Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate Federal Way & Puyallup

Once you’ve applied for a mortgage to  buy a home , there are some key things to keep in mind. While it’s exciting to start thinking about moving in and decorating, be careful when it comes to making any big purchases. Here are a few things you may not realize you need to avoid after applying for your home loan. Don’t Deposit Large Sums of Cash Lenders need to source your money, and cash isn’t easily traceable. Before you deposit any amount of cash into your accounts, discuss the proper way to document your transactions with your loan officer. Don’t Make Any Large Purchases It’s not just home-related purchases that could disqualify you from your loan. Any large purchases can be red flags for lenders. People with new debt have higher debt-to-income ratios (how much debt you have compared to your monthly income). Since higher ratios make for riskier loans, borrowers may no longer qualify for their mortgages. Resist the temptation to make any large purchases, even for furniture or app...

If you own a home, your net worth likely just got a big boost thanks to rising home equity.  Equity is the current value of your home minus what you owe on the loan.  And today, based on recent home  price appreciation , you’re building that equity far faster than you may expect – here’s how it works. Because there’s an ongoing imbalance between the number of homes available for sale and the number of buyers looking to make a purchase, home prices are on the rise. That means your home is worth more in  today’s market  because it’s in high demand. As Patrick Dodd, President and CEO of  CoreLogic ,  explains : “Price growth is the key ingredient for the creation of home equity wealth. . . . This has led to the largest one-year gain in average home equity wealth for owners. . . .” Basically, because your home value has likely climbed so much, your equity has increased too. According to the latest  Homeowner Equity Insights  from  CoreLogic ...

Good Morning! The Federal Reserve escalated its battle against inflation This Week in Real Estate, announcing the largest interest rate hike in 28 years. Will the Feds response to inflation impact home values, ending the 122 consecutive months of home price appreciation? Despite the raise of the Feds benchmark interest rate experts are forecasting ongoing home price appreciation, just at a decelerated pace, largely due to demand continuing to outpace supply. According to Freddie Mac the U.S. housing market needs more than 3 million homes to meet buyer demand. As a result, expect deceleration, not depreciation. Below are a few newsworthy events from the third week of June that influence our business:  * Home Price Deceleration Doesn’t Mean Home Price Depreciation. For starters, you’ve probably heard home prices have skyrocketed over the past two years, but homes were actually appreciating long before that. You might be surprised to learn that home prices have climbed ...

Today we take time to honor and recognize the past and present experiences of Black Americans. When it comes to real estate specifically, equitable access to housing has come a long way, but the path to homeownership is still steeper for households of color. The Gap in Homeownership Rate in America It’s a more challenging journey to achieve  homeownership  for some buyers, as shown by the measurable gap between the overall average U.S. homeownership rate and that of non-white groups. Today,  Census  data shows the lowest  homeownership rate  persists in the Black community ( see graph below ): This graph clearly indicates there’s a gap that still exists in the percentage of people in each community who are able to achieve  homeownership .   How Homeownership Impacts Household Wealth   One of the challenges that could make buying a home harder for these groups is how difficult it can be to accumulate wealth. Even today, there are obstacles cer...

Some Highlights Worried you won’t be able to find your next home after you  sell ? You should know  data  from  realtor.com  shows more listings are coming onto the market  each month  this year. Having  additional options  can make the search for your  next home  easier. But inventory is still low overall, which means your house should still stand out when you sell. If your biggest question is where you’ll go if you sell, take this as encouraging news. Connect with a local real estate professional to start the process today.

Experts in the real estate industry use a number of terms when they talk about what’s happening with home prices. And some of those words sound a bit similar but mean very different things. To help clarify what’s happening with  home prices  and where experts say they’re going, here’s a look at a few terms you may hear: Appreciation  is when home prices  increase . Depreciation  is when home prices  decrease . Deceleration  is when home prices continue to  appreciate , but at a  slower pace . Where Home Prices Have Been in Recent Years For starters, you’ve probably heard home prices have skyrocketed over the past two years, but homes were actually appreciating long before that. You might be surprised to learn that home prices have climbed for  122  consecutive months  (see graph below) : As the graph shows, houses have gained value consistently over the past 10 consecutive years. But since 2020, the increase has been  more...

If you’re a homeowner thinking about selling your house, you’re probably looking for the best time to make your move. That means you’re likely balancing a number of factors, like your  changing needs , where you’ll go when you sell, and today’s  mortgage rates  in order to time it just right. According to recent data, that sweet spot could already be here. The latest  Home Purchase Sentiment Index  (HPSI) by  Fannie Mae  finds that 76% of consumers believe now is a  good time to sell . The graph below shows the percentage of survey respondents who say it’s a good time to sell a house. The big dip in March and April of 2020 reflects how consumer sentiment dropped at the beginning of the pandemic as uncertainty about the health crisis grew. Since then, the percentage has grown consistently as more people feel confident it’s a good time to sell. In fact, survey respondents think it’s an even better time to sell a house today than they did in 2019, wh...