House Talk

Which month do you think most people who are considering buying a home actually start their search? If you’re like most of us, you probably think the surge happens in the spring, likely in April. Not anymore. According to new research, January 2019 was only 1% behind February for the most monthly views per listing on realtor.com.

I recently closed four deals involving 2 sets of clients—each couple sold their existing home and bought a new one on the same day. You would think that is the norm in my business here on the Main Line, but there are often reasons why this does not happen.

Questions continue to rise around where home prices will head in 2020. The latest forecast from CoreLogic shows continued appreciation at 5.4% over the next year.

Studies have shown that, in many cases, the largest asset a family owns is the house they live in. Over the last twelve months, that asset has gained substantial value. CoreLogic just released their 2019 3rd Quarter Homeowner Equity Insights Report. The report revealed that:“U.S. homeowners with mortgages (roughly 64% of all properties) have seen their equity increase by a total of nearly $457 billion since the third quarter 2018, an increase of 5.1%, year over year.”

A Main Line Realtor®, at least a good one, has to wear many hats. It is truly a disparate bevy of skills that makes this job go well. For example, in the last couple of days I had to diagnose a water heater’s problem, find a good plumber, landscaper, mason and floor refinisher, counsel a couple who is unable to decide which area of the country they want to downsize in, and create a marketing giveaway for a sponsorship of an event.

A comparison of the cost to owning a home now to years past. Interest rates are historically low.

Almost 100% of this Main Line Real Estate Agent’s clients admit to using Zillow. If not exclusively, then occasionally. Many sellers start there to get an idea of the price their home might fetch on a sale. And many buyers use its search feature to check for new listings. Like the best of the public websites that provide listing information, Zillow gets its data directly from public websites as well as the MLS system that agents use and pay for, but often the specific information they choose to disseminate to their viewers is not up to date or as precise. And their valuations are often way off.

Houzz reports that showers are key: Four in five homeowners upgrade the shower during a master bathroom renovation (83%) and over half increase the shower size (54%). For many renovators, this alleviates the pre-project pet peeve of a small shower (38%), which is second only to having an outdated space (59%). Fewer than a quarter of renovating homeowners choose to increase the bathroom size (22%).

Interest Rate Cuts May Be OverMortgage rates rose Friday after data showed the economy added more jobs than expected last month, a sign of ongoing growth.

This Main Line real estate agent knows that curb appeal is a topic most people feel they have a good grasp on. It is good, right? How much should a home buyer value curb appeal?