Looking to purchase a home? Your credit score is a crucial part of the transaction! It will help determine what kind of financing you’re able to secure, the interest rate you qualify for, and even if you can qualify for a loan at all! And it’s not just for buying a home! Insurance companies look at that score. If you’re looking to lease, landlords consider your credit score as well. This number is important so…
Read more ›
The real estate market in San Antonio is moving and active! Mortgage rates are affordable and so is living in San Antonio! The economy is bustling here and people are moving–moving in and moving up! If you’ve been thinking about selling your home, it’s a great time to do so! Our inventory levels are at a low point and homes that are positioned correctly in the market, are in good condition, and are…
Read more ›
Wow–Halloween’s been over less than 48 hours and while out doing errands on this beautiful Saturday morning, I already saw Christmas trees up in shopping centers, found Christmas paper goods, cards, food, candy at the grocery store, and I’m seeing Christmas ads on TV! Bring on the holidays! Are you thinking of buying or selling a house? Are you already in the market? Wondering what effect, if any, the holidays have on home sales?…
Read more ›
Congratulations! Your home has been on the market and now a buyer has submitted an offer which you have negotiated and accepted! Now you’re in that period known as the option or inspection period when the buyer can have a home inspector come evaluate your home and report on anything that’s not working properly or needs repair. This is a stressful time for most sellers–what will the inspector find, what will the buyer do with…
Read more ›
Congratulations! You’ve found a house you love, made an offer, negotiated it, and had it accepted! Now you’re in option/inspection period and ready to hire an inspector to evaluate the home. In Texas, realtors give our buyers a list of inspectors who are licensed so buyers can choose who to hire. I usually like to indicate inspectors I’ve worked with before who I feel have done a good job for my clients, but it’s the…
Read more ›
I’ve been out with buyer clients quite a bit lately, most recently in the past week. These particular clients wanted a new home from a builder so we’ve been to several communities around San Antonio, visiting the model homes of several different builders. These buyers wanted to see finished homes to find out what features and finish-outs are standard and which are upgrades. Almost across the board, we found some things that were common with…
Read more ›
For Sellers, it’s deja vu all over again! Well, almost! Prices aren’t quite as crazy as they were a few years ago, and lending/mortgage rules have definitely seen a change. No more crazy loans to people who can’t pay them back! Banks and lenders have learned a lesson! But it’s good to be a seller right now. Better than it has been for 4-5 years! Most areas, San Antonio included, are seeing a return to…
Read more ›
What is a Seller’s Market? In real estate, we define a market by how many months of inventory is available to a buyer, i.e. if no new homes came on the market, how long would it take to sell what’s available now? 6 months of inventory is considered a balanced market. More than 6 months = buyer’s market; less than 6 months = seller’s market. Each kind of market favors either buyers or sellers. …
Read more ›
You may have seen/read/heard that the housing market is improving in many parts of the country and how this is good for the economy. It’s true! I have friends all over the country who have had a rough last few years and who have seen a welcome turn-around in their areas. In Texas, we did not experience the high highs nor the low lows that other markets did, but we have definitely had a slow-down…
Read more ›
The chart above shows how inventory/availablilty of homes impacts pricing. In San Antonio, we have about a 5-6 months supply of homes for sale right now. We’re in a steady market, but signs are pointing to a slight turn to the sellers’ market we experienced in 2006-07. Interest rates are still low and will likely remain so for the rest of 2013, but we’re expecting them to start moving up in 2014. All of…
Read more ›