Sellers: Spend Time and Money to Save Time and Make Money
Did you know that for every $1 buyers anticipate having to spend on a home, they will reduce their offer $4?
When preparing to sell, identifying and remedying areas of your home where maintenance has been deferred is crucial both to how much you’re offered and how soon you receive an offer on your home.
Nancy Hopp
Broker Associate
Hegg, REALTORS®
Sioux Falls, SD
605-360-1974
Forecast for home ownership!
Is there value in owning a home? Homeownership has always been the American Dream. Is that dream a thing of the past or do we still feel that way?
The past few years have been a bit rough for sellers usually because they bought or built in the past 4 years and now have decided to sell and want to make money. The problem was this was the same time period where the economy struggled and buyers wanted assurance that they would get a good deal. What happened was they started overanalyzing and everything just stood still. It’s called “our perception,” and we as consumers made it a reality.
Was there no value in the homes on market or what was the problem? The value was still there! However, fear was the driving force instead of the American Dream.
Good news! Americans are still buying and selling and Fannie Mae just released it’s expectations for 2011. This report is quite optimistic based on consumer spending and an increase in demand for goods and services.
Analysts expect the housing market to rebound in 2011 and the forecast is for new housing starts to be up by 18.5% next year which is a 20% increase in new home sales. They are expecting a 4% rise in existing home sales, up 5% overall. The corrections in our market seem to have taken place and now is the perfect time to consider either buying or selling to get a jump on the sense of building momentum that is expected in 2011.
But enough about statistics! Here are 3 reasons why home ownership is a good thing:
1) You NEED a place to live, so you may as well pay yourself instead of someone else. Long term home ownership is a wonderful investment in you!
2) There is a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes when you undertake owning a home.
3) There are many tax deductions available to homeowners that are not available to renters.
There are many more benefits to owning than these 3, but they are a good start.
Thanks for reading! Call or email with your questions or comments!
Merry Christmas and wishing you all a blessed and prosperous New Year!
Nancy Hopp
Broker Associate
Hegg, REALTORS®
Sioux Falls, SD
605-360-1974
To buy or not to buy? That is the question!
If you are a first time home buyer or a move up buyer, are you currently sitting on the fence?
Today I want to share some information that I hope will shed some light on the subject.
Everyone remembers the $8000 tax credit offered earlier this year, right? Well, here is a news flash! With current interest rates, everyone, not just first time buyers, can get in on the deal!
Let me break this down for you:
If you would have bought a $150,000 home last spring, you could have received the $8000 tax credit, a one-time credit, but if you buy a home now and take advantage of lower interest rates, the monthly savings would last as long as your mortgage payments!
With today’s interest rates, you can pretty much across the board count on either a huge savings on your monthly payments for the same $150,000 home (considering the current rates) OR buy quite a bit more home for the same money!
Most people think the lower the selling price of the home, the lower their monthly mortgage payment will be, when in reality it is the interest rate that really determines the payment.
It would be really hard to lower the price of a home enough to equal the difference in a 2 point reduction in interest rates. Currently they are at an unprecedented all time low. Visit with a lender to see just how much you can buy right now!
Then, take a look at the properties available, most of which are priced to sell, and see if this is your time to jump off the fence into home ownership or move up to your dream home.
Monthly Payment Examples*
*principle and interest only
$150,000 home @ 5.75 = $876.00 per month
$150,000 home @ 4.00 = $715.50 per month
A savings of $160.50 per month
Now for the same money ( 4%) you could buy a home value of $184,000 for a principle and interest payment of $877.00 per month
SDHA interest Rate is 3.75%
$150,000 home @ 3.75 = $694.45 per month
What could you rent for $700.00 per month?
Nancy Hopp
Broker Associate
Hegg, REALTORS®
Sioux Falls, SD
605-360-1974
