly, experts say. “In order for your project to look like it was done professionally, you absolutely need to use primer,” Kayla Martin, owner of Acme Home Interiors, told realtor.com®. “It helps make the paint job look smooth and allows the paint to adhere to the wall.”

You always need two coats of paint.

Don’t assume you need two coats of paint. Many times you may not. “If you apply primer and are using a quality brand of paint, you can absolutely get away with one coat of paint,” Martin says. However, it depends: Blackmore says in some cases she has seen rooms need six coats of paint, particularly where the walls weren’t properly prepped for painting or where there was a previously darker color painted.

Trim must always be white.

White trim is the most common color, but it doesn’t always have to be, Morgan McBride of Charleston Crafted told realtor.com®. She says that extending your wall color to the trim for both the top and bottom can make walls appear taller. It can also emphasize the details in the room’s moldings, she says.

Bring Pollinator Power to Home Gardens | Realtor Magazine

Just how critical are pollinators to the success of a garden? Very, since butterflies, birds, bees, and bats all help maintain habitats. But pollinators are in danger, and that poses a major risk for everybody. One out of every three bites of food we consume is attributed to the help of pollinators. Honeybees usually get the greatest attention; their population has been on the decline since the late 1990s and one-third of our food supply depends on their pollination.

 

© Michael Spencley for the MPGC

 

But there’s good news to cheer—and it might be something your clients want to be a part of. The National Pollinator Garden Network, headquartered in Washington, D.C., released a report February 26, that says its four-year “Million Pollinator Garden Challenge” has registered more than 1 million gardens that have increased habitats, which, in turn, have helped pollinators thrive. Urban and suburban individual residences compose 85 percent of the registered gardens. The group’s goal now is to convince more homeowners, community organizations, and cities to choose pollinator plants, herbs, vegetables, fruits, and flowers—and when possible, those that bloom in multiple seasons.

Here are tips you can pass on to your garden-loving homeowner clients who want to do more.

Read more: The Art of The Small Garden

1. Vote with your wallet. Some garden centers and big-box stores with plants for sale are reducing and even phasing out production of flowering plants treated with neonicotinoids, or insecticides resembling nicotine. Research has confirmed that they harm pollinators. Go to the stores that don’t stock them. If you don’t know, ask what they carry and, if they carry plants with neonicotinoids, suggest they might switch.
2. Help spread the ripple effect. Planting flowers, herbs, and fruits not only helps pollinators but also leads to a better food supply. Increase awareness among those around you—encourage your local community leaders and city councils to adopt pro-pollinator pledges and policies. For example, all 50 governors have already made pollinator proclamations, 39 states have 109 policies in place to help pollinators, and 20,000 schoolyards have new or enhanced pollinator gardens.
3. Wildlife benefits, too. A report from the National Wildlife Federation states that one-third of the country’s wildlife is at risk of extinction. They, like people, rely on pollinators as a major source of their food supply.
4. Plant a pollinator or, better yet, two or three. The NPGC is asking gardeners to plant at least three new plants—one each for spring, summer, and fall to provide three seasons of pollen and nectar to nourish pollinators. Three top favorites are milkweed, coneflowers, and coreopsis, but choose plants that thrive in your region.
5. Get your community on board. The top five metro areas active in the pollinator network are New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Philadelphia-Camden, N.J. Put yours on the map. To track the outcome of this movement, the NPGN encourages everyone to participate in projects that help pollinators; visit scistarter.org/pollinatorgardens to learn more. 

Spring Home Design Trends Are Getting Warmer | Realtor Magazine

Home interiors are softening up with lighter neutrals and more casually designed modern spaces, according to PulteGroup’s in-house team of interior designers that furnish model homes nationwide.

 

“Much like a change to spring weather, warm natural elements are brightening up homes this season, in combination with a clean, modern approach that does not sacrifice comfort,” says Angela Nuessle, national director of interior design for PulteGroup. “Color is also playing a big role in design as we see a shift from cool-toned gray palettes to light, brown-based tones. Layering these warm neutrals and combining them with vibrant accents will be key to making homes fresh and stylish for spring.”

PulteGroup highlights several interior fads:

Spring home design trends

Light wood tones: “Lighter wood grains can be dressed up for a classic upscale feel or down for a more comfortable and casual look. Incorporating these elements through cabinetry, flooring, and furniture selections is easy and trend forward,” PulteGroup notes.

Natural materials:Raw materials are gaining popularity, inspired by soft, organic shapes that are shown in furnishings, home accents, and artwork. This trend strays from the hard, geometric designs that have dominated over the last few years. For example, natural stone featured in coffee tables, sculptures, and lighting are adding a unique visual interest to furniture pieces or home accents. Also, faux animal hide rugs and textiles are adding subdued texture and visual interest to spaces.

Casually modern aesthetic:Design is straying from being too “matchy-matchy,” and instead has a more eclectic vibe that infuses multiple design styles. “Interiors are streamlined and uncluttered, but do not sacrifice comfort and livability,” PulteGroup notes.

Color trends

Layered neutrals with some colorful accents are among the top home design trends for the season, PulteGroup notes. The PulteGroup designers offer their take on the trending colors for 2019:

Taupe: Transitioning from the popularity of gray palettes, home designs are now warming up their interiors with more brown-based tones.

Warm whites: Soft whites are brightening up space while also adding “a touch of warmth and yield a multidimensional ability,” PulteGroup designers say.

Variations of green: Green is popping up in more interiors in a multitude of shades. “Green serves as a warm grounding neutral, with added complexity, that makes for a versatile and serene look,” the designers note.

Blue: Blue has proven itself as a popular accent color over the last few years, but now it’s being added more as a neutral color within design. Blue can blend in with other colors and is popping up on everything from home accessories to kitchen cabinetry.

Onyx elements: More home interiors are welcoming bolder, darker colors. “Onyx can be styled as bold or casual to bring high contrast and an elevated elegance to any space in the home,” PulteGroup designers note. “The color remains a timeless and beautiful go-to that will make a big wave in design this season.”

Report: Homeowners 8% Richer Over the Past Year | Realtor Magazine

Home equity continued to increase in the fourth quarter of 2018, with more homeowners profiting over rising home prices. U.S. homeowners with a mortgage saw their equity rise by 8.1 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to CoreLogic’s Home Equity Report, released Thursday.

The average homeowner has gained $9,700 in home equity between the fourth quarter of 2017 and the fourth quarter of 2018, the report showed. Western states saw some of the most significant annual gains. Nevada homeowners, for example, saw an increase of $29,400 in home equity over the past year, and Hawaii homeowners saw gains of about $26,900.

 

“As home prices rise, significantly more people are choosing to remodel, repair or upgrade their existing homes,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “The increase in home equity over the past several years provides homeowners with the means to finance home remodels and repairs. With rates still ultra-low by historical standards, home-equity loans provide a low-cost method to finance home-improvement spending. These expenditures are expected to rise 5 percent in 2019.”

The number of homes with a mortgage in negative equity—where the homeowner’s loan balance is higher than the home’s current worth—was at 2.2 million, or 4.2 percent of all mortgaged properties in the fourth quarter.

However, with predictions of a 4.5 percent increase in home prices over the next year, about 350,000 homeowners could be lifted from being underwater and restored to positive equity, says Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic’s chief economist.