The National Association of Realtors’ most recent Existing Home Sales Report revealed that home sales were up rather dramatically over last year in five of the six price ranges they measure. Only those homes priced under $100,000 showed a decline (-6%). Every other category showed a minimum increase of at least 9.7%.

Here is the breakdown:

What does that mean to you if you are selling?

Houses are definitely selling. If your house has been on the market for any length of time and has not yet sold, perhaps it is time to sit with us and see if it is priced appropriately to compete in today’s market.

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


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Every year the National Association of REALTORS releases their Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, in which they reveal the results of a yearlong survey of buyers and sellers. The latest profile revealed what actual buyers saw as the benefits of using an agent during the home buying process.

Here are the Top 5:

#1: Helped the Buyer Understand the Process

Whether it is your first time purchasing a home, or you’re an experienced buyer, there are over 230 possible actions that need to happen during every successful real estate transaction. Having someone to guide you through the process who can simply explain what is going on at every step of the way was sited as the top benefit by 63% of all buyers (that number jumped to 83% with first time buyers).

#2: Pointed Out Unnoticed Features/Faults with the Property

When you start the process of buying a home, you may be too excited to see each potential home for what it is, good and bad. An experienced professional can help you realize the potential hidden gems or risks before you make an offer.  Nearly 60% of all buyers listed this as a major benefit of hiring a professional.

#3: Improved the Buyer’s Knowledge of Search Areas

Whether you are looking to relocate to a new state, or just across town, having someone who knows the neighborhoods in which you are looking can be an invaluable asset.

#4: Negotiated Better Sales Contract Terms/Better Price

In today’s market, hiring a talented negotiator could save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. Each step of the way – from the original offer, to the possible renegotiation of that offer after a home inspection, to the possible cancellation of the deal based on a troubled appraisal – you need someone who can keep the deal together until it closes.

#5: Provided a better list of service providers

A great agent has relationships with mortgage professionals, home inspectors, appraisers and other experts that you will need in securing your dream home.

Experience Matters

When you are ready to start the home search process, give us a call, text or email. Put our ambition, negotiating skills and experience to work for you!

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


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Most homeowners believe that the winter is not a good time to sell. This belief is based on the fact that historically the number of buyers decreases in the winter and then increases dramatically during the spring buying market. Though this is still true, there is an interesting pattern developing over the last few months. The number of prospective purchasers actively looking at a home (foot traffic) has remained strong going into the Fall. As a matter of fact, the foot traffic far exceeds the numbers reported for the same months last year (see chart below).

At the same time, the National Association of Realtors revealed that the months’ supply of housing inventory has decreased from 5.5 months to 5.3. That equates to less competition for homeowners selling today as compared to next Spring when many homeowners will decide to put their home on the market.

Bottom Line

Since buying activity is still strong, this might be a great time to put your house on the market. If you are considering marketing your home for sale, give us a call, text or email. Put our experience, negotiating skills and full service  to work for you!

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


BrennerHill.com

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When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price with the least amount of hassles. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is to actually get the home sold. In order to accomplish all three goals, a seller should realize the importance of using a real estate professional. We realize that technology has changed the purchaser’s behavior during the home buying process. For the past two years, 92% of all buyers have used the Internet in their home search according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2014 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers.

However, the report also revealed that for the second year in a row 96% percent of buyers that used the Internet when searching for a home purchased their home through either a real estate agent/broker or from a builder or builder’s agent. Only 2% purchased their home directly from a seller whom the buyer didn’t know.

Buyers search for a home online but then depend on an agent to find the actual home they will buy (53%) or negotiate the terms of the sale & price (31%) or understand the process (63%). Stephen Phillips, the Chief Operating Officer for HSF Affiliates LLC, put it best:

“Home buyers are more informed than ever with their Internet searches and ongoing research; however, there’s a critical need to transform that information into analysis and advice that helps consumers make the best home-buying and selling decisions.”

The plethora of information now available has resulted in an increase in the percentage of buyers that reach out to real estate professionals to “connect the dots”. This is obvious as the percentage of overall buyers who used an agent to buy their home has steadily increased from 69% in 2001. 

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling your home, don’t underestimate the role real estate professionals like Steve and Sandra can play in the process. When you are ready to list your home, give us a call, text or email. Let us put our negotiating experience to work for you!

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


BrennerHill.com

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After it was announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would again make available mortgage loans requiring as little as a 3% down payment, many people showed concern. Were we going back to the lower qualifying standards of a decade ago that caused the housing market crash? Won’t lower down payments dramatically increase the default rates? Will we again be faced with an avalanche of short sales and foreclosures? The simple answer is – NO. Let’s look at the data.

While it was happening (2011)

Back in 2011, as we were just recovering from the worst of the Great Depression, many organizations were looking for the cause of the massive default rate on mortgages. The National Association of Realtors (NAR), the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the Community Banking Mortgage Project and the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA) issued a white paper on the subject titled: Proposed QRM Harms Creditworthy Borrowers and Housing Recovery. Let's look what the report says:

“In the midst of a very fragile housing recovery, the government is throwing a devastating, unnecessary and very expensive wrench into the American dream. First time homebuyers will have to choose between higher rates today or a 9-14 year delay while they save up the necessary down payment… High down payment and equity requirements will not have a meaningful impact on default rates. But they will require millions of consumers, who are at low risk of default, to either put off buying a home or pay unnecessarily high rates. The government is penalizing responsible consumers, making homeownership more expensive or simply out of reach for millions. We urge regulators to develop a final rule that encourages good lending and borrowing without punishing credit-worthy consumers.”

