If you’re currently feeling the stress of affording your mortgage payment, or if you know someone who is, there’s still time to get help states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive officer of west USA Realty of Prescott. For homeowners experiencing financial hardship this year, the   CARES Act   provides mortgage payment deferral options, creating much-needed relief in these challenging times. It’s important, however, to understand how forbearance works. It’s not automatic. You need to take action now and apply for the program before these options expire. A  study  by the  Urban Institute  determined: “ Approximately 400,000 homeowners who became delinquent after the pandemic began have forgone forbearance  and become delinquent.  These   borrowers may not know they are eligible for forbearance .” Thankfully, there’s still time to apply for forbearance, even if you’re just learning about it now. Doing so may be the game-changer you need to st...

  If you’re one of the many homeowners thinking about taking your house off the market for the holidays, hang on states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott. You definitely don’t want to miss the great selling opportunity you have right now. Here’s why this month is the optimal time to make sure your house is available for holiday buyers. The latest  Existing Home Sales Report  from  The National Association of Realtors  (NAR) shows the inventory of houses for sale has dropped to an astonishing all-time low. It now sits at a  2.5-month supply  at the current sales pace. Historically, a 6-month supply is necessary for a ‘normal’ or ‘neutral’ market, in which there are enough homes available for active buyers  (See graph below): When the supply of houses for sale is as low as it is today, it’s much harder for buyers to find homes to purchase. This means competition among purchasers rises and more bidding wars take pla...

  Talk of a housing bubble is beginning to crop up as home prices have appreciated at a rapid pace this year states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott. This is understandable since the appreciation of residential real estate is well above historic annual averages. According to the   Federal Housing Finance Agency   (FHFA), annual   appreciation   since 1991 has averaged 3.8%. Here are the latest 2020 appreciation numbers from three reliable sources: FHFA : 7.8% CoreLogic : 7.3% Case-Shiller : 7% It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that house appreciation is out of control in today’s market. However, we need to put these numbers into context first. Inflation and the Comeback from the Housing Crash Following the housing crash, home values depreciated dramatically from 2007-2011. Values are still recovering from that unusually long period of falling prices. We must also realize that normal inflation has had an impact. Bill McBride,...

  This year, the opportunity to work remotely has increased the demand for vacation homes states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott. Gay Cororaton,   Senior Economist and Director of Housing and Commercial Research   at the  National Association of Realtors   (NAR)   notes : “Working from home is a positive factor in demand for vacation homes.” Buyers are taking advantage of the fact that working from home might be someplace other than their primary residence – at the beach, in the mountains, or somewhere in between. NAR  explains : “ Sales in vacation-home counties increased 48% on average year over year  in the third quarter; overall, 81% of vacation-home counties saw a year-over-year sales increase.” Is it Time to Sell Your Vacation Home? If you’ve been thinking about selling your vacation home, putting it on the market now while demand is high might be your best move. Here are two reasons why. 1. Vacation Home...

  In a year when we’re learning to do so much remotely, homebuying is no exception. From going to work to attending school, grocery shopping, and even seeing our doctor's online states Mike Eastwood Chief Executive Officer of West USA Realty of Prescott, digital practices have changed the way we live. This year, rather than delaying their home purchases, buyers – alongside their trusted real estate professionals – turned to the Internet to do more than just a typical home search. In some cases, they bought homes without even stepping foot inside. Jessica Lautz,  Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights  at the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR),  says : “People really didn’t buy houses sight-unseen, traditionally. It’s still not a huge number, but it has gone up, and we have definitely seen that trend accelerate.” According to NAR, throughout the coronavirus pandemic,  one in every 20 homebuyers purchased a house sight-unseen. How Y...