In today’s housing market, it can be a big challenge for buyers to find homes to purchase states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott and author of CEO-Stories, as the number of houses   for sale   is far below the current demand. Now, however, we’re seeing sellers slowly starting to come back into the market, a bright spark for potential buyers. Javier Vivas,   Director of Economic Research   at   realtor.com ,   explains : “Seller confidence has been improving gradually after reaching its bottom in mid-April, and now it appears to have reached an important recovery milestone… After five long months, sellers are back in the housing market ; while encouraging, the improvement to new listings is only the first step in the long road to solving low inventory issues keeping many buyers at bay.” Even with the number of homes coming into the market, the available inventory is well below where it needs to be to satisfy buyer ...

  The news these days seems to have a mix of highs and lows states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott. We may hear that an economic recovery is starting, but we’ve also seen some of the worst economic data in the history of our country. The challenge today is to understand exactly what’s going on and what it means relative to the road ahead. We’ve talked before about what experts expect in the second half of this   year , and today that progress largely hinges upon the continued course of the virus. A recent  Wall Street Journal  survey of economists  noted , “ A strong economic recovery depends on effective and sustained containment of Covid-19. ” Given the uncertainty around the virus, we can also see what economists are forecasting for GDP in the third quarter of this year  (see graph below): Overwhelmingly, economists are projecting GDP growth in the third quarter of 2020, with 5 of the 9 experts indicating over 20% gro...

  Today, home prices are appreciating. When we hear prices are going up, it’s normal to think a home will cost more as the trend continues states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott. The way the housing market is positioned today, however, low mortgage rates are actually making homes   more affordable,   even as prices rise. Here’s why. According to the  Mortgage Monitor Report  from  Black Knight: “While home prices have risen for 97 consecutive months, July’s record-low mortgage rates have made  purchasing the average-priced home the most affordable it’s been since 2016. ” How is that possible? Black Knight  continues to explain: “As of mid-July,  it required 19.8% of the median monthly income to make the mortgage payment on the average-priced home purchase , assuming a 20% down payment and a 30-year mortgage. That was more than 5% below the average of 25% from 1995-2003. This means it  currently requir...

  oday’s   housing market   is making a truly impressive turnaround, and it’s also setting up some outstanding opportunities for buyers   and   sellers states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott. Whether you’re thinking of buying or selling a home this year, there are perks today that are rarely available, and definitely worth looking into. Here are the top two. The Biggest Perk for Buyers: Low Mortgage Rates The most impressive buyer incentive today is the average mortgage interest rate. Just last week, mortgage rates hit an all-time low for the  eighth time this year . The 30-year fixed-rate is now averaging 2.88%, the lowest rate in the survey’s history, which dates back to 1971  (See graph below): This is a huge advantage for buyers. To put it in perspective, it means that today you can get a lower rate than any of the past two generations of homebuyers in your family if you decide to purchase at this time. In addit...

  With more companies figuring out how to efficiently and effectively enable their employees to work remotely (and for longer than most of us initially expected), homeowners throughout the country are re-evaluating their needs states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott.  Do I still need to live close to my company’s office building? Do I need a larger home with more office space? Would making a move to the suburbs make more sense for my family?  All of these questions are on the table for many Americans as we ride the wave of the current health crisis and consider evolving homeownership needs. According to  George Ratiu ,  Senior Economist  for  realtor.com : “The ability to work remotely is expanding home shoppers’ geographic options and driving their motivation to buy, even if it means a longer commute, at least in the short term…Although it’s too early to tell what long-term impact the COVID-era of remote work will h...

  We’re sitting in an optimal moment in time for homeowners who are ready to sell their houses and make a move this year. Today’s homeowners are, on average, staying in their homes   longer   than they used to, and this is one factor driving increased homeowner   equity . When equity grows, selling a house becomes increasingly desirable states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott. Here’s a breakdown of why it’s a great time to capitalize on equity gain in today’s market. As average homeowner tenure lengthens and home  prices  rise, equity, a form of forced savings, can be applied forward to the purchase of a new home.  CoreLogic   explains : “Over the past 10 years, the equity position of homeowners has positively changed as a result of more than eight years of rising home prices. As the economy climbed out of the recession in the  first quarter of 2010, 25.9%  or 12.1 million homes were still underwater,...