Real Estate Information Archive

Do your clients want to sell their houses as fast as they can for as much as they can? Realtors

and home staging experts agree: staging their home should be at the top of your client's

checklist. A big part of this process entails removing excess items and furniture. The inevitable

question becomes, “Where do my clients put their stuff?”

It’s tempting to stuff everything you own into a closet or a spare bedroom, but even a single

unorganized space could turn off buyers. For many years, the common solution to this problem

was renting a storage unit. This was not convenient, and definitely time-consuming. Home

sellers had to rent a truck, load it, unload it, and then subsequently do it all over again

when they moved to a new place.

Fortunately, there’s a better option. With a PODS portable storage & moving solution, a driver

will drop off a storage container at your client's house, and they can load it at their leisure,

without the added pressure of having to get a truck back by the end of the day.

Driving is included

Once they have loaded the container, it will get picked up and driven to a storage facility by

PODS. When they are ready for their container again, it will be dropped off at their

convenience. This means they only have to load and unload once without worrying about

renting a truck or borrowing one.

Built-in flexibility

While they're staging their home, they might want to try different furniture arrangements or add

or remove items. A portable container is convenient because of the flexibility. They can either

easily access their container in a nearby storage center, or their container can be dropped off

at their property if they need to add or retrieve items.

Most realtors recommend keeping the container at a storage facility, so your client's property

will look tidier and more spacious. This also allows potential buyers to envision themselves

more easily in their home.

Storage plus moving

If your client is moving out-of-state or long-distance, PODS can move their container to their

residence. PODS services 46 states and can even move containers to and from Hawaii and

across the Canadian border. This means your clients can store and move with one solution,

which can be very convenient to sellers.

Selling a home and moving is a stressful proposition in any circumstance. Portable storage is a

good solution to help your clients ease the burden. It also allows them to take care of two

hassles at once, storing their items and then moving them to their next home when they’re

ready.

Visit PODS.com/Remax or call (866) 556-9595 and mention Promo Code: RMAX

Every family has a list of important dates. We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, pet adoptions…and the list goes on. For 64.4 percent of households in the United States, this list includes the day they became a homeowner for the first time!

Why is this date important? Homeownership is not just a roof over your head! It represents shelter, stability, wealth, and pride! For decades, homeownership has been an important part of the American Dream!

However, many question if the next generations see the same benefits of homeownership as their predecessors.

In case we have forgotten, some of those benefits are:

Non-Financial Benefits

1. Educational Achievement: Homeownership has a positive impact on academic achievement, including reading and math performance in children 3-12 years old.
2. Civic Participation: “Owning a home means owning a part of the neighborhood.” Homeowners have a stronger connection to their neighborhood and are more committed to volunteer.
3. Health Benefits: Adjusting for a range of demographic, socioeconomic and housing-related characteristics, homeowners have a substantial health advantage over renters.
4. Public Assistance: The report shows 47% of homeowners use their home equity credit lines to help pay other debts, diminishing their need for public assistance.
5. Property Maintenance and Improvement: A well-maintained home not only generates benefits through consumption and safety, but a high-quality structure also raises mental health.
6. Pride of Ownership: This place is uniquely “yours.” You can customize it according to your likes and personality.

In addition to financial benefits, homeownership also brings significant social benefits. These not only pertain to the family, but extend to the communities, the state, and the country!

Financial Benefits

Buying a home is an investment in your future!

1. Appreciation: On average, home prices are appreciating annually at a rate of 3.6%. This helps to create a safety net.
2. Forced Savings: Your mortgage is like a forced savings plan! With each payment, you are reducing the principal of your loan.
3. Home Equity: Homeownership builds equity every single month. You can later use that equity to start a business, send your children to college, etc.
4. Net Worth: A homeowners’ net worth is 44x greater than renters! This gives you the financial freedom to invest.
5. Stability: Rent prices increase 4% annually! A fixed mortgage payment allows you to save for future projects and guard against inflation.
6. Tax Benefits: The government has created tax benefits to encourage customers to purchase. (Talk to your CPA to see which benefits apply to you).

Bottom Line

Homeownership is and will always be part of the American Dream! There are many financial and non-financial benefits to take advantage of when owning a home. If owning a home is part of your dream, contact a local real estate professional to help you with the process!

