The Top 5 Advantages of Selling Your Home During Winter

Selling your home during the wintertime might actually be a better option than waiting until spring or summer. There are five main reasons for this.

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Should you try selling your home during the winter months?

The answer can depend on where you are specifically located, but there are five general advantages to selling in winter rather than waiting until the change in season:

1. There is less competition from other sellers in winter. If everybody else has the same idea and wants to wait until spring or summer, why would you want to get stuck with that much more competition? As the flowers bloom, so do the other ‘For Sale’ signs around town.
2. You won’t have to deal with as much foot traffic coming through your house for showings. There won’t be as many people looking at your house in person, but the ratio of buyers who are actually serious about buying is far higher. This means you won’t be inconvenienced as much as you would during the spring or summer months.
3. Interest rates are still very low. As of right now, they’re hovering around 3.5%, which is insanely low. However, they won’t stay that way forever. In fact, they may not stay that way for much longer at all. As they begin to rise, the buyer pool begins to shrink.
4. Buyers are far more serious this time of year. Remember—this is the time of year when employees are being transferred by their companies to new areas, and these people need a house soon.
5. Homes show far better during the holidays. Who doesn’t like a good Christmas lights arrangement or a crackling fire?

Interest rates are low right now, and competition is soft.

If you have any more questions about this or any other real estate-related topic, please feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Should We Be Worried About a Bubble?

Are we headed toward another real estate bubble? To find the answer, we need to compare current market trends to 2007.

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

I’ve been getting asked by a lot of people lately if we are currently in a real estate bubble that is about to pop. I’d like to address that topic today and give you some insight on where we are today versus where we were in 2007 when the last bubble burst.

The main reason for the last bubble was that anyone with a pulse could qualify for a mortgage. Lending guidelines are much stricter now, and there are a lot more rules and regulations that make it more difficult to get a mortgage.

Another thing to like right now is our low interest rates. They are so low that some people are concerned that when they inevitably go up, it will severely affect affordability for buyers. However, that hasn’t happened historically.

We have a strong market right now.

In May 1983, interest rates rose from 12.63% to 14.67% in one year. Even though that’s a significant increase, it caused home values to increase as well. We saw similar situations in 1987, 1994, and 2000. Each time, home values increased along with rates and it didn’t cause a bubble. Supply and demand are going to be a big part of this. Ultimately, we are in a strong seller’s market right now with only 1.8 months of inventory.

We definitely have a strong market right now. Nobody has a crystal ball, but I can say for certain we are in a much better situation than we were in 2007. We will start to see a correction soon, but I highly doubt we will see a bubble.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Pierce County 3rd Quarter Market Update

Now that the 3rd quarter is done, we're back with our quarterly Pierce County real estate market update. Things are looking strong in our local market this year.

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

With the 3rd quarter in the books, I wanted to give you our quarterly Pierce County market update. We've seen some great things happening the local market.

Typically, the main factors we look at are how many homes sold in comparison to the 3rd quarter of 2015, the average and median asking price versus the average and median sold price, and finally, the days on market.

This year in the 3rd quarter, we saw sales go up to 4,242 compared to 3,852 last year, good for a 10% increase, which is great to see. We also saw the median list price go up this year. In the 3rd quarter of 2015, median list price was $250,000, and when you fast forward to this year, it was $279,950, which is an 11% increase.

We saw list price and sales price both increase by 10% or more.

The number I'm usually most interested in is sold price. We can ask whatever we want for a house, but the price that somebody is willing to pay for it is what really counts. The median final sale price in Pierce County last year was $253,475, which was on average 1.3% over asking price. Looking at this year, the median sale price was $282,250 and 0.8% over asking price on average.

Looking back at last year, the average days on market was 21 in the 3rd quarter, and it has actually shrunk down to 13 days in the same time frame this year.

Here at the Hauer Real Estate Group, our listings sold for an average of 3% over asking price, which is definitely outperforming the market as a whole. Our listings also have an average of nine days on market compared to 13 days for the area as a whole.

