Your Guide to the Home Appraisal

Your Guide to the Home Appraisal You’ve found your dream home and now it’s time to cross all your T's and dot all your I's before it’s all your own. And one of the first items on your closing checklist the home appraisal. So, what exactly is that? The home appraisal is essentially a value assessment of the home and property. It is conducted by a certified third party and is used to determine whether the home is priced appropriately. During a home appraisal, the appraiser conducts a complete visual inspection of the interior and exterior of the home. He or she factors in a variety of things, including the home’s floor plan functionality, condition, location, school district, fixtures, lot size, and more. An upward adjustment is generally made if the home has a deck, a view, or a large yard. The appraiser will also compare the home to several similar homes that were sold within the last six months in the area. The final report must include a street map showing the property and the ones’ compared, photographs of the interior and exterior, an explanation on how the square footage was calculated, market sales data, public land records, and more. After it is complete, the lender uses the information found to ensure that the property is worth the amount they are investing. This is a safe-guard for the lender as the home acts as collateral for the mortgage. If the buyer defaults on the mortgage and goes into foreclosure, the lender generally sells the home to recover the money borrowed.

Wondering What’s Going on with Home Prices?

The recent changes in home prices are top of mind for many as the housing market begins gearing up for spring. It can be hard to navigate misleading headlines and confusing data, so here’s what you should know about today’s home prices.Local price trends still vary by market. But looking at national data, Nataliya Polkovnichenko, Ph.D., Supervisory Economist at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), explains:“U.S. house prices were largely unchanged in the last four months and remained near the peak levels reached over the summer of 2022. While higher mortgage rates have suppressed demand, low inventories of homes for sale have helped maintain relatively flat house prices.”Month-over-month home price changes can be seen in the chart below. The data also shows that price depreciation peaked around August. Since then, any depreciation has been even milder. In other words, today’s home prices aren’t in a freefall.What Does This Mean for You?If you currently own your house, you may be concerned about even the smallest decline in prices. But keep in mind how much home values grew over the last few years. Compared to that growth, any declines we’re seeing nationally are likely to be minimal. Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at CoreLogic, shares:“. . . while prices continued to fall from November, the rate of decline was lower than that seen in the summer and still adds up to only a 3% cumulative drop in prices since last spring’s peak.”It’s also important to remember that every local market is different. That’s why it’s essential to lean on an expert for the latest information on the home prices in your area if you’re planning to make a move this spring.Bottom LineTo understand what’s going on with home prices in our market and how they could impact your goals, let’s connect today.

Should You Consider Buying a Newly Built Home?

If you’re thinking about buying a home, you might be focusing on previously owned ones. But with so few houses for sale today, it makes sense to consider all your options, and that includes a home that’s newly built.The Number of Newly Built Homes Is on the RiseWhile there are more houses for sale right now than there were at this time last year, there’s still a historically low number of homes available on the market. One reason for that is years of underbuilding—meaning there haven’t been enough new homes built to keep up with demand.The graph above shows how low the production of newly constructed homes has been over the past 14 years. But it also shows another important trend: the number of new homes being built each year is on the rise. As Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American, shares, that’s good news for buyers:“While existing-home inventory remains limited, the silver lining for home buyers is that new-home inventory is on the rise, and a new home at the right price is a pretty good substitute.”Builder Incentives Can Provide a BoostWhile there a growing number of new homes for sale, builders are slowing that pace until they sell more of their current inventory. According to Logan Mohtashami, Lead Analyst at HousingWire:“The builders have to work off the backlog of homes, but instead of 3%-4% mortgage rates, they’re dealing with 6% plus mortgage rates, which means they have to provide many incentives to make sure those homes sell.”Many builders are now offering incentives to help buyers purchase these homes. Fleming also explains:“The National Association of Home Builders reported that nearly two-thirds of builders were offering incentives, including mortgage rate buydowns, paying points for buyers and price reductions, which could entice potential home buyers.”A builder who’s willing to pay to reduce your mortgage rate could be a game changer. Ksenia Potapov, Economist at First American, puts it this way:“A one percentage-point decline in mortgage rates has the same impact on affordability as an 11 percent decline in house prices.”Should You Buy a Brand-New Home?The best way to decide what type of home to buy is to work with a trusted real estate professional who can help you weigh the pros and cons of each option. They know which homes are available in your local market, and which builders might be offering incentives that make sense for you.Bottom LineEven though there aren’t a lot of homes for sale today, new home inventory is on the rise, and many builders are offering incentives. Let’s connect so I can help you weigh the pros and cons of shopping for a new home versus an existing one.

[:en]Why It’s Easy To Fall in Love with Homeownership[:]

[:en]No matter how the housing market changes, there are some things about owning a home that never change—like the personal benefits it can provide. When you own your home, you likely feel a sense of attachment because of the comfort it gives and also because it’s a space that’s truly yours.Over the last few years, we’ve fully embraced the meaning of our homes as we spent more time than ever in them. As a result, the emotional benefits our homes provide have become even more important to us.As the most recent State of the American Homeowner from Unison puts it:“. . . one thing has stayed the same: the home continues to be of the utmost importance and a place of security and comfort.”The same study from Unison notes: 91% of homeowners say they feel secure, stable, or successful owning a home 64% of American homeowners say living through a pandemic has made their home more important to them than everIt’s no surprise this study also reveals that homeowners now love their homes even more as our attachments to them have grown:The National Association of Realtors (NAR) also explains:“In addition to tangible financial benefits, homeownership brings substantial social benefits for [households], communities, and the country as a whole.”In other words, not only does owning a home build your net worth over time, but it also gives you and your loved ones a place to thrive. And by living near people with shared experiences, homeownership helps you connect with your community and contribute meaningfully.Bottom LineWhether you’re thinking of buying your first home, moving up to your dream home, or downsizing to something that better fits your changing lifestyle, let me be the key to unlocking a home you can truly fall in love with.[:]