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Realities of Real Estate: Play dress-up with house before selling
Now that we’ve dodged the bullet on what is hopefully the last threat of snow for the season, homeowners contemplating a move are turning their attention to spiffing the place up for sale. When it comes to the projects a seller might consider, they can be divided into two categories — major ones, where you’ll most likely need to hire a contractor, and minor ones, where Harry Homeowner can us[...]
Realities of Real Estate: Signs point to seller’s market
In the world of real estate, when supply exceeds demand and prices are falling, it’s known as a buyer’s market. That’s pretty much where we’ve been for a long time now. Ever since the housing bubble burst seven long years ago, buyers have been in the driver’s seat, and sellers went along for a rough ride. But all of the sudden, it looks like sellers have taken the wheel, and the housing [...]
Realities of Real Estate: What short sales, foreclosures mean to market
In recent columns, we’ve expressed optimism about the outlook for real estate. We probably don’t need to worry about irrational exuberance any time soon, but 2013 is shaping up to be a year where we’ll see solid growth in terms of both prices and number of homes sold. All the important indicators are pointing north, signaling that better times are ahead.
Realities of Real Estate: How to keep everyone happy in a home inspection
As we get into spring, a lot of homes will start to go under contract. But, getting your house under contract isn’t a guarantee that it’ll get to settlement. The inability of a buyer to secure financing can derail a purchase, but the biggest bone of contention is often the home inspection. More than just about anything, home inspections are the leading culprit in blowing a deal. At times, ther[...]
Realities of Real Estate: For real estate, spring comes earlier than you think
This time of year, it doesn’t feel much like spring. We just came off a week of bone-chilling cold, accompanied by our first amount of measurable snow. When your car is covered with salt and there’s still one more football game to go, the greening of the grass and that first backyard barbecue can seem like a far way off.
Realities of Real Estate: Why the local market is healing
In our last column, we reviewed the state of the market on a national basis. From that perspective, it was clear that 2012 marked a year when the housing market started to turn the corner. According to the Case-Shiller index, home prices across the nation began to show signs of a rebound. Albeit tepidly, even badly bruised markets like Las Vegas, were finally on the road to recovery.
Realities of Real Estate: Advice for first-time homebuyers
Our daughter, Carolyn, emailed us recently with the idea of buying a place to live. Apparently, the closet-size room she currently rents has grown a little tight with her new dog, Harvey. So we contemplated how to best guide our daughter down the path of buying her first home.
Realities of Real Estate: Are you moving up, moving down or moving out?
Empty nesters might be looking to trade in the house where they raised a family to something smaller, perhaps all on one level, or in a climate that will let you tee up the little white ball all year long. On the other end of the spectrum, young couples anticipating little ones on the way will need more room, and what school district you live in suddenly becomes an important consideration.
Realities of Real Estate: Home for the Holidays
When we get to this time of year, there are sellers who start talking about taking their house off the market for the holidays.
Realities of Real Estate: Understanding the competition
In preparation for listing a house, there is a lot of consideration given to what similar homes have sold for.
Realities of Real Estate: What to watch for in a changing real estate market
By nearly every statistical measure, the real estate markets are in a period of transition. We’ve gone from boom to bust, and now we’re on a path to renewed growth.
Realities of Real Estate: The Federal Reserve System
Today, there are many factors that affect the health of our real estate markets. The generally poor state of the economy and persistently high unemployment have depressed home ownership rates to the lowest levels in 15 years.