As always, we're here to be a resource for you, so give us a call with any questions you have. We'd love to hear from you!

Why Real Estate Is Your Best Investment

I always like to ask financial planners what their best clients did to become as wealthy as they are and 9 times out of 10 the response I get is that they're heavily invested...in Real Estate!

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

We've recently been car shopping, and it blows my mind how much people are paying for vehicles!

I saw someone paying $80,000 for a Cadillac Escalade (and hey, if they can truly afford it then more power to 'em!).  Regardless, all I could think about is how that's a LOT of money for something that goes DOWN in value because for that same $80,000 one could buy TWO investment properties that would go UP in value.

In the greater Tacoma area you can buy a rental property for around $200K with 20% down.  That comes out to a $40K down payment. From there, you're using other people's money.

The mortgage you get will be around $1,100/month, but you can charge that same $1,100 for rent in the home + more!  Historically speaking, home values have increased by an average of 5% per year since World War II.  Based on that, the fourth year you own the home, the value would likely rise to about $243,000.  By year 10, the home would likely rise to $325,000!

You can greatly increase your net worth.

So you purchased the home for $200,000.  It has appreciated by $125,000 and your tenants have simultaneously been paying down your mortgage by $30,000 over 10 years.  Based on that, between the appreciation and the debit that is paid off by your tenants, your net increase is $155,000 in 10 years!

But wait...there's more!  You'll save even more money with TAX ADVANTAGES!  You can write off the property tax and mortgage interest that your tenants have been paying for you, which will add up to nearly $100,000 in tax write offs over 10 years!

You've now got the $155,000 increase in equity from the property plus another $100,000 in tax savings.  That's $225,000 of value in just 10 years!  That's over $25,000 per year of other people's money that you are making off of your initial $40K investment.  And that doesn't even include the full extent of tax advantages, but I promised I'd keep things simple so we'll leave it at that.  You'll continue to enjoy increase in values over time and passive income until the day you decide to sell.

Oh, and as a reminder, the above example is only based off of ONE rental property, so if you want to really set yourself up for financial success...why not buy TWO!?

You decide...$80,000 for a Cadillac Escalade OR Two Rental Properties.

This is a simplistic approach to the secret behind real estate investing, and we hope it was eye opening.  If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email.  My team & I look forward to hearing from you!

Simple Steps to Transition into Your New Home

For many people, one of the trickiest aspects of purchasing a home can be what I call "the dance"...I refer to "the dance" as the financial transition from your old house to your new house, especially when your finances are all tied up in equity in the old property.  Today I’m going to discuss a few different steps you can take to transition from your old home to your new home.

My first recommendation is to sell your current home before purchasing a new one. This is the safest, most financially prudent way to go.  As a big Dave Ramsey follower I strongly recommend this option. This way, you’ll know exactly how much money you have to work with from that sale, and from there you’ll have a price range within which you can work to find a property. You’ll have a clearer picture of your finances and will avoid paying any extra holding costs, too.

This recommendation can seem incredibly scary as there's always that fear of "what if we don't find a place to live in the meantime!?". What I’ll tell you though, is that it's EXTREMELY rare that we’re not successful in helping clients find a home that they’re more than thrilled about immediately after selling their old home.  I can count on one hand the amount of times in the last 13 years that we've had a client unable to identify a great property to purchase and move into after selling their old house.  Our "Love it or Leave It" guarantee is also an added benefit to Hauer Group V.I.P. Buyer Clients.

My recommendation is to sell your current home first.

I understand that not everybody has this level of risk-tolerance in transitioning from an old home to a new one so quickly; some would rather remain in a home that they've long outgrown over the thought of selling it and not already knowing where they're going to move to.

If you’re stuck in this spot and you have a good amount of equity built up in your home, you might consider the option of getting a Home Equity Line of Credit, or HELOC, through Columbia Bank. They have a great promotion going on which will allow you to pull a line of credit from your current residence and only pay 1.49% interest on whatever amount of equity that you choose to use from your current house.  It doesn't cost you any money to simply have the HELOC open and available to you, so by being proactive about it, you can be prepared knowing that those funds are readily available in case your dream home pops up on the market! You can use those funds for your down payment and then upon the sale of your home, you can pay off your heloc with proceeds from your home sale.

