Mohammed Salim Shaikh (Realtor, Corona)

What You Need To Know About Home Price News The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will release its latest Existing Home Sales Report tomorrow. The information it contains on home prices may cause some confusion and could even generate some troubling headlines. This all stems from the fact that NAR will report the median sales price, while other home price indices report repeat sales prices . The vast majority of the repeat sales indices show prices are starting to appreciate again. But the median price reported on Thursday may tell a different story.  Here's why using the median home price as a gauge of what's happening with home values isn't ideal right now. According to the Center for Real Estate Studies at Wichita State University : "The median sale price measures the 'middle' price of homes that sold, meaning that half of the homes sold for a higher price and half sold for less. While this is a good measure of the typical sale price, it is not ve...

Reasons To Sell Your House Today [INFOGRAPHIC] Some Highlights Not sure if selling your house is the right move today? You should know there are a number of reasons it still makes sense to sell now. Your house will stand out because inventory is low. That's why the number of offers on recently sold homes is on the rise . And most homeowners have a lot of equity that can fuel a move. If you're thinking about selling your house , let's connect to discuss if now may be the time to move.

The Worst Home Price Declines Are Behind Us If you're following the news today, you may feel a bit unsure about what's happening with home prices and fear whether or not the worst is yet to come. That's because today's headlines are painting an unnecessarily negative picture. Contrary to those headlines, home prices aren't in a freefall. The latest data tells a very different and much more positive story. Local home price trends still vary by market, but here's what the national data tells us. If we take a year-over-year view, home prices stayed positive – they just appreciated more slowly than they did at the peak of the pandemic. To get a more detailed picture of some of the trends in the market, we need to look at monthly data.  The monthly graphs below use recent reports from three sources to show that the worst home price declines are already behind us, and prices are on their way back up nationally. The story this more detailed monthly view tells us...

Homeowners Have Incredible Equity To Leverage Right Now Even though home prices have moderated over the last year, many homeowners still have an incredible amount of equity. But what is equity? In the simplest terms, equity is the difference between the market value of your home and the amount you owe on your mortgage. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) explains how your equity grows over time: "Housing wealth (home equity or net worth) gains are built up through price appreciation and by paying off the mortgage." How Your Equity Can Help You Achieve Your Goals The equity you build up over the years can be used to your advantage when you sell your current house and buy your next home . If you no longer have the space you need, it might be time to move into a larger home. Or it's possible you have too much space and need something smaller . No matter the situation, your equity can be a powerful tool you can use to help you make a move in today's market . That...

The Worst Home Price Declines Are Behind Us [INFOGRAPHIC] Some Highlights While home prices vary by local area, they've already hit their low point nationally, and now they're starting to rise again. Last July, prices started to decline, but around February , they began climbing back up. If you put your plans to move on hold waiting to see what would happen with home prices , let's connect to discuss if now's the right time to jump back in.

The Best Time To Sell Your House Is When Others Aren't Selling If you're thinking about selling your house, you should know the number of homes for sale right now is low. That's because, this season, there are fewer sellers listing their houses for sale than the norm. Looking back at every April since 2017, the only year when fewer sellers listed their homes was in April 2020, when the pandemic hit and stalled the housing market ( shown in red in the graph below ). In more typical years, roughly 500,000 sellers add their homes to the market in April. This year, we saw fewer than 400,000 sellers entering the market in April ( see graph below ): While there are a number of factors contributing to this trend, one thing keeping inventory low right now is that some homeowners are reluctant to move when the mortgage rate they have on their current house is lower than the one they could get today on their next house. It's called rate lock . As a recent survey from Realtor.co...

The Impact of Inflation on Mortgage Rates If you're reading headlines about inflation or mortgage rates , you may see something about the recent decision from the Federal Reserve (the Fed). But what does it mean for you, the housing market, and your plans to buy a home ? Here's what you need to know. Inflation and the Housing Market While the Fed's working hard to lower inflation, the latest data shows that, while the number has improved some, the inflation rate is still higher than the target (2%). That played a role in the Fed's decision to raise the Federal Funds Rate last week. As Bankrate explains : " Keeping its inflation-fighting streak alive, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the 10th time in 10 meetings . . . The hikes aimed to cool an economy that was on fire after rebounding from the coronavirus recession of 2020."   While the Fed's actions don't directly dictate what happens with mortgage rates, their decisions do have an ...

