2021, Here we Come!
We have had quite the year!
Political tumult, COVID-19, the ‘Great Pause,’ record business closures that are the direct results of ‘the RONA,’ people learning to work from home, kids attending school virtually from home - it’s been a lot.
You might be thinking, ‘The real estate market must be doing terribly!’
In fact, despite all we have endured and experienced in 2020, the real estate industry on the West Coast is going gangbusters!
Homeowners have had inordinate time to get up close and personal with their homes, and now they know what they are willing to fix, and what they aren’t.
And for those who have decided they need different digs, their current homes are going on the market and selling in record time, enabling them to become Buyers who are moving up.
If any of this sounds familiar, you are among thousands in the Pacific Northwest.
The next steps?
Decide what you really DO want in a house
Contact a Realtor you know and trust to help you get started
Figure out how much the house that has all the right angles will cost you
And start getting your house ready to put on the market!
Whether you hope to move in a month, in three months, or in a year, here is a link to the Wildwood Webcast to help with a few ideas.
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/wildwood-realty/GMT20201117-194441_Amy-Munsey_640x360.mp4
https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=16863269
Though showing homes requires we all don our PPE apparel (gloves, sanitizer, masks, booties), Buyers still want to see houses, and BUY houses, if it means taking advantage of uber-low purchase loan interest rates.
I say ‘purchase loan' interest rates because interest rates for existing-home-refinances and purchase-home-loans differ slightly, with purchase loans getting the prize for lowest and best.
Find Us a ‘Good Deal!’
11/2020 finds our area with some of the lowest inventory in over a decade.
In this atmosphere, it is almost impossible to find a ‘good deal’ in terms of home price.
But what about the interest rate you’ll pay to own that home, over time?
The ‘good deal’ you get today, is the ultra-low interest rates in the 2%’s-low 3%’s to purchase that home.
That means you don’t need to search for a unicorn because you get a ‘good deal’ on whichever home you buy!
The ‘good deal’ isn’t necessarily the price of the home itself. Your ‘deal’ lies in lowest interest rates in history, enabling you to save money (you would otherwise have spent on a higher house payment) year after year after year.
THAT is a better deal than $20,000 or $30,000 off the price of any house!
The future looks bright!
Just days ago, announcement of a long-awaited vaccine to protect against COVID-19 induced world-wide excitement.
People are exhausted of working from home, schooling their own kids at home, not seeing friends, relatives, just…people!
For the housing market, this is great news!
More inventory is expected to hit the market this Spring, and Buyers are expected to come down off their fences with pre-approval letters ready to go!
However, we all need to remember why interest rates are so low right now: the effects of COVID-19 on our National economy have been devastating. The Federal Government has been handing out incentives to keep the economy from collapsing. As soon as a vaccine becomes widely available, that stimulation will no longer be necessary and interest rates are expected to begin to rise.
And that means a couple of things: The ‘good deals’ will mean getting good houses, and, eventually, as prices begin to relax as more inventory comes onto the market and interest rates rise, the ‘good deal’ will once again switch back to finding the house with good bones that needs a lot of work.
The moral of the story is…
Buy the house you want NOW, at an interest rate that is incredibly low, enabling you to purchase your dream home at a monthly payment never previously imaginable.
The ‘good deal’ is available, right now, for every Buyer - for the next few weeks anyway!