We’re hiring! Here are our four core values we try to live by.
Today I’m excited to announce that we are hiring! Are you interested in joining this team? We are looking to grow and sign on more agents, and we need your help to do that. Maybe you’re interested, or maybe you know someone who might be. Either way, I would appreciate your help in passing this message along. To start, I think it is important to be upfront about our values to make sure that we match. There are four core values that we focus on:
Faith. By this, I mean faith in God, ourselves, and the people around us. I believe that faith is imperative for people to move forward confidently and improve.
Growth. I feel very strongly that if we aren't growing, we’re dying. This means we must ask ourselves how we can level up in all areas of our lives, and not just in our business. This includes being the best mothers and fathers that we can be to our children, being the best husbands and wives to our spouses, caring about our physical health, and more.
"It’s important that someone we hire matches these four values."
Humility. I believe that the real estate industry as a whole has way too much ego, and that ego doesn’t help anything. We must recognize that there are so many people we can learn from. If we truly want to grow, it requires us to humble ourselves and become a student, constantly learning and improving, knowing we don’t have it all figured out.
Relationships. I have learned so much about how important relationships are in recent years as I have gone through some health trials. My team truly believes in the importance of being team-focused. Throughout a transaction, the most important thing is your relationship with the client. God designed us to be not only in relationship with Him but also in relationship with one another. Iron sharpens iron.
Those are our four core values. If they align with you and your values, and you'd be interested in exploring what it might look like for us to partner together, reach out. My team and I can help you sell more homes, win back a lot of your time, plug into helpful systems, net more money, and ultimately have a more impactful and fulfilling life. We would love to connect and just start the conversation to see where it might lead. You can start by following this link to our website. We look forward to hearing from you!
How buyers and sellers can both benefit from using a 2-1 buydown.
Recently, interest rates have increased significantly. As a result, demand has fallen, and it’s becoming harder to sell your home. Fortunately, there’s a unique financing strategy that home sellers can use to get top dollar for their properties, and it’s called “2-1 buydown.”
Here’s how it works: Let’s say the interest rate today is 7%. By paying upfront for a 2-1 buydown, you can lower the interest rate for the first year of the loan by 2%. In the second year of the loan, the interest rate will be 1% lower, down to 6%. After that, the rate increases to the full 7%.
This is a fantastic way to lower your buyer’s monthly payment at the start of their loan and help them ease into their mortgage. One of the reasons this method is becoming so popular is that it commonly leads to win-win situations. Buyers get a much lower interest rate upfront, and sellers don’t have to lower the prices of their homes.
"By the time their buydown is over, the buyer can refinance."
Since interest rates are so much higher and demand has fallen, buyers have a lot more negotiating power. They see that many sellers are reducing the prices of their homes, and they may ask you to lower yours. However, a 2% decrease in your asking price will have a minimal impact on the buyer’s monthly payment. On the other hand, a 2% rate decrease for the first year will greatly reduce their monthly cost.
Another great perk of this strategy is that it leaves room for interest rates to come back down. Rates have increased recently, but it is unlikely that they will stay this high for long. By the time your buyer’s 2-1 buydown is over, rates may have fallen, and they can refinance to permanently lower their monthly payment.
If you have questions about how this strategy can help you secure a fantastic deal in this market, please call or email me. I am always willing to help!
Don’t let fear take over—waiting for a better rate may hurt even more.
Today I want to share some perspective regarding how insanely interest rates have jumped lately. I was recently talking with a great client and friend of mine, Bruce Barker, who put it so perfectly. He said, “Historically, the average interest rate has been 7.6%.”
To have an average, you need something to be lower, and you need something to be higher. We have had extremely low interest rates over the last few years, and now they’ve risen to 6.5%. That's been a significant jump, but they’re still below the historical average. It's possible that interest rates will go above the average of 7.6%. If you’re thinking about holding off until interest rates come down, I want to pause and reconsider. I hear many people say those things, but based on what I'm seeing in our economic outlook, I don’t believe rates will drop any time soon.
"Get into something now and build your equity."
If you can afford the mortgage payment on a property, lock it in. If the interest rate does come down at some point, you can always refinance. You shouldn’t gamble with your future and the house that you want for your family because you’re hoping interest rates come down. Real estate doubles every 10 years, so get into something now and take advantage of being able to build equity over time.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me by phone or email. I’m here to serve you.
Everything you should know about our current housing market.
Have all the changes in the real estate market been too overwhelming to keep up with? There’s a lot happening, so I can’t blame you! That’s why I’m here today, to make sense of it all for you. It can help you stay updated on our Pierce County market so you can make informed real estate decisions.
You can hear the full update by watching the video above, or you can skip to individual topics by using these timestamps:
0:00 — Introduction
0:30 — Median sales price
1:20 — Median percent of list price
1:54 — Days on market
2:04 — Pending sales and number of homes sold
4:00 — Determining what kind of market we’re in
4:40 — Inventory
5:35 — Interest rates and the Federal Reserve rates
6:00 — How to price a home and handle this market
6:45 — Wrapping up
The bottom line is that there are advantages in this market for both buyers and sellers. If you have any questions, I would love to be your real estate resource. Call or email me and my team anytime!
Here’s what’s happening in our market and how it affects you.
There’s a lot happening in the market, and it’s starting to get a little weird. That’s why I wanted to share some hard data with you today to show you what’s taking place. Let’s dive right into these numbers and what they mean for you as a buyer or a seller.