If you’d like to speak more specifically about your own options for transition loans like this, I'd encourage you to contact me or Allisha McVay at Columbia Bank by email at amcvay@columbiabank.com or by phone at 253-858-5105.  When it comes to HELOC loans in particular, Allisha is the best, most knowledgeable gal around on the topic and Columbia Bank has some excellent options to work around your specific scenario. You can always give me a call or send me an email as well. I look forward to hearing from you.

How Does a Home Warranty Protect You?

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Once you’ve purchased a home with us, we want to make sure your butt is covered and your risk is limited moving forward. One of the ways we do this is through a home warranty.

I have a home warranty for each one of my properties. A home warranty covers mechanical items in your house such as your furnace, heat pump, hot water tank, appliances, and other fixtures in the home. If they fail, the warranty is there to cover you. Most people just get a home warranty for their first year of owning a home and let it expire. You can actually renew a home warranty each year. Not a lot of people know that. You can also purchase one at any time when you own a home, whether you’ve just purchased or have had the home for 10 years.

“

You can renew your warranty each year.

”

I renew my home warranty each year and it’s saved me thousands. One time, our heat pump went out and instead of having to pay $7300 to replace it myself, I contacted my home warranty company, paid a $50 deductible, and got a brand-new heat pump. A lot of my clients have similar stories.

There are a lot of different options for home warranties out there. I do have a personal favorite, though, and I might be able to get you a discount from them if you give me a call and let me know.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

What the Tiny House Movement Says About Today’s Buyers

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

I recently had a client ask which is more important - size or quality of a home. Do buyers want more square footage in a home, or do they want higher-quality finishes?

I would definitely say the trend we’re seeing in Pierce county real estate in the last few years is people less concerned with a lot of square footage, and more interested in good use of space, and smaller homes with high-quality finishes. A perfect example of this would be the tiny house movement, especially in the great Seattle area market. People are wanting to live green.

We’re actually going to have an event where we want you to come check out a tiny house in downtown Gig Harbor on Saturday, August 6th from noon to 2 p.m. Our event will have food and drinks, and we want you to see the amazing amount of things you can do with a very small amount of space.

“

Tiny houses are a great way to get into land ownership.

”

Tiny houses are a great way to get into land ownership; simply buy a lot and build an inexpensive tiny house. Many tiny houses are built to be off the grid, so you don’t need any power or utilities. It’s a pretty incredible option we’re seeing right now.

If you have any other questions or you’re interested in buying or selling a home, reach out to me soon. Let’s talk today!

Second Quarter Market Snapshot for Pierce County

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

The numbers are in for the second quarter here in the Pierce County real estate market. For reference, we’ll compare them to the second quarter of last year.

Starting with the median sold price, it has risen to $260,000 up from $234,000 last year; a 10% increase. Additionally, average days on market have gone down, which is impressive, considering that it was just 24 days in the second quarter of 2015. This year’s second quarter, we’re down to just 10 days on average.

Homes are selling quickly. And even with the decrease in inventory, we’ve seen an increase of 7% in homes sold. One stat that has remained the same quarter over quarter is the amount homes are selling for compared to list price - that ratio is still at 100%. On average, sellers are getting the full asking price. It’s a pretty phenomenal time to be a seller.

“

It’s a pretty phenomenal time to be a seller.

”

As a buyer, inventory is low, but interest rates are low as well, so it’s still a great time to buy. Properties values continue to climb!

Thanks for watching today. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. Let’s talk soon.

Will Home Appreciation Increase This Year?

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. 

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

If you’re considering moving from one state to another or thinking about investing in a second home, CoreLogic recently created an important infographic on forecasted year-over-year home appreciation values. It explains their projections about the real estate market based on more than 100 analysts, broken down by each state.

