The Real Estate Market is Moving – How about You?
It is a GREAT time to buy a house so why not see if the time is right for you. Call us for a no-obligation consultation about the current market and what it means for you.
Just a reminder when you go to sleep tonight to turn your clock forward an hour! And if you haven’t changed your smoke and carbon monoxide batteries this year do it today too.
Have Real Estate Questions?
As your “go to” real estate professionals call us for all your real estate needs throughout the year. We are happy to answer your questions anytime.
FREE Classic Car Show today from 2:00-5:00 in Tucker Hill north off 380 between Stonebridge and Ridge. Stroll along Grassmere Lane at Tucker Hill while viewing beautiful classic vehicles against the complementary backdrop of pre-World War II architecture. Food and beverage available for purchase.
While you are in Tucker Hill you can get a feel for one of McKinney’s most distinctive and architecturally beautiful neighborhoods. If it feels like a great place for your family to call “home” – give us a call and let us give you a full tour and help you find your spot in this fabulous, active, community-friendly neighborhood.
The big picture on the current local market is that it is a good time to sell, a historically phenomenal time to buy and a great time to invest in rental property. This week we will discuss each of these market segments in a 3 part series. Today is part 2 of 3: It’s a Historically Phenomenal Time to BUY!
One of the housing indicators widely used is the Housing Affordability Index which reports the ability of a family earning the median income to purchase a median-priced home. For example an index of 120 means the median household income was 120% of what is necessary to qualify for the median-priced home under prevailing interest rates. A higher number means greater affordability the average affordability index locally in the past 12 months was 169 with the highest number in December at 183. Let me put this into perspective with the following chart from Keller Williams Gary Keller:
| 1989 | 2011 | |
| Bread | $0.67 | $2.78 |
| Gas (gallon) | $0.97 | $2.84 |
| New Car | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Existing Home | $94,000 | $166,100 |
| Mortgage | 10% | 4.45% |
| Monthly Payment | $825 | $837 |
While the average price of house has increased by $72,100 the monthly payment for that increase is only several dollars more per month. Current mortgage rates are historically low and real estate professionals and economist know they will eventually begin to rise so don’t miss your opportunity – if you need to move, move and if you don’t refinance today! It is a historically phenomenal time to BUY and in our area it will give you a cheaper payment than renting.
Not sure if you are prepared financially? Let us connect you with a reputable mortgage advisor that can give you the information you need to help you answer that question and prepare to move now or in the short future.
So call us today to start talking about the move you need to make this year!
The big picture on the current local market is that it is a good time to sell, a historically phenomenal time to buy and a great time to invest in rental property.
This week we will discuss each of these market segments in a 3 part series. Today is part 1 of 3: It’s a Good Time to Sell!
There are three types of real estate markets: a buyer’s market, a seller’s market and a balanced market. A buyer’s market is considered more than 7 months of inventory while a seller’s market is less than 5 months of inventory. A balanced market is between those two with an inventory of 5 to 7 months. Collin County Association of Realtors current statistics show that from February 2011 to January 2012 we had an average of 6.2 months supply of inventory – a balanced market. However it also shows that in December and January we had less than a 5 month supply (4.3 and 4.2 respectively) – a seller’s market. Several years ago our market went through a shift and our inventory began to exceed the supply of buyers on the market. Buyers were not buying due to uncertainty in the market, loss of value on current home or job loss so homes were not selling. Many people determined that was not a good time to move so they did not try to sell their homes. The national news still paints a gloomy housing crisis picture and sellers continue to wait, but locally we are doing rather well and starting to see the indicators moving in a continuously positive direction. Sellers need to know that there is minimal competition on the market (down overall 17% on the average over last year –see chart) and many homes arriving on the market that are well-prepared with staging, properly priced according to the current market and in overall good condition are receiving multiple offers within 60 days. It is a good time to SELL and locally we are moving toward a seller’s market.
Give us a call and let’s start discussing today what you need to be preparing to make your move this year!