Lesli's Blog

If you're feeling cramped in your current space, you've probably considered a move. But what type of home would suit you best? A move-up home or a second home? For many South residents, the answer may be different today than it was just months ago. Why? Because the pandemic has changed the way many of us live, work, and attend school—and for many, those changes have shifted the priorities when it comes to choosing a home. According to a recent survey by The Harris Poll, 75% of respondents who have begun working remotely during the pandemic would like to continue doing so—and interestingly,  66% would consider moving if they no longer had to commute as often. Some of the top reasons people considering a move were to gain a dedicated office space (31%), enjoy a larger home (30%) and have more rooms overall (29%). 1       It's no wonder space has become. a major concern. Online school has become a reality for families everywhere - including here in the South Bay - creating a n

It’s Not Just About the Price of the Home When most of us begin searching for a home, we naturally start by looking at the price. It’s important, however, to closely consider what else impacts the purchase. It’s not just the price of the house that matters, but the overall cost in the long run. Today, that’s largely impacted by low  mortgage rates . Low rates are actually making homes more affordable now than at any time since 2016, and here’s why. Today’s  low rates are off-setting rising home prices  because it’s less expensive to borrow money. In essence, purchasing a home while mortgage rates are this low may save you significantly over the life of your home loan. Taking a look at the graph below with data sourced from the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), the higher the bars rise, the more affordable homes are. The  orange bars  represent the period of time when homes were most affordable, but that’s also reflective of when the housing bubble burst. At that time, distresse

Builders & Realtors Agree: Real Estate Is Back When shelter-in-place orders brought the economy to a screeching halt earlier this year, many believed the residential housing market would follow suit. Countless analysts predicted buyer demand would disappear and home values would depreciate for the first time in almost a decade. That, however, didn’t happen. It appears the opposite is taking place. After the bottom fell out of the real estate market immediately following the shutdown, it has come roaring back – and seems to still be gaining steam. Here’s a look at two recent reports – one from the  National Association of Home Builders  (NAHB) and one from the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR) – showing this growing strength. Builder Confidence Hits All-Time High Last week, it was  reported  that applications for new home purchases with home builders were  39% higher than in July of 2019 . That has builder confidence soaring. Each month, NAHB releases its  Housing Market Inde

  In July, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 3% for the first time in history. 1 And while many Americans have rushed to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity, others question the hype. Are today’s rates truly a bargain?   While average mortgage rates have drifted between 4% and 5% in recent years, they haven’t always been so low. Freddie Mac began tracking 30-year mortgage rates in 1971. At that time, the national average was 7.31%. 2 As the rate of inflation started to rise in the mid-1970s, mortgage rates surged. It’s hard to imagine now, but the average U.S. mortgage rate reached a high of 18.63% in 1981. 3   Fortunately for home buyers, inflation normalized by October 1982, which sent mortgage rates on a downward trajectory that would bring them as low as 3.31% in 2012. 3 Since 2012, 30-year fixed rates have risen modestly, with the daily average climbing as high as 4.94% in 2018. 4   So what’s causing today’s rates to sink to unprecedented lows? Econ