Category Archives: real estate appraisal

Housing market is showing signs of hope

Posted on January 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

If you’ve been distracted by the federal government shutdown, political dysfunction, stock-market volatility and reports of rising mortgage rates, it wouldn’t be surprising if you concluded: No way is this a good time to even think about buying a house or putting one on the market. Things are too crazy. Nobody’s paying attention to real estate anyway.

But take another look. Some of the real-estate fundamentals have been changing for the better. Take mortgages. They’ve gotten cheaper. As of last week, you could readily find conventional rates averaging 3.87 percent for five-year adjustable-rate home loans, or conventional 30-year loans at fixed rates of 4.45 percent, according to investor Freddie Mac. That compares with late last year, when they were at 5 percent or higher, depending on an applicant’s credit profile.

Sure, rates are slightly higher than they were a year ago, when the 30-year fixed rate averaged 4.2 percent. And yes, when you take out a five-year adjustable loan, your payments are fixed for the first 60 months and then are subject to adjustments — up or down — once a year. So you take on future rate risk in exchange for a super low rate the first five years.

But combined with other recent trends — growing inventories of homes available for sale, slower price inflation and even modest price reductions — the decline in mortgage rates should be encouraging for anyone seriously in the market for a home. And even for heads-up owners looking to sell.

Consider:

New mortgage applications of home buyers nationwide during the week that ended Jan. 11 soared to their highest level since 2010 — and were 9 percent higher than they were the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Clearly the word is out among buyers who learned about the rate declines: They’ve been rushing to nail down financing at a brisker pace than is typical for this time of year.

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Redfin tries out 1% home listing fee in San Diego

Posted on June 9, 2017 | Leave a comment

Real estate website and brokerage Redfin has launched a 1 percent listing fee in San Diego that could save home sellers hundreds of dollars in commission costs.

It’s not the first time the website has rolled out the feature — or the only city — but this is its first time in California. It previously had an already below average listing rate of 1.5 percent.

Low listing fees are often associated with agencies that don’t do as much for clients. But, Redfin says its business model allows it to charge less and do as good of a job as traditional agencies.

The typical listing fee is about 2.5 percent, which can mean thousands of dollars in a high-priced market, and also usually means an additional 2.5 percent for the buyer’s agent.

For a San Diego County median priced home of $525,000, a buyer would typically expect to spend around $26,000 in commission fees. Under Redfin’s deal, one could conceivably save nearly $8,000.

Redfin spokeswoman Alina Ptaszynski said the move is possible because of its emphasis on technology and a different real estate agent model.

“We’re delivering the same level of service — we would argue higher level of service,” she said.

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What to remember when considering an HOA property

Posted on November 2, 2016 | Leave a comment

With a homeowner association, people tend to over look the fact that a lot of home maintenance issues are not their problem, in most cases. The HOA is often responsible for all the big items that single family home owners fret about: the roof, foundation, outside of the home, landscaping.

The drawback is that you pay a monthly fee. If you consider how much they take off your hands in terms of responsibility, the fee is a good thing. Another possible drawback is that you will be involved with the HOA to review projects and plans and vote on decisions.

Buyers should review with their agents the reserves in the building as well as the projections for when major systems will need replacement. In conjunction with this, buyers should read all past meetings to see what’s being discussed in the HOA and how they handle issues. Is it a smooth-running HOA or are there issues?

Another item to review is their policies on rentals. These policies are subject to change, and if you plan on renting the place out while you go on a long trip, that may not be possible.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Category Archives: real estate appraisal

Housing market is showing signs of hope

Redfin tries out 1% home listing fee in San Diego

What to remember when considering an HOA property

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