Spring A Great Time To Sell A Home

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Spring brings new flowers, animals, and warm sun. Many say that spring is the time for changes. The housing market also sees a rise in home sales during this time. Here are five reasons why springtime is the best time to sell.

1. There's high demand from homebuyers.

Showingtime, an app that tracks showings on homes, reported that buyer showings are up 51.5% from this time last year. The housing market is hot and buyer demand is strong.

“As anticipated, demand for real estate remains elevated and continues to be affected by low levels of inventory…On average, each home is getting 50 percent or more requests this year compared to January of last year. As we head into the busy season, it’s likely we’ll push into even more extreme territory until the supply starts catching up with demand,” says Daniil Cherkasskiy, Chief Analytics Officer at ShowingTime.

2. There aren't enough houses for sale.

Inventory is on a record low, and buyers are high on demand. “Nationally, the inventory of homes for sale in February decreased by 48.6% over the past year, a higher rate of decline compared to the 42.6% drop in January. This amounted to 496,000 fewer homes for sale compared to February of last year,” reported Realtor.com.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) "sales are skyrocketing" and the existing inventory is "continuing to drop dramatically". The average house is only staying on the market for only 21 days.

3. You have a lot of leverage in today's market.

Low inventory and tons of buyers make this a seller's market. The seller currently has the upper hand in the market and can negotiate the best deals. NAR reports that bidding wars have increased on average by 3.7 offers per house.

4. It's a great way to use your home equity.

CoreLogic reported that the average homeowner gained $17,000 in equity over the past year, and that number continues to grow as home values appreciate, in the third quarter of 2020. During this market, homeowners will find that they have a lot of equity in their homes. Equity is a type of forced savings that grow during your time as a homeowner and can be put toward bigger goals like buying your next dream home.

“As homeowners gain equity in their homes, they are more likely to consider using that equity to purchase a larger or more attractive home – the wealth effect of rising equity. In today’s housing market, fast-rising demand against the limited supply of homes for sale has resulted in continued house price appreciation,” says Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American.

5. It's a chance to find a home that meets your needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way homeowners see and live in their homes. The stay-at-home orders meant spending a lot of time at home. This extra time at home caused homeowners to re-evaluate the top desires they want in a home.

The home office, outdoor spaces and flex rooms became a must in the 2021 home search. With so many people working from home, or virtual schooling flex rooms and home offices are in high demand.

If you are in the market to sell your home, contact your local Realtor. A Realtor will not only help you navigate the market, getting you the best price and deal for your home, but will also take most of the pressure off of you from this fast pace market.

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New Construction Buyers Spend Less Time Searching For a Home in 2020

 The Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report for 2020 had big changes from the data reported in 2019. New construction (NC) buyers that were surveyed for the 2020 report revealed that they spent less time looking for a home because they focused only on a new construction home. The report showed that 23% more NC buyers found their home in less than four weeks. In fact, the average new construction buyer spends only two months searching for a newly built home.

More and more home buyers are desiring a new construction home now more than ever. Builders are marketing off this change by adding incentives such as free builder upgrades. In 2019 9% of NC buyers said free builder upgrades was one of the top three of their reasons for buying new construction while in 2020 14% cited this as one of their motivators.

The top reasons for purchasing a certain home are still location and home features but following close behind now is the desire to purchase a new home that has never been lived in or used. Buyers want to be able to customize their home features and choose their own floor plan. Thirty-percent of NC buyers cited one of their top reasons for purchasing a newly built house was because it was the best value for their money.

New construction buyers are now focusing on less square footage. More NC buyers (9%) in 2020 purchased small homes which were 6 percentage points higher than in 2019. Small homes are homes that are less than 1,000 square feet. The data also informed that 19% of NC buyers paid less than $100,000 for their home in 2020 while only 9% were reported in 2019. Zillow feels that the shift might be because more new construction is being built in urban areas or that home builders are offering more options in smaller homes.

There was also a shift in home feature preferences in NC buyers in 2020. These include rental income, smart technology and space for cars. It became important to 32% of new construction buyers that they could generate rental income by renting out the whole home compared to 23% who said this was important in 2019. Smart home technologies are also becoming the norm. More and more people are becoming comfortable with devices that control things such as security or temperature control. Forty-three percent of NC buyers say that smart home capabilities are very important. Cars are also important to Americans, in fact so important, that 74% of NC buyers have to have off-street parking or a garage and 67% have to have an assigned parking space. Zillow says this probably stems from the higher rate of new construction in urban areas.

The new construction housing market is starved for inventory so if you are in the market, choosing a Realtor is a must. A Realtor can help you find the best home for you and your needs.

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New Challenges For New Home Construction

The housing market began with a bang in 2021 but with the demand for new homes came some uncertain challenges. Builder's confidence is strong with such buyer's high demand. The shortage in home inventory and low mortgage rates coupled with buyer's high interest and a new generation of buyers hitting their peak home-buying years makes for a great time for new home construction.

Zillow reported in their New Construction Consumer Housing Trends Report 2020 that 40% of those buyers who purchased a new construction build, were only interested in buying a new construction home. On the negative side, these new construction buyers hit more obstacles this year than in the past.

Close to half (45%) new construction buyers are under 40 years of age and 70% of new construction home buyers are first-time home purchasers. This shift in demographics has changed what a first-time home buyer might find challenging and what this demographic might struggle with.

This young generation struggled with several top challenges during the purchasing process. A fair price for a home seems to be a challenge. It was sighted that 30% of new construction buyers found that determining a fair price for a home was hard in 2019 and this rose to 37% in 2020. Many blame COVID-19 for this reason. The transaction of coordinating the build of a new home with the sale of their current home was also hard to handle for 36% of new construction home buyers.

The relationship between the sales agent and the home builder has become extremely important. In 2019 84% of new construction home buyers relied on their sales agent to communicate with the builder. In 2020 this rose to 90% which was a 17 point increase over last year.

Challenges can be overcome with help from a Realtor. A Realtor can help a buyer with pricing and financing. They can also be a great mediator between the buyer and home builder. A professional sales agent will help both the building process and purchasing process become an easy streamlined process.

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