The report actually studied the impact a higher down payment would have had on the default rates of loans written from 2002 through 2008. The report states:

“…moving from a 5 percent to a 10 percent down payment on loans that already meet strong underwriting and product standards reduces the default experience by an average of only two- or three-tenths of one percent… Increasing the minimum down payment even further to 20 percent… (creates)  small improvement in default performance of about eight-tenths of one percent on average.”

Today  (2014)

Just last week, the Urban Institute revealed data showing what impact substantially lower down payments would have on default rates in today’s mortgage environment. Their study revealed:

“Of loans that originated in 2011 with a down payment between 3-5 percent, only 0.4 percent of borrowers have defaulted. For loans with slightly larger down payments—between 5-10 percent—the default rate was exactly the same. The story is similar for loans made in 2012, with 0.2 percent in the 3-5 percent down-payment group defaulting, versus 0.1 percent of loans in the 5-10 percent down-payment group.”

Bottom Line

We believe that the Institute concluded their report perfectly:

“Those who have criticized low-down payment lending as excessively risky should know that if the past is a guide, only a narrow group of borrowers will receive these loans, and the overall impact on default rates is likely to be negligible. This low down payment lending was never more than 3.5 percent of the Fannie Mae book of business, and in recent years, had been even less. If executed carefully, this constitutes a small step forward in opening the credit box—one that safely, but only incrementally, expands the pool of who can qualify for a mortgage.”

When you are ready to make the move into homeownership, give us a call, text or email. We would love to help you get in touch with a reputable home loan professional.

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


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by Tom Kelly, My Northwest

Remember when the building inspector's report used to tell the buyer and seller the condition of the house and, if any major repairs or structural corrections were needed, the two parties would adjust the sales price?

Now more than ever, potential buyers are using minor flags in the inspector's report to withdraw or counter offers on houses. And, consumers also have come to expect more than a check of the basic health of the electrical and plumbing systems.

While some inspectors have attempted to become more thorough, they cannot see through walls nor be absolutely certain of the quality of all materials and craftsmanship. And to compound the problem, their reports now contain hold-harmless agreements and qualifying phrases (a result of lawsuits) that make some consumers wonder what service the $550 inspection fee is buying.

Courts and expectations have taken the basic structure from structural inspections. Look past the peeling paint and basic wear and tear, however, before demanding a price reduction.

The inspector's job is to highlight the negatives and some buyers aren't ready for all the negativity. What often happens is that a potential buyer suddenly faces a report that seems too picky and derogatory. That experience generates remorse and thoughts like, "Do we really want to move? The home we have isn't so bad after all."

For sellers, such reports can be infuriating report cards on conditions they inherited from the previous owner.

I don't blame the building engineers and inspectors for doing their job, which is to find structural flaws in a house. And I think inspections really protect both buyer and seller.

However, consumers need to know up front that inspectors do not tear open wallboard to probe interior spaces. Just because an item does not make the "laundry list" this does not mean it is satisfactory or in working order – especially if it can't be seen.

For example, a friend, who was presented with a qualified buyer and two backup offers, recently found herself in a typical situation. Her building inspection passed with no significant problems. The bank appraiser then arrived to ascertain the market value of the home and called for a pest inspection. The pest inspection discovered termites and dry rot that had existed for many years.

The woman was surprised to discover that those conditions were not covered in the building inspection. But inspectors do not always probe for pests, and they rarely perform environmental testing for materials such as asbestos, urea formaldehyde insulation and radon.

Many inspections do not include intercoms, appliances, smoke detectors, pools and pool equipment, hot tubs, saunas, elevators, dumbwaiters, heat pumps, furnace heat exchangers, electronic air cleaners, air conditioning systems, gas space heaters, gas fireplace accessories, solar systems, wall insulation, sewage disposal systems, water and "specialty items" like alarm systems.

Rarely is anything positive mentioned in an inspector's verbal or written report, even when thousands of dollars have been spent to correct or remodel a potentially disastrous situation.

For example, several years ago we purchased a large home. We hired one of the most popular and established home-inspection firms in the area. The inspector said some of the improvements made by the previous owner were not up to the quality of the original construction.

We spent six years and thousands of dollars correcting interior shortcomings. Among other things, we remodeled a second-floor bathroom that had a tub about to fall through the first-floor ceiling. We also completely remodeled the kitchen and replaced dangerous wiring.

When we sold the home, the report given to the new buyers – by the same inspector – stated "the room has been remodeled since my last inspection" and there was no mention of most of the other improvements.

Real-estate agents, lenders and escrow officers should remind consumers that the inspection report will be a negative laundry list of everything the inspector "sees." It is not necessarily a complete list because one inspector might not "find" the same things another one would.

Structural inspections are extremely valuable and I think all buyers should have one. They also provide the seller with protection from future claims, but they don't come laced with seashells and balloons.

Get ready for a poor report card and use it as a negotiating tool only if the problems are major league.

Whether you are considering a home sale or purchase, let us guide you the process from search to inspection to close.

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


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