2017 Home Builders Association Housing Forecast

Earlier in the month we attended the Annual Home Builders Association Housing Forecast event at the Marriott downtown.

You can read more details but here are a couple takeaways we thought were interesting:

• Eldon Rude was one of the speakers. Eldon’s company provides data for home builders. I have known Eldon for almost 20 years and for as long as I have know him he has preached about the #1 driver of our real estate market being job growth. 
• Last year we saw job growth slow down compared to previous years. It’s not expected to impact real estate much this year because of the pent up demand from all the people who have moved to the Austin area recently but it’s something to pay attention to going forward.
• Interestingly enough some of the…

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Avery Ranch Buyer Needs

We have been asked by two families to help them find a home in Avery Ranch. If you know of anyone planning to sell their home and it sounds like a fit please contact us as soon as possible.

Both families are flexible about a move in date and can offer a lease back for sellers wanting to move up with the security of selling their home.

Family #1

• 2 story home with high ceilings
• 4+ bedrooms
• Parkside, Morningside or Brookside
• Up to $550,000

Family #2

• 1 story home with a larger floor plan (over 2,100 sf)
• Prefer wood floors but are open to tile or carpet if the floor plan works.
• Up to $360,000

If you are interested in buying a home or selling your home this year call/text me directly at 512-791-7473 or send me…

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Have You Saved Enough for Closing Costs?

There are many potential homebuyers, and even sellers, who believe that they need at least a 20% down payment in order to buy a home or move on to their next home. Time after time, we have dispelled this myth by showing that many loan programs allow you to put down as little as 3% (or 0% with a VA loan).

If you have saved up your down payment and are ready to start your home search, one other piece of the puzzle is to make sure that you have saved enough for your closing costs.

Freddie Mac defines closing costs as:

“Closing costs, also called settlement fees, will need to be paid when you obtain a mortgage. These are fees charged by people representing your purchase, including your lender, real estate agent, and other third parties…

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How Low Interest Rates Increase Your Purchasing Power

According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are currently at 4.09%, which is still very low in comparison to recent history!

The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power.

Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford to buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget.

The chart below shows what impact rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a home within the national median price range, and planned to…

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2 Myths About Mortgages That May Be Holding Back Buyers

Fannie Mae’s “What do consumers know about the Mortgage Qualification Criteria?” Study revealed that Americans are misinformed about what is required to qualify for a mortgage when purchasing a home.

Myth #1: “I Need a 20% Down Payment”

Fannie Mae’s survey revealed that consumers overestimate the down payment funds needed to qualify for a home loan. According to the report, 76% of Americans either don’t know (40%) or are misinformed (36%) about the minimum down payment required.

Many believe that they need at least 20% down to buy their dream home. New programs actually let buyers put down as little as 3%.

Below are the results of a Digital Risk survey of Millennials who recently purchased a home.

As you can see, 64.2% were able…

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You Need a Professional on Your Team When Buying a Home

Many people wonder whether they should hire a real estate professional to assist them in buying their dream home or if they should first try to do it on their own. In today’s market: you need an experienced professional!

You Need an Expert Guide if You Are Traveling a Dangerous Path

The field of real estate is loaded with land mines; you need a true expert to guide you through the dangerous pitfalls that currently exist. Finding a home that is priced appropriately and is ready for you to move into can be tricky. An agent listens to your wants and needs, and can sift through the homes that do not fit within the parameters of your “dream home.”

A great agent will also have relationships with mortgage professionals and other experts that…

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Building Your Family’s Wealth Over the Next 5 Years

Over the next five years, home prices are expected to appreciate 3.24% per year on average and to grow by 21.4% cumulatively, according to Pulsenomics’most recent Home Price Expectation Survey.

So, what does this mean for homeowners and their equity position?

As an example, let’s assume a young couple purchases and closes on a $250,000 home in January. If we look at only the projected increase in the price of that home, how much equity will they earn over the next 5 years?

Since the experts predict that home prices will increase by 4.0% this year alone, the young homeowners will have gained over $10,000 in equity in just one year.

Over a five-year period, their equity will increase by over $43,000! This figure does not even take…

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Millionaire to Millennials: Buy a Home!!

Last week, CNBC ran an article quoting self-made millionaire David Bach explaining that not purchasing a home is "the single biggest mistake millennials are making" 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 month for 30 years comes to $540,000), and in the end wind up just where you started — owning nothing. Or you can buy a house and spend…

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3 Tips for Making Your Dream of Buying a Home Come True [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some Highlights:

• Realtor.com recently shared “5 Habits to Start Now If You Hope to Buy a Home in 2017.”
• Setting up an automatic savings plan that saves a small amount of every check is one of the best ways to save without thinking a lot about it.
• Living within a budget now will help you save money for down payments and pay down other debts that might be holding you back.

If your are interested in buying a home or selling your home this year call/text me directly at 512-791-7473 or send me an email at eric@koparealestate.com.

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