Why Today's Housing Market Is Not About To Crash There's been some concern lately that the housing market is headed for a crash. And given some of the affordability challenges in the housing market, along with a lot of recession talk in the media, it's easy enough to understand why that worry has come up. But the data clearly shows today's market is very different than it was before the housing crash in 2008. Rest assured, this isn't a repeat of what happened back then. Here's why. It's Harder To Get a Loan Now It was much easier to get a home loan during the lead-up to the 2008 housing crisis than it is today. Back then, banks had different lending standards, making it easy for just about anyone to qualify for a home loan or refinance an existing one. As a result, lending institutions took on much greater risk in both the person and the mortgage products offered. That led to mass defaults, foreclosures, and falling prices. Things are different today as pu...

It May Be Time To Consider a Newly Built Home If you're looking to buy a house , you may find today's limited supply of homes available for sale challenging. When housing inventory is as low as it is right now, it can feel like a bit of an uphill battle to find the perfect home for you because there just isn't that much to choose from. If you need to open up your pool of options, it may be time to consider a newly built home.  According to the latest data from the U.S. Census, there's positive news when it comes to new home construction. When you look at the first three months of this year, you'll find: More new homes were completed and are ready to sell. This gives you more move-in-ready options for your search. Builders broke ground and started construction on more single-family homes. This means there are more homes intended for one household in the beginning stages of construction, allowing you the opportunity to customize one to your liking. The number of pe...

How Homeowners Win When They Downsize Downsizing has long been a popular option when homeowners reach retirement age. But there are plenty of other life changes that could make downsizing worthwhile. Homeowners who have experienced a change in their lives or no longer feel like their house fits their needs may benefit from downsizing too. U.S. News explains : "Downsizing is somewhat common among older people and retirees who no longer have children living at home. But these days, younger people are also looking to downsize to save money on housing . . ." And when inflation has made most things significantly more expensive, saving money where you can has a lot of appeal. So, if you're thinking about ways to budget differently, it could be worthwhile to take your home into consideration. When you think about cutting down on your spending, odds are you think of frequent purchases, like groceries and other goods. But when you downsize your house, you often end up downsizi...

Buyer Activity Is Up Despite Higher Mortgage Rates If you're a homeowner thinking about making a move , you may wonder if it's still a good time to sell your house. Here's the good news. Even with higher mortgage rates, buyer traffic is actually picking up speed . Data from the latest ShowingTime Showing Index , which is a measure of buyers actively touring homes, helps paint the picture of how much buyer demand has increased in recent months ( see graph below ): As the graph shows, the first two months of 2023 saw a noticeable increase in buyer traffic. That's likely because the limited number of homes for sale kept shoppers looking for homes even during colder months. To help tell the story of why the latest report is significant, let's compare foot traffic this February with each February for the last six years ( see graph below ). It shows this was one of the best Februarys for buyer activity we've seen in recent memory. In the last six years, we saw the mo...

A Recession Doesn't Equal a Housing Crisis Everywhere you look, people are talking about a potential recession. And if you're planning to buy or sell a house, this may leave you wondering if your plans are still a wise move. To help ease your mind, experts are saying that if we do officially enter a recession, it'll be mild and short. As the Federal Reserve explained in their March meeting: ". . . the staff's projection at the time of the March meeting included a mild recession starting later this year, with a recovery over the subsequent two years ."   While a recession may be on the horizon, it won't be one for the housing market record books like the crash in 2008. What we have to remember is that a recession doesn't always lead to a housing crisis. To prove it, let's look at the historical data of what happened in real estate during previous recessions. That way you know why you shouldn't be afraid of what a recession could mean for the h...

