best omaha real estate agents: Thinking of Selling? Now Is the Time to Act
- 04/18/17 06:20 AM
Thinking of Selling? Now Is the Time to Act If you thought about selling your house this year, now may be the time to do it. The inventory of Omaha homes for sale is well below historic norms and buyer demand is skyrocketing. We were still in high school when we learned the concept of supply and demand: the best time to sell something is when supply of that item is low and demand for that item is high. That defines today’s Omaha real estate market.
Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com, revealed in a recent article that:
“The biggest challenge to buyers … (2 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Home Mortgages: Rates Up, Requirements Easing
- 04/13/17 06:29 AM
Home Mortgages: Rates Up, Requirements Easing The media has extensively covered the rise in mortgage interest rates since last fall (from 3.42% last September to the current 4.1% according to Freddie Mac). However, a less covered aspect of the mortgage market is that requirements to get a mortgage have eased while rates have risen.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) quantifies the availability of mortgage credit each month with their Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). According to the MBA, the MCAI is:
“A summary measure which indicates the availability of mortgage credit at a point in time.”
The higher the index, the … (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: The Importance of Using a Professional to Sell Your Home
- 04/11/17 05:54 AM
The Importance of Using a Professional to Sell Your Home When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price for it with the least amount of hassles along the way. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is actually getting their homes sold.
In order to accomplish all three goals, a seller should realize the importance of using an Omaha real estate professional. We realize that technology has changed the purchaser’s behavior during the home buying process. According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2016 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, … (0 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Buying this Spring? Be Prepared for Bidding Wars
- 04/06/17 06:36 AM
Buying this Spring? Be Prepared for Bidding Wars Traditionally, spring is the busiest season for real estate. Buyers come out in force and homeowners list their houses for sale hoping to capitalize on buyer activity. This year will be no different!
Buyers have already been out in force looking for their dream homes and more are on their way, but the challenge is that the inventory of homes for sale has not kept up with demand, which has lead to A LOT of competition for the homes that are available.
A recent Bloomberg article touched on the current market conditions:
“It’s … (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: 15,014 Homes Sold Yesterday… Did Yours?
- 04/04/17 06:13 AM
15,014 Homes Sold Yesterday… Did Yours? There are some homeowners that have been waiting for months to get a price they hoped for when they originally listed their house for sale. The only thing they might want to consider is... If it hasn't sold yet, maybe it's not priced properly.
After all, 15,014 houses sold yesterday, 15,014 will sell today and 15,014 will sell tomorrow. 15,014! That is the average number of homes that sell each and every day in this country, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) latest Existing Home Sales Report. NAR reported that sales are at an annual rate of 5.48 million. Divide that number … (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Consumer Confidence in Economy and Housing is Soaring
- 03/30/17 07:26 AM
Consumer Confidence in Economy and Housing is Soaring The success of the housing market is strongly tied to the consumer’s confidence in the overall economy. For that reason, we believe 2017 will be a great year for Omaha real estate. Here is just a touch of the news coverage on the subject.
HousingWire: “Consumers’ faith in the housing market is stronger than it’s ever been before, according to a newly released survey from Fannie Mae.”
Bloomberg: “Americans’ confidence continued to mount last week as the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index reached the highest point in a decade on more-upbeat assessments about the … (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Millionaire to Millennials: Buy Now!
- 03/28/17 06:05 AM
Millionaire to Millennials: Buy Now! Self-made millionaire David Bach was quoted in a CNBC article explaining that "the single biggest mistake millennials are making" is not purchasing a home because buying real estate is "an escalator to wealth.”
Bach went on to explain:
"If millennials don't buy a home, their chances of actually having any wealth in this country are little to none. The average homeowner to this day is 38 times wealthier than a renter."
In his bestselling book, “The Automatic Millionaire,” Bach does the math:
"As a renter, you can easily spend half a million dollars or more on rent over the years ($1,500 a … (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: What Are the Experts Saying about Mortgage Rates?
- 03/23/17 06:25 AM
What Are the Experts Saying about Mortgage Rates? Mortgage interest rates have risen over the last few months and projections are that they will continue their upswing throughout 2017. What impact will this have on the housing market? Here is what the experts are saying:
Laurie Goodman, Co-director of the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center:
“In 1984, 1994, 2000, and 2013, every time we have rate increases, we have increases in nominal home prices. We expect this to be more pronounced, as there is a big demand-and-supply gap at the present time.”
Scott Anderson, Chief Economist for Bank of the … (2 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: 4 Great Reasons to Buy This Spring!
- 03/21/17 06:00 AM
4 Great Reasons to Buy This Spring! Here are four great reasons to consider buying an Omaha home today instead of waiting.
1. Prices Will Continue to Rise CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index reports that home prices have appreciated by 6.9% over the last 12 months. The same report predicts that prices will continue to increase at a rate of 4.8% over the next year.
The bottom in home prices has come and gone. Home values will continue to appreciate for years. Waiting no longer makes sense.
2. Mortgage Interest Rates Are Projected to Increase Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey … (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Which Homes Have Appreciated the Most?
- 03/16/17 06:08 AM
Which Homes Have Appreciated the Most? Home values have risen dramatically over the last twelve months. The latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors puts the annual increase in the median existing-home price at 7.1%. CoreLogic, in their most recent Home Price Insights Report, reveals that national home prices have increased by 6.9% year-over-year.
