There are plenty of good reasons you might be ready to move. No matter   your motivations , before you list your current house, you need to consider where you’ll go next. In today’s  market , it makes sense to explore all your options. That includes both homes that have been lived in before as well as newly built ones. To help you decide which is right for you, let’s compare the benefits of each. Regardless of which option you choose to explore, working with a trusted real estate professional throughout the process is essential. The Benefits of Newly Built Homes First, let’s look at the benefits of purchasing a newly constructed home. With a brand-new house, you’ll be able to: 1. Build your dream home If you build a home from the ground up, you’ll have the option to select the custom features you want, including appliances, finishes, landscaping, layout, and more.  Bankrate  puts it like  this : “Building means customizing. . . . instead of wishing your h...

  Spring is usually the busiest season in the housing market. Many buyers wait until then to make their move, believing it’s the best time to find a home. However, that isn’t always the case when you factor in the competition you could face with other buyers at that time of year. If you’re ready to buy a home, here’s why it makes sense to move before the spring market picks up. Spring Should Bring a Wave of Buyers to the Market In most years, the housing market goes through predictable seasonal trends in activity. Winter is typically a quiet point in the year, while spring sees a surge of buyers begin their search. And experts project that this year will be no exception. Right now, buyer demand is low due to a combination of normal seasonal trends and a reaction to last year’s rise in mortgage rates. But rates have started to come down since last November, which has more and more potential buyers planning to jump into the market. That means right now is a sweet spot if you’re in a ...

  If you’ve been following the housing market over the last couple of years, you’ve likely heard about growing affordability challenges. But according to  explains , the key factors that determine housing affordability are projected to improve this year. Selma Hepp, Executive, Deputy Chief Economist at   CoreLogic ,  shares : “. . . with slowly improving affordability and a more optimistic economic outlook than previously believed, the housing market could show resilience in 2023.” The three measures used to establish home affordability are home prices, mortgage rates, and wages. Here’s a closer look at each one. 1. Mortgage Rates Mortgage rates shot up to over 7% last year, causing many buyers to put their plans on hold. But things are looking different today as rates are starting to come down. George Ratiu, Senior Economist at  realtor.com , explains: “Let’s celebrate some good news. . . . mortgage rates are down . With inflation showing a ...

  Last year, the housing market slowed down in response to higher mortgage rates, and that had an impact on home prices. If you’re thinking of  selling   your house soon, that means you’ll want to adjust your expectations accordingly. As   realtor.com  explains : “. . . some of the more prominent pandemic trends have changed,  so sellers might wish to adjust accordingly to get the best deal possible .” In a more moderate market, how you price your house will make a big difference to not only your bottom line but to how quickly your house could sell. And the reality is, homes priced right are still selling in today’s market. Why Pricing Your House Appropriately Matters Especially today, your asking price sends a message to potential buyers. If it’s priced too low, you may leave money on the table or discourage buyers who may see a lower-than-expected price tag and wonder if that means something is wrong with the home. If it’s priced too high, you run the ris...

  One of the first steps in your  home-buying journey   is getting pre-approved. To understand why it’s such an important step, you need to understand what  pre-approval   is and what it does for you.   Business Insider explains : “In a preapproval [sic], the lender tells you  which types of loans you may be eligible to take out, how much you may be approved to borrow, and what your rate could be .” Basically, pre-approval gives you critical information about the home-buying process that’ll help you understand your options and what you may be able to borrow. How does it work? As part of the pre-approval process, a lender will look at your finances to determine what they’d be willing to loan you. From there, your lender will give you a pre-approval letter to help you understand how much money you can borrow. That can make it easier when you set out to search for homes because you’ll know your overall numbers. And with higher mortgage rates imp...

   Last year, the   Federal Reserve   took action to try to bring down inflation. In response to those efforts,  mortgage rates   jumped up rapidly from the record lows we saw in 2021, peaking at just over 7%  last October . Hopeful buyers   experienced a hit to their purchasing power as a result, and some decided to press pause on their plans. Today, the rate of inflation is starting to drop. And as a result, mortgage rates have dipped below last year’s peak. Sam Khater, Chief Economist at  Freddie Mac , shares: “While mortgage market activity has significantly shrunk over the last year,  inflationary pressures are easing and should lead to lower mortgage rates in 2023 .” That’s potentially great news if you’re buyers aiming to jump back into the housing market. Any drop in mortgage rates helps boost your purchasing power by bringing down your expected monthly mortgage payment. This means the lower mortgage rates...