Meet with a realtor like Pete Veres, CRS – Certified Residential Specialist & ABR – Accredited Buyers Representative who can help you navigate thru the process and get the job done for you. Pete Veres has had over 25 years of Sales & Marketing experience, excellent negotiating skills and a superb track record.

You can contact him by calling or texting him at 505-362-2005 or by emailing him at [email protected].

He has a great website full of the latest information at www.NMElite.com

Housing Inventory Posts Record Increase as Declining Sales Extend to Sixth Month

DENVER – A sixth consecutive month of declining home sales in January contributed to the largest year-over-year inventory increase in at least 10 years, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report.
 
While year-over-year home sales dropped 11% – extending a streak that began in August – inventory grew year-over-year by an average of 6.4% across the report’s 54 U.S. metro areas. January marked the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year inventory growth – further reversing a decade-long trend of shrinking inventory. December 2018’s year-over-year inventory growth of 4.7% was the previous record in the report’s 10-year history.
 
“The winter chill extended to the housing market in January, as home sales remained cool,” said RE/MAX CEO Adam Contos. “The good news is that inventory levels in January continued to rise on a year-over-year basis, providing incremental improvement in what’s been a multi-year shortage of for-sale homes. This is a positive for homebuyers, as the market continues to swing their way.”
 
The median sales price of $234,000 was a report record for January, increasing 4.6% over January 2018. But the rate of sales price increase was considerably less than the 6.7% posted from January 2017 to January 2018. December 2018 was the only month since January 2012 to show a year-over-year decline in median sales price.
 
Fifty-nine days on market was a record low for January sold listings – averaging one day less than the 60 posted in January 2018. January’s 3.9-month supply of inventory was higher than the 3.4-month supply of January 2018.
 
“Underlying demand remains solid overall, as evidenced by widespread price increases,” said Contos. “So the housing market, while not markedly busy in January, remains relatively healthy. Furthermore, with interest rates stabilizing and home-price increases slowing, the spring selling season shapes up to be as interesting as any we have seen in years.”
 
Closed Transactions 
Of the 54 metro areas surveyed in January 2019, the overall average number of home sales was down 26.1% compared to December 2018, and down 11.0% compared to January 2018. Only Billings, MT, experienced an increase in sales year-over-year, at +7.1%.
 
Median Sales Price – Median of 54 metro median prices
In January 2019, the median of all 54 metro Median Sales Prices was $234,000, down 2.5% from December 2018, and up 4.6% from January 2018. Four metro areas saw a year-over-year decrease in Median Sales Price, including Anchorage, AK, at -3.9%, Pittsburgh, PA, at -2.0%, Trenton, NJ, at -1.5%, and Birmingham, AL, at -0.5%. Six metro areas increased year-over-year by double-digit percentages, with the largest increases seen in Augusta, ME, at +12.1%, Las Vegas, NV, at +11.2%, and Wichita, KS at +10.5%.
 
Days on Market – Average of 54 metro areas
The average Days on Market for homes sold in January 2019 was 59, up four days from the average in December 2018, and down one day from the January 2018 average. The metro areas with the lowest Days on Market were Omaha, NE, at 32, Nashville, TN, at 41, and a three-way tie between Las Vegas, NV, Cincinnati, OH, and San Francisco, CA, at 43. The highest Days on Market averages were in Augusta, ME, at 100, Hartford, CT, at 94, and Anchorage, AK at 93. Days on Market is the number of days between when a home is first listed in an MLS and a sales contract is signed.
 
Months Supply of Inventory – Average of 54 metro areas
The number of homes for sale in January 2019 was down 2.6% from December 2018 and up 6.4% from January 2018. Based on the rate of home sales in January, the Months Supply of Inventory decreased to 3.9 from 4.1 in December 2018, and increased compared to 3.4 in January 2018. A six-months supply indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers. In January 2019, nine of the 54 metro areas surveyed reported a supply at or over six months, typically indicating a buyer’s market, including Miami, FL, at 9.0 and Indianapolis, IN, at 8.6. Nine markets shared the lowest Months Supply of Inventory at 2.0.

Feel free to contact me and I can help break down exactly what these numbers mean for our local market and for your neighborhood. And lastly, If you or anyone you know is thinking of buying or selling a home - please call or email me. I'm here to help!

Peter Veres

Associate Broker,CRS,ABR,CLHMS,SRES

Elite Asset Management Team - RE/MAX Elite

www.PeteVeres.com

Cell: 505-362-2005