Wages are going up and unemployment is down!

One day after announcing that unemployment claims rose for the third straight week, the Labor Department announced that job growth surged past expectations in June. The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that non-farm payroll jobs reached 222,000 last month, well past the expected gain of 180,000.

The Labor Department credited increased worker hours for the surge. The average workweek increased from 34.4 to 34.5 hours per week from may to June. Employment increased in health care (up 37,000 jobs), social assistance (up 23,000), financial activities (up 17,000), and mining (up 8,000).

Employment in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade,…

2625 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Rude Awakening: Is Homeownership Still Part of the American Dream?

Earlier this week we celebrated Independence Day, and with that, we also take the time to think about what made a fight for freedom a reality—the American Dream. And in that reflective moment, it’s easy to declare the American Dream dead. But ValueInsured, in a recent report, wants to “offer a different perspective.”

Homeownership has long been considered the cornerstone of the American Dream, and ValueInsured polled over 5,000 Americans in the last two years for its Modern Homebuyer Survey to assess the current state of the American Dream, and what Americans should do to keep it alive.

Millennials (70 percent) are in line with the rest of Americans (71 percent) in their desire to…

4606 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

McMansion Popularity Surging for First Time Since Housing Bubble.

Now, according to Newsweek, the popularity of McMansions is surging once more, and the median price of McMansions is approaching what it once was in 2007

According to information put out by Zillow, the median McMansion price in the year 2000 was $330.5 thousand. That number climbed to $519.5 thousand before the collapse in 2007. Since then, home prices have rebounded to a median $482.3 thousand as of May 2017. Compare those figures to the median value of all other homes in the year 2000—$119.8 thousand—and the May 2017 figure of $199.2 thousand, which is at an all-time high.

McMansions have a contagious effect on neighborhoods, according to a report put out by Clement Bellet of the…

2725 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

6 va mortgage myths: what you don’t know can hurt you

VA mortgage myths

Not Everyone Understands The VA Mortgage

The VA mortgage is arguably the best mortgage available. However, many home sellers, real estate agents and consumers make some incorrect assumptions about the program, and that can affect your ability to use the product.

If you are eligible to use this home loan, don't let someone else's ignorance cost you money by keeping you from applying for a VA mortgage.

Check Out Our Downloadable Ultimate Guide to VA Benefits And Eligibility

If you encounter a home seller, listing agent, or anyone else who wants to dissuade you from using a VA home loan, set them straight with this article.

Click to see your VA loan eligibility (Jul 5th, 2017)

…

3737 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

The top 6 home issues that scare off buyers

Do you know what issues most often turn off buyers or kill a sale?  Here are the Top Six

  1.  Leaking or Old Roof.  Roof issues are responsible for 39% homeowner insurance claims, according to the National Roof Certification and Inspection Association.  The typical lifespan of a roof is 20 to 25 years for shingles, and if your for-sale home’s roof is approaching the end of its lifespan, replacing it could get you to the closing table faster.
  2.  Outdated Appliances.  Most buyers know they can easily buy a new fridge, but if most of your
    appliances look as if they belong on That 70’s Show, buyers may wonder what else needs replacing.  If you’re planning to take your refrigerator with you when you move,…

3039 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Pros and Cons of For Sale by Owner: Weighing Your Options

You are a lone wolf. You are a rebel in “athleisure” wear. Someone who prefers to go it alone, no one questioning your convictions. You are the John Wayne of your cul-de-sac.

Or maybe, you just hope to make more money. Either way, you are considering selling your own home for sale in Winter Haven FL— without a real estate agent — and you want to better understand the pros and cons of going solo.

We’ve got you covered, you maverick in sensible loafers.

Pronounced “fizz-bo,” like the creepy clown that haunted your dreams as a child, FSBO is short for For Sale By Owner, the process of selling your home sans real estate agent. It’s either a growing trend or a declining fad, depending on…

7975 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Racing Against the Home Buying Clock

According to recently released findings from TruliaInventory and Price Watch; this quarterly look at the supply of starter, trade-up, and premium homes on the market nationally and in the 100 largest U.S. metros found that falling inventory is strongly correlated with how long homes stay on the market.

“As inventory continues to shrink, the few homes that are available are flying off the market within a couple of months,” said Ralph McLaughlin, Chief Economist at Trulia.

With the plummeting inventory, fewer homes stay on the market after two months where supply has dropped significantly in the last five years. Supply kept falling in the second quarter of 2017, down 8.9 percent year-over-year, marking a record…

2644 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

They don’t spend like they used to

A recent report published by Bankrate suggests that younger millennials aged 18 to 26 spend more on daily, habitual expenses, such as eating out, coffee, and alcohol, than any other generation, which can limit their long-term ability to save for a downpayment on their mortgage.

According to the data, 54 percent of the people in their age group say they have a meal away from home at least three times per week, compared to the 33 percent of Gen-Xers. Thirty percent say they buy coffee at least three times a week. Fifty-one percent of younger millennials aged 21 to 26 (for legal reasons) said they go a bar at least once a week.

Millennials also have another problem that previous generations didn’t face: soaring…

2704 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Lowest Home Appreciation in the U.S.

Certain markets in the West will continue to appreciate at double digit rates over the next year, while markets in the Northeast show the least promising forecast, according to Veros Real Estate Solutions’ Q2 VeroFORECAST  report, which measures predicted home appreciation on a yearly scale.

The metro that they predict will see the highest home price appreciation is—no surprise—Seattle, Washington, with an estimated 11.1 percent increase. The Denver metro is a close second, with 10.3 percent increase home appreciation. VeroFORECAST lists population growth and low unemployment—Seattle boasts an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, compared to the national average of 4.3 percent, and Denver’s rate is as low as 2.1…

5632 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

The psychology behind why people buy, and where

Homebuyers within the last two years are buying homes in certain areas for a variety of reasons.

The survey—which began back in May 2017 and has since asked approximately 3,350 U.S. residents in 11 different metros across the country who have either bought a home, sold a home, or plan to do so—was conducted in the hopes of uncovering new perspectives and trends amongst recent homebuyers It didn’t disappoint.

Perhaps the most interesting finding of the survey was that one-third of homebuyers last year made an offer on a home that they'd never seen in person. Last year, that figure was at 19 percent, and two years ago, 21 percent. Further, millennials were more likely than any other generation to do…

3076 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post