Category Archives: MORTGAGE INFO

WITH SO MANY REAL ESTATE AGENTS TO CHOOSE FROM, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH ONE’S FOR YOU?

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Buying or selling a home can be exciting, but it can also come with its own mix of fear, anxiety and consternation as it means you are entering a new life chapter.

Selecting the right real estate agent for you is one of the first key steps to consider when making a move.

While friends, family and co-workers are a great source of referral for real estate agents, their home buying or selling needs may be different from yours.  Using the internet is a good way to research various real estate agents, but consider it a starting point for your search for that right real estate agent who truly represents your interests.

Consider the following intangibles:

  • Is the real estate agent’s personality compatible with yours?
  • Do you sense that they are honest and trustworthy?
  • Does the real estate agent have a clear understanding of your objectives and needs?
  • Do they have a list of past clients that you can call to obtain their opinion?
  • Are you the real estate agent’s focus or are they?

Then do your due diligence and make sure that the following key elements are in fact in place!

Licensing – While a real estate agent must pass certain tests to be licensed by the State, don’t forget to confirm that their license is valid and in good standing.  Have they had any complaints filed against them?

National Association of Realtors® – Not all real estate agents can call themselves Realtors® unless they actually are a member in good standing of this association and agree to be bound by their “code of ethics”  which provides another layer of protection for you as a consumer.

Education and specialization – Continuing education is crucial for a real state agent and taking added courses in areas that they wish to “specialize” in is a plus to you the consumer.  Such specialized areas of real estate might include, short sales/foreclosures, senior housing, investors, etc.

Local knowledge – A good real estate agent will have local information available for you at their fingertips, including housing trends, number of houses on the market vs. the percent sold, sales price trends, local crime rate stats, school and shopping information and a list of professionals they do business with that will help make your real estate transaction as seamless as possible.

Experience – While a certain amount of experience is important, it should be only one of the points you consider.  There are certainly experienced real estate agents out there who have become lazy and complacent after years of selling real estate and newer real estate agents who are highly motivated and on top of things with their eagerness to earn your business.

While the above list is not all-inclusive, please feel free to reach out to me if you are thinking of buying or selling and I’d be happy to provide you with 3 to 4 real estate agents that I think may be a good match for you to begin interviewing to find that right real estate agent who you can relate to and who will understand and assist you with your real estate needs.

MONEY SAVING TIPS WHILE TRAVELING

MONEY SAVING TIPS WHILE TRAVELING

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We all love making bucket lists, traveling, exploring new places and accomplishing at least one destination off our list. Traveling is certainly the best kind of hobby, it is more of like a passion which gives adventure to our soul, … Continue reading →

HERE’S HOW DEBT CONSOLIDATION CAN HELP YOU

HERE’S HOW DEBT CONSOLIDATION CAN HELP YOU

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Falling into the trap of unmanageable debt is a very common situation nowadays. It is a proven fact that more than 45% of people in the US spend more than what they earn. Climbing out of the trap of debt … Continue reading →

CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS/ALARMS ARE REQUIRED

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RCW 19.27.530 requires that all Sellers of owner occupied properties in WA State must equip the home with a carbon monoxide (CO) detector before a Buyer may legally occupy the residence following the sale and all residential rental properties must also be equipped … Continue reading →

CORELOGIC: DECEMBER HOME PRICES

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CoreLogic Reports December Home Prices Up More Than 6 Percent Year-Over-Year for Fifth Consecutive Month

  • Largest Price Gains During 2017 Were in California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Washington
  • Affordability Continues to Erode, Especially in Low-Price Range
  • Home Prices Projected to Increase by 4.3 Percent by December 2018

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast™ for December 2017, which shows home prices are up both year over year and month over month. Home prices nationally increased year over year by 6.6 percent from December 2016 to December 2017, and on a month-over-month basis home prices increased by 0.5 percent in December 2017 compared with November 2017,* according to the CoreLogic HPI.

Looking ahead, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 4.3 percent on a year-over-year basis from December 2017 to December 2018, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to decrease by 0.4 percent from December 2017 to January 2018. The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a projection of home prices using the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables. Values are derived from state-level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner-occupied households for each state.

“The number of homes for sale has remained very low,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Job growth lowered the unemployment rate to 4.1 percent by year’s end, the lowest level in 17 years. Rising income and consumer confidence has increased the number of prospective homebuyers. The net result of rising demand and limited for-sale inventory is a continued appreciation in home prices.”

According to CoreLogic Market Condition Indicators (MCI) data, an analysis of housing values in the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas based on housing stock, 35 percent of metropolitan areas have an overvalued housing market as of December 2017. The MCI analysis categorizes home prices in individual markets as undervalued, at value or overvalued by comparing home prices to their long-run, sustainable levels, which are supported by local market fundamentals such as disposable income. Also, as of December, 28 percent of the top 100 metropolitan areas were undervalued and 37 percent were at value. When looking at only the top 50 markets based on housing stock, 48 percent were overvalued, 14 percent were undervalued and 38 percent were at value. The MCI analysis defines an overvalued housing market as one in which home prices are at least 10 percent higher than the long-term, sustainable level, while an undervalued housing market is one in which home prices are at least 10 percent below the sustainable level.

“Home prices continue to rise as a result of aggressive monetary policy, the economic and jobs recovery and a lack of housing stock. The largest price gains during 2017 were in five Western states: California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Washington,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “As home prices and the cost of originating loans rise, affordability continues to erode, making it more challenging for both first time buyers and moderate-income families to buy. At this point, we estimate that more than one-third of the 100 largest metropolitan areas are overvalued.”

*November 2017 data was revised. Revisions with public records data are standard, and to ensure accuracy, CoreLogic incorporates the newly released public data to provide updated results.

 

Source: CoreLogic

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUSITY!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUSITY!

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A big shout out to our past clients and neighbors, who generously supported the food drive for the Thurston County Food Bank that we held as part of our annual Shred It Event here at Axia Home Loans! We appreciate … Continue reading →