Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate Federal Way & Puyallup

Some Highlights: If you are thinking of buying a home, you may not know where to start. Here is a simple list of 10 steps that you will go through to purchase a home. Make sure to ask your agent for details about each step and what else may be required in your area! MARCH 29, 2019 / BY  KCM CREW

There has been a lot written about the benefits of homeownership. One benefit that continues to rise to the top is the added wealth homeowners gain simply by paying their mortgage while their home increases in value over time. The  National Association of Realtors  (NAR) recently broke down the equity gained from price appreciation and principal payments in their  Economists Outlook Blog . Homeowners who purchased their homes five years ago have already gained almost $80,000 in equity over that time with  80% of the gains coming from price appreciation. For a homeowner who purchased their home 30 years ago, they have gained nearly $250,000 in equity with 70% coming from price increases.  The full results can be seen in the chart below. According to the  Home Price Expectation Survey , a family who  purchased a median priced home  this January can expect to gain more than $42,000 over the next five years simply from price appreciation al...

The spring housing market is off to the races! The inventory of homes for sale is increasing, buyers are out in force, and interest rates have remained low, piquing the interest of buyers  and  sellers previously on the fence about making a move. New  research  from  realtor.com  shows that the first week of April is actually the best time to list your house for sale! The report used  “trends in median listing prices, views per property on realtor.com, home price drops, median days on market, and number of listings on the market over the last three years,”  to determine a ranking for every week of the year. Listing your home in the first week of April contributes 14x more property views, 5% less competition from other home sellers, and results in the home being sold 6 days faster! Below is a graph indicating the average score for each month of the year. It should come as no surprise that April and May dominate as the top months to sel...

Some Highlights: When listing your house for sale, your top goal will be to get the home sold for the best price possible! There are many small projects that you can do to ensure this happens! Your real estate agent will have a list of specific suggestions for getting your house ready for market and is a great resource for finding local contractors who can help!

In today’s real estate market, with more houses coming to market every day and eager buyers searching for their dream home, setting the right price for your house is one of the most important things you can do. According to  CoreLogic’s  latest  Home Price Index ,  home values have risen at over 6% a year over the past two years, but have started to slow to 4.4% over the last 12 months. By this time next year,  CoreLogic predicts that home values will be 4.6% higher. With prices slowing from their previous pace, homeowners must realize that pricing their homes a little OVER market value to leave room for negotiation will actually dramatically decrease the number of buyers who will see their listing!  (see the chart below) Instead of the seller trying to  ‘win’  the negotiation with one buyer, they should price their house so that demand for the home is maximized. By doing so, the seller will not be negotiating with a buyer over the price, b...

Many have written about the millennial generation and whether or not they, as a whole, believe in homeownership as part of attaining the American Dream. Millennials have taken longer to obtain traditional milestones than the generations before them, such as getting married, having kids, and buying a home. However, that does not mean that they do not still aspire to achieve those things. History shows that people tend to buy their first home around age 30. Nearly  5 million millennials  will turn 30 in the next two years. This will continue to fuel demand for housing. This is also one of the many reasons why the millennial homeownership rate has continued to grow over the past few years. 48.4% of Americans between the ages of 30-34 now own a home. There are over 46 million millennials (33% of the generation) who are considered  “Mortgage Ready” , meaning they meet the qualifications to be approved for a mortgage today! a FICO Score ≥ 620 a Back-End Debt to Inc...

There are many misconceptions about the credit score needed to buy a house. Recently, it was reported that  24%  of renters believe they need a 780-800 credit score to be considered for a mortgage. The reality is they are misinformed! Only 25% of the Americans have a FICO® Score between 740 and 800. Here is the breakdown according to  Experian : 16% Very Poor (300-579) 18% Fair (580-669) 21% Good (670-739) 25% Very Good (740-799) 20% Exceptional (800-850) Randy Hopper,  Senior Vice President  of  Mortgage Lending  for  Navy Federal Credit Union   said , “ Just because you have a low credit score doesn’t mean you can’t purchase a home. There are a lot of options out there for consumers with low FICO® scores ,” There are many programs available with low or no credit score requirement. The  Federal Housing Administration  (FHA) now requires a minimum FICO® score of  580  if you want to qualify for the low ...

Everyone should realize that unless you are living somewhere rent-free, you are paying a mortgage –  either yours or your landlord’s.  Buying your own home provides you with a form of  ‘forced savings’  that allows you to use your monthly housing costs to increase your family’s wealth. Every month that you pay your mortgage, you are paying off a portion of the debt that you took on to purchase your home. Therefore, you own a little bit more of your home every month in the form of  home equity .  As your home’s value increases, you  also  gain home equity. Every quarter,  Pulsenomics  surveys a nationwide panel of over 100 economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists. They are asked to project how residential home prices will appreciate over the next five years for their  Home Price Expectation Survey  (HPES). The latest data from their  Q1 2019 Survey  revealed that home prices are e...