You can watch the full video above or skip to each section using the timestamps provided:
0:00 — Introducing today’s topic
0:32 — Home prices are at an all-time high
1:13 — The five-year graph for the sales-to-list-price ratio
2:02 — We are still seeing a fast market
2:39 — The pending sales, homes for sale, and number of homes sold
3:52 — We’ve been in an extreme seller’s market for a while
4:21 — We only have 18 days of inventory
4:56 — Interest rates have jumped, and that will affect the buying pool
6:27 — Wrapping up
If you have any questions or would like to develop a specific strategy for your situation, call or email my team and me. We’d love to hear from you.
Even though we’re in a hot seller’s market, you may not want to sell right now.
Considering how much homes have increased in value recently, many people are wondering whether they should sell their homes or cash in on their equity. Selling may or may not be a good idea, so today I’ll give people in this position something to consider: capital gains taxes.
Many people don’t really think about capital gains taxes until after their house has already been sold. When you purchase a home, the IRS determines whether you’ll pay short-term or long-term capital gains based on how long you’ve lived in the home.
If you’ve lived in the home for less than a year, you’ll pay a higher capital gains tax, so be sure to check with your CPA to find out exactly how much yours would be if you sold. For simplicity’s sake, you can expect to pay around 22% of your total profit. If you’ve lived in the home for more than a year, your capital gains taxes are reduced. Again, your CPA can give you a more exact figure, but you’re looking at somewhere around 10% to 15%.
"If you’re pretty close to that two-year mark, then it may be a good idea to hold off on selling."
Now, if you are in a position where you have lived in the home for at least two out of the last five yearsand you’re single, you are exempt from having to pay capital gains taxes on up to $250,000 worth of profit. If you’re married, you’re exempt for up to $500,000. If you’re pretty close to that two-year mark, then it may be a good idea to hold off on selling.
Hopefully this has given you some helpful information to better inform your decision to sell or not to sell.
If you have any questions or need assistance, give us a call or send us an email. We’d love to be a resource for you.
Our market conditions suggest sellers should act sooner rather than later.
With how volatile the market is, does it make sense to sell your home now, or should you wait? Many homeowners are asking this question. After all, home values will continue to rise, so wouldn’t it be better to let home prices rise before selling? That way, you could extract the maximal value from your sale. Today I’ll address this question and some concerns that I have for those thinking of waiting.
First, let’s consider what’s going on in the market. As I said, home prices are on the rise. As prices go up, your pool of potential buyers shrinks since fewer people will be able to afford your home. The Federal Reserve has also announced that they’re going to increase interest rates multiple times. They’ve already jumped quite a bit in just the last few weeks. Rising rates also have the effect of reducing your buying pool.
"You’ll have a larger buying pool now than you will later in the year."
It’s not hard to see why consumer confidence has been getting lower and lower. Many are starting to wonder if it’s even worth it to pay that much for a home anymore. If confidence continues to drop, that’s even fewer buyers in the market who will be prepared to make you an offer. That, in turn, means the value of your home will go down since you won’t be able to take advantage of high demand and bidding wars to boost your sales price.
With all that in mind, if you’re thinking about selling your home in 2022, I strongly encourage you to take action sooner rather than later. You’ll have a larger buying pool now than you will later in the year, meaning that you’re more likely to get a higher price if you don't wait.
If you have any questions or need help getting the sales process started, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. Hope to hear from you soon!
How rising interest rates could affect your ability to buy a home.
Interest rates are on the rise, so what does this mean for you? If you’re thinking about buying a home soon, you need to know what’s happening. Interest rates are in the low 4% range, so I want to break down what that means for your pocketbook.
A chief economist at a large brokerage recently said, “With certainty, by the end of this year, interest rates will be 5.5% to 6%.” That’s a huge jump from where we are now—up to a 2% difference. That might not sound like that much, but it is.
"Act sooner rather than later to protect as much of your money as possible."
The median home price in Pierce County is $525,000. Let’s say you own a home at that price, and you’d like to move into a larger house that would cost around $750,000. If you put 20% down on that home and rates were at 4%, your monthly payment would be $2,864. If rates rose to 6%, your monthly payment would be $3,597 for that same house.
That’s a difference of $733 per month. Over a year, you’d pay $9,000 more, and over the life of your loan, you’d pay $264,000 more. I want to make sure you’re aware of how much rates affect your monthly payment. If you want to move, I recommend acting sooner rather than later to protect as much of your money as possible.
A lot of people don’t want to sell until they find where they’re moving to, but there are a few strategies you can use to help. You can purchase the new property first and sell your home immediately afterward. There are ways you can structure and finance that option.
If you know someone who would benefit from this information, please pass this on to them. As always, if you have any questions, I’d love to help. Just call or email me.
Here’s how you can use a HELOC to buy a new home before you sell.
Are you looking to move? If so, you probably need to sell your old home before you can buy a new one. If you’re in this position, how can you sell your house without going homeless? I have a great tip that’s helped plenty of our clients, and I want to share it with you today.
The big issue in our market right now is our low inventory. Sure, you can get a great deal on your home, but what will you do when you have to buy? Fortunately, we’ve worked closely with lenders to help solve this situation, and you may be able to use a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, to make your move.
So how would this work? Let’s look at an example: Say you want to move up from your existing house into a bigger one. Because homes have appreciated so much in the last few years, you probably have a lot more equity than you think. In this instance, you can use a HELOC to pull the equity out of your home. It doesn’t cost any money until you deploy the funds, so you can use that cash to pay for a down payment on your new home.
"You probably have more equity than you think."
Even if you aren’t looking to move, there are plenty of good reasons to take out a HELOC, such as an emergency fund. While I’m not a financial expert, I will caution against spending your equity on things like expensive cars.If you need a lender to speak with about this topic, please reach out to us. We'd be happy to put you in touch with a great one.
If you have questions about today’s topic, please call or email my team. We are always happy to be a resource for you!
