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