Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate Federal Way & Puyallup

  When shelter-in-place orders brought the economy to a screeching halt earlier this year, many believed the residential housing market would follow suit. Countless analysts predicted buyer demand would disappear and home values would depreciate for the first time in almost a decade. That, however, didn’t happen. It appears the opposite is taking place. After the bottom fell out of the real estate market immediately following the shutdown, it has come roaring back – and seems to still be gaining steam. Here’s a look at two recent reports – one from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and one from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) – showing this growing strength. Builder Confidence Hits All-Time High Last week, it was reported that applications for new home purchases with home builders were 39% higher than in July of 2019 . That has builder confidence soaring. Each month, NAHB releases its Housing Market Index , a survey of NAHB members who rate ...

  Since June of last year, we have seen an increase in the inventory of homes for sale month per month. Every spring and summer, the inventory increases because people want to sell their home. For those with children, they may want to be in their new home for the beginning of the school year. If you are one of those sellers, you may find these 4 tips helpful in getting your home sold more quickly. 1. Make buyers feel at home Declutter your home! Pack away all personal items like pictures, awards, and sentimental belongings. Make them feel like they belong in this house! According to the Profile of Home Staging by the National Association of Realtors , “83% of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.” Not only will your house spend less time on the market, but the same report mentioned that, “One-quarter of buyers’ agents said that staging a home increased the dollar value offered between 1...

Owning a home has great financial benefits. In a recent research paper, Homeownership and the American Dream , Laurie S. Goodman and Christopher Mayer of the Urban Land Institute explained: “Homeownership appears to help borrowers accumulate housing and nonhousing wealth in a variety of ways, with tax advantages, greater financial flexibility due to secured borrowing, built-in ‘default’ savings with mortgage amortization and nominally fixed payments, and the potential to lower home maintenance costs through sweat equity.” Let’s breakdown 5 major financial benefits of homeownership: 1. Housing is typically the one leveraged investment available Homeownership allows households to amplify any appreciation on the value of their homes by a leverage factor. A 20% down payment results in a leverage factor of five, meaning every percentage point rise in the value of your home is a 5% return on your equity. If you put down 10%, your leverage factor is 10. Example: Let’s as...

Homes priced at the top 25% of the price range for a particular area of the country are considered “premium homes.” In today’s real estate market, there are deals to be had at the higher end! This is great news for homeowners wanting to upgrade from their current house. Much of the demand for housing over the past couple of years has come from first-time buyers looking for their starter home. Many of the more expensive homes listed for sale have not seen as much interest. According to ILHM’s Luxury Report , this mismatch in demand and inventory of luxury and premium homes has created a Buyer’s Market. For the purpose of the report, a luxury home was defined as one that costs $1 million or more. “A Buyer’s Market indicates that buyers have greater control over the price point. This market type is demonstrated by a substantial number of homes on the market and few sales, suggesting demand for residential properties is slow for that market and/or price point.” The auth...

  Rising home prices coupled with a lack of inventory in today’s market may cause some homeowners to consider selling their home on their own (known in the industry as a For Sale By Owner ). However, a FSBO might not be a good idea for the vast majority of sellers. The top 5 reasons are listed below: 1. Online Strategy for Prospective Purchasers Recent studies have shown that 95% of buyers search online for a home. In comparison, only 13% use print newspaper ads. Most real estate agents have an Internet strategy to promote the sale of your home. Do you? 2. Results Come from the Internet Where did buyers find the home they actually purchased? 50% on the Internet 28% from a Real Estate Agent 7% from a yard sign 1% from newspapers The days of selling your house by putting up a sign and listing it in the paper are long gone. Having a strong Internet strategy is crucial. 3. There Are Too Many People to Negotiate With Here is a list of some of the people...

Branding yourself as a real estate market expert is key to your success. However, many agents focus on branding themselves as a utility rather than an expert. For example, they often advertise that they can help clients with tasks like home search, home staging, or paperwork. While this is certainly helpful for clients, it doesn’t set you apart from other real estate agents who can do the exact same thing. A better approach is to brand yourself as an expert — as a real estate agent who knows what’s happening in the market. Why? Because that’s exactly the kind of professional today’s buyers and sellers want to hire. In fact,  NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers  shows that when deciding on which agent to work with, 93% of consumers say an agent’s “knowledge of the real estate market” is very important. Skills like being a great home stager or assisting with home search rank much lower. You need to prove that you’re the expert who can help people with the l...

Career Night with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH. Our vision is to be the provider of choice in our communities for comprehensive real estate and financial solutions . What We Will Cover: Learn what a real estate agent does Hear about the day in the life of a Real Estate Agent How much money can you make Discover how to get started What are the education and training requirements How much does it cost to get started And so much more.... Share this with your friends & family! If you cannot register, no problem, stop by and join us anyway! Two options for registration: First Tuesday of the Month | https://bhhsfwcareers1.eventbrite.com Third Tuesday of the Month |  https://bhhsfwcareers3.eventbrite.com