The CoreLogic report broke down appreciation even further into four different price categories:
Lower Priced Homes: priced at 75% or less of the median Low-to-Middle Priced Homes: priced between 75-100% of the median Middle-to-Moderate Priced Homes: priced between 100-125% of the median High … (0 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: How to Get the Most Money When Selling Your Home
- 03/14/17 06:23 AM
How to Get the Most Money When Selling Your Home Every homeowner wants to make sure they get the best price when selling their home. But how do you guarantee that you receive maximum value for your house? Here are two keys to ensuring you get the highest price possible.
1. Price it a LITTLE LOW This may seem counterintuitive. However, let’s look at this concept for a moment. Many homeowners think that pricing their home a little OVER market value will leave them room for negotiation. In reality, this just dramatically lessens the demand for their house (see chart below).
… (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Housing Market Expected to “Spring Forward”
- 03/09/17 07:20 AM
Housing Market Expected to “Spring Forward” Housing Market Expected to “Spring Forward” Just like our clocks this weekend in the majority of the country, the housing market will soon “spring forward!” Similar to tension in a spring, the lack of inventory available for sale in the market right now is what is holding back the market.
Many potential sellers believe that waiting until Spring is in their best interest, and traditionally they would have been right.
Buyer demand has seasonality to it, which usually falls off in the winter months, especially in areas of the country impacted by arctic temperatures and … (3 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Thinking of Selling? Do it TODAY!!!
- 03/07/17 06:58 AM
Thinking of Selling? Do it TODAY!! That headline might be a little aggressive. However, as the data on the 2017 housing market begins to roll in, we can definitely say one thing: If you are considering selling, IT IS TIME TO LIST YOUR HOME!
The February numbers are not in yet, but the January numbers were sensational. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors, said:
“Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home. … (3 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Over Half of All Buyers Are Surprised by Closing Costs
- 03/02/17 06:04 AM
Over Half of All Buyers Are Surprised by Closing Costs According to a recent survey conducted by ClosingCorp, over half of all homebuyers are surprised by the closing costs required to obtain their mortgage.
After surveying 1,000 first-time and repeat homebuyers, the results revealed that 17% of homebuyers were surprised that closing costs were required at all, while another 35% were stunned by how much higher the fees were than expected.
“Homebuyers reported being most surprised by mortgage insurance, followed by bank fees and points, taxes, title insurance and appraisal fees.”
Bankrate.com recently gathered closing cost data from lenders in every … (2 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: How Long Do Most Families Stay in Their Home?
- 02/28/17 06:20 AM
How Long Do Most Families Stay in Their Home? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) keeps historical data on many aspects of homeownership. One of the data points that has changed dramatically is the median tenure of a family in a home. As the graph below shows, for over twenty years (1985-2008), the median tenure averaged exactly six years. However, since 2008, that average is almost nine years – an increase of almost 50%.
Why the dramatic increase? The reasons for this change are plentiful!
The fall in home prices during the housing crisis left many homeowners in a negative equity situation (where … (2 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: The Impact of Homeownership on Family Health
- 02/23/17 05:58 AM
The Impact of Homeownership on Family Health The National Association of Realtors recently released a study titled 'Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing.’ The study confirmed a long-standing belief of most Americans:
“Owning a home embodies the promise of individual autonomy and is the aspiration of most American households. Homeownership allows households to accumulate wealth and social status, and is the basis for a number of positive social, economic, family and civic outcomes.”
Today, we want to cover the section of the report that quoted several studies concentrating on the impact homeownership has on the health of family members. Here … (0 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Access: A Key Component in Getting Your House SOLD!
- 02/21/17 06:06 AM
Access: A Key Component in Getting Your House SOLD! So, you’ve decided to sell your house. You’ve hired an Omaha real estate professional to help you with the entire process, and they have asked you what level of access you want to provide to potential buyers.
There are four elements to a quality listing. At the top of the list is Access, followed by Condition, Financing, and Price. There are many levels of access that you can provide to your agent so that he or she can show your home.
Here are five levels of access that you can give to … (0 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: The Great News About Rising Prices for Homeowners
- 02/16/17 06:02 AM
The Great News About Rising Prices for Homeowners Recently there has been a lot of talk about home prices and if they are accelerating too quickly. As we mentioned before, in some areas of the country, seller supply (homes for sale) cannot keep up with the number of buyers out looking for a home, which has caused prices to rise.
The great news about rising prices, however, is that according to CoreLogic’s US Economic Outlook, the average American household gained over $11,000 in equity over the course of the last year, largely due to home value increases.
The map below was created using … (1 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: First Comes Love… Then Comes Mortgage?
- 02/14/17 06:45 AM
First Comes Love… Then Comes Mortgage? According to the National Association of REALTORS most recent Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, married couples once again dominated the first-time homebuyer statistics in 2016 at 58% of all buyers. It is no surprise that having two incomes to save for down payments and contribute to monthly housing costs makes buying a home more attainable.
But, many couples are also deciding to buy a home before spending what would be a down payment on a wedding, as unmarried couples made up 14% of all first-time buyers last year.
If you’re single, don’t fret! Single … (0 comments)
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best omaha real estate agents: Buyers Are Searching For Your House
- 02/09/17 07:13 AM
Buyers Are Searching For Your House The most recent Pending Homes Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors revealed a slight bump in contracts with an increase of 1.6% in December. This news comes as existing home sales are also forecasted to be on pace for 5.54 million in 2017, a 1.7% increase over 2016, which was the best year for sales in a decade.
The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction … (3 comments)
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Thinking of Selling? Now Is the Time to Act If you thought about selling your house this year, now may be the time to do it. The inventory of Omaha homes for sale is well below historic norms and buyer demand is skyrocketing. We were still in high school when we learned the concept of supply and demand: the best time to sell something is when supply of that item is low and demand for that item is high. That defines today’s Omaha real estate market.
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