Why Buying a Home Makes More Sense Than Renting Today Wondering if you should continue renting or if you should buy a home this year? If so, consider this. Rental affordability is still a challenge and has been for years. That's because, historically, rents trend up over time. Data from the Census shows rents have been climbing pretty steadily since 1988.  And, data from the latest rental report from Realtor.com shows rents continue to grow today, even though it's at a slower pace than we saw at the height of the pandemic: "In March 2023, the U.S. rental market experienced single-digit growth for the eighth month in a row . . . The median asking rent was $1,732, up by $15 from last month and down by $32 from the peak but is still $354 (25.7%) higher than the same time in 2019 (pre-pandemic)." With rents much higher now than they were in more normal, pre-pandemic years, owning your home may be a better option, especially if the long-term trend of rents increasi...

Why Today's Foreclosure Numbers Are Nothing Like 2008 You've likely seen headlines about the number of foreclosures climbing in today's housing market. That may leave you with a few questions, especially if you're thinking about buying a house. Understanding what they really mean is mission-critical if you want to know the truth about what's happening today. According to a recent report from ATTOM , a property data provider, foreclosure filings are up 6% compared to the previous quarter and 22% since one year ago. As media headlines call attention to this increase, reporting on just the number could actually generate worry and may even make you think twice about buying a home for fear that prices could crash. The reality is, while increasing, the data shows a foreclosure crisis is not where the market is headed.   Let's look at the latest information with context so we can see how this compares to previous years. It Isn't the Dramatic Increase Headlines Wou...

The Three Factors Affecting Home Affordability Today There's been a lot of focus on higher mortgage rates and how they're creating affordability challenges for today's homebuyers. It's true that rates climbed dramatically since the record-low we saw during the pandemic. But home affordability is based on more than just mortgage rates – it's determined by a combination of mortgage rates, home prices, and wages. Considering how each one of these factors is changing gives you the full picture of home affordability today. Here's the latest. 1. Mortgage Rates While mortgage rates are higher than they were a year ago, they've hovered primarily between 6% and 7% for nearly eight months now ( see graph below ): As the graph shows, mortgage rates have experienced some volatility during that time. And even a small change in mortgage rates impacts your purchasing power. That's why it's so important to lean on your team of real estate professionals for expert ...

What Are the Experts Saying About the Spring Housing Market? The housing market's been going through a lot of change lately, and there's been uncertainty surrounding what will happen this spring. You may be wondering if more homes will go on the market, what's next with home prices and mortgage rates , or what the best advice is for someone in your position right now. Here's what industry experts are saying right now about the spring housing market and what it means for you: Selma Hepp , Chief Economist, CoreLogic : " We see more competition among buyers . . . Housing supply also tends to grow during the spring months. And this is also the time of year when relatively more migration happens, as people graduate and move elsewhere looking for jobs." Greg McBride , Chief Financial Analyst, Bankrate : "I don't expect big moves in prices in the span of a month, but like the flower buds of spring, the housing market is showing signs of improvement . A pic...

The Power of Pre-Approval If you're buying a home this spring, today's housing market can feel like a challenge . With so few homes on the market right now, plus higher mortgage rates , it's essential to have a firm grasp on your homebuying budget. You'll also need a sense of determination to find the right house and act quickly when you go to put in an offer. One thing you can do to help you prepare is to get pre-approved. To understand why it's such an important step, you need to know what pre-approval is. As part of the process, a lender looks at your finances to determine what they'd be willing to loan you. From there, your lender will give you a pre-approval letter to help you understand how much money you can borrow. Freddie Mac explains it like this: " A pre-approval is an indication from your lender that they are willing to lend you a certain amount of money to buy your future home . . . . Keep in mind that the loan amount in the pre-approval lett...

Why You May Want an Energy-Efficient Home [INFOGRAPHIC] Some Highlights Since inflation is increasing the cost of goods and services, it may make sense to look for an energy-efficient home . Energy prices have increased over the last year, so look for energy-efficient features in your home search. If you're looking to buy a home this year, let's connect so you have a partner to help you consider which features are most important to you.