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    Waiting for the Mortgage Rates to Come Down

    By Mike Parker | November 1, 2022

    Waiting for the mortgage rates to come down before you buy a home may not be a good decision. If you are correct, and the rates do come down by two percent, the savings you benefit from a lower rate will most likely be devoured by the appreciated price increase. As of 10/27/22, the 30-year... Read More

    Do You Feel Lucky Well Do Ya?

    By Mike Parker | October 17, 2022

    You may remember the famous line in the Dirty Harry movie when Clint Eastwood has just had a shootout with bank robbers and is standing in front of the lone surviving thief who is considering going for his gun. Harry with his gun pointed at the bad guy says to him “”Did he fire six shots or only... Read More

    When Will the Market Turn?

    By Mike Parker | October 10, 2022

    Housing affordability has declined dramatically in 2022 due to continued rising home prices and a three-percentage point jump in mortgage rates.  Based on the popularity of Google searches for “housing bust” or “housing bubble”, it could be surmised that buyers are anticipating relief, but they are probably not going to see it anytime soon. Home price... Read More

    Another Tool to Improve Affordability

    By Mike Parker | October 4, 2022

    The rapid rise in mortgage rates during 2022 coupled with continued appreciation of home prices have limited the number of buyers in the market which is reflected by the lower number of home sales currently.  “It’s a fact that many households are impacted by higher mortgage rates as they no longer earn the qualifying income for... Read More

    Cause to Pause

    By Mike Parker | September 25, 2022

    Rising mortgage rates are causing some would-be buyers to pause their decisions until they determine whether rates are going to come back down.  While it may be possible, the probability is that prices are going to continue to increase. On December 23, 2021, the 30-year fixed-rate, according to Freddie Mac, was 3.05% and is at 6.29%... Read More

    Five Factors That Affect the Sale of Any Home

    By Mike Parker | September 18, 2022

    Owners directly control four of the five factors that affect the sale of any home: price, location, condition, terms, and the agent you select.  The one thing you can’t control is the location of the home, but you can adjust the other factors to compensate for failings. The seller controls the price of the home which... Read More

    Gift Amount Increased for 2022

    By Mike Parker | September 12, 2022

    The limit for tax free gifts for 2022 is $16,000 and no tax is due to the donor or the donee.  There are provisions that would allow gifts higher than this amount providing the total lifetime gifts above the annual exclusion of $12.06 million for 2022 has not be met. The donor and donee can be... Read More

    Housing Affordability – Call to ARMs

    By Mike Parker | September 6, 2022

    Housing Affordability is negatively affected by both rising home prices and mortgage rates.  A 20% increase in nominal home prices and a 2% increase in the 30-year fixed rate mortgage since January have contributed to a 46 point drop in the NAR Housing Affordability Index. The Index was 143 in June 2021 and is 98.5 in... Read More

    Are Prices and Rates Going to Continue to Rise?

    By Mike Parker | August 22, 2022

    One of the most talked about questions in the real estate market has to do with “Will prices continue to rise now that interest rates have increased dramatically this year?” It is understandable to think that if the Federal Reserve is using interest rate increases to slow consumer demand, that it would also slow homebuyer... Read More

    Indecision Can Be Expensive

    By Mike Parker | August 15, 2022

    With all that is going on in the world, a global pandemic, supply chain issues, highest inflation in 40 years, the economic effects of a war in Ukraine, it can be overwhelming to think about when the right time is to buy a home. On a local level, there is a pent-up demand for homes... Read More