The country’s predicted average of home appreciation is 5.5%. In Washington, it rests at 7% appreciation. If we look back at history, data from around World War II shows homes appreciate at 5% a year. That’s a good indicator we can reference.

“

The country’s predicted average of home appreciation is 5.5%.

”

We’ve experienced significant growth in our marketplace, but it’s starting to stabilize. Overall, the housing market continues to grow and expand. It looks like we’re in good standing!

Thinking about buying or selling a home in Pierce County? Give me a call or send me an email as soon as you can. I’d be happy to talk!

Your Home Has More Equity than You Think

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

I’ve got some very exciting news to share with you regarding the current real estate market. If you’ve been thinking of selling recently, you’re going to love what we have to say.

CoreLogic recently did a study on home equity. They defined “significant equity” as being 20% or more equity in your home from the time you bought it.

They asked Americans if they felt they had significant equity in their homes, and 37% said yes. That’s the perception among homeowners. In reality, 72.6% of Americans do in fact have significant equity in their homes. In Washington, that number is even higher, as 80% of homeowners have more than 20% equity in their homes.

In the chart below, you'll see that 91.5% of Americans also have positive equity in their homes.

It’s a great time to own real estate and may be a great time to sell if you've been considering it. If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

What Did the First Quarter in Tacoma Real Estate Look Like?

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Today, I’ll go over what happened in the Tacoma real estate market during the first quarter of 2016.

We have had a hot real estate market so far this year. Right now, Pierce County is the fastest growing county in Washington State. There were so many multiple offers in King County that King County’s median sales price is actually double the median sales price in Pierce County. Buyers have begun to figure out that they can save money by buying in Pierce County, and that’s why the market has grown tremendously.

During the first quarter of 2015, a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 2,000 square foot home sold for an average price of $255,000 and spent about 42 days on the market. This year, that same size house is selling for $312,500 and only spending 22 days on the market. That sales price has gone up by 18.4%, and homes are spending almost half the time on the market as they were last year. That’s incredible!
 

That’s great news for sellers, but buyers still have a great opportunity to build wealth by owning a home instead of paying those expensive rental rates. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How to Stand out in a Multiple Offer Situation in Pierce County

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Pierce County is in a very strong seller’s market right now. If you’re a buyer in the market, it’s likely you’ll run into a multiple offer situation. We want to set you up for success if you encounter a situation like this. We’ve had a lot of them lately, and we want to help you with it if you happen to be in the market for buying a home. We’ve got three quick tips for you today to help you stay competitive in this market. Here they are:

1.  A letter from the heart.
Make yourself stand out to the seller. Tell them how much you love their home and what it would mean to your family to live there.

2.  Home inspections.
There are a few options you have when it comes to home inspections where you can help your offer stand out. We’ve been seeing buyer's order pre-inspections on homes before a deal is even closed so that you can make an offer without having the home inspection contingency.

3. Reputation of your agent.
If your agent has a good reputation in the local community for getting deals done, you can feel confident you are in the right hands. Hiring someone with limited experience is certainly a gamble in Pierce County.

These are just a few things for you to consider when buying a home. If you have any other questions for us, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

What Is the Compassion Project?

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

Today I’m going to be speaking about the Compassion Project. This project is aimed at helping people in need, and the goal is to be a resource and silent partner for those who need a little help.

This assistance could come in the form of paying rent, buying groceries, or just a helping hand with home maintenance. Our job as real estate agents is not to sell homes, it’s to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to live a better life.

Sometimes people who need help the most would be the last ones to raise their hand, so if you know someone that needs help, please let us know. We want to have a positive impact on our community.

If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to ask. We have an application process that we can take you through. To fill out an application, visit here. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

The Scoop About Pre-Foreclosures in Tacoma

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.

Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.

While browsing listings on sites like Zillow and Trulia, you might come across ones that are “pre-foreclosed.” What does that mean? The owner is behind on their payments. The bank makes this public after three months. A majority of the time, these properties will never actually come on the market! Don’t get your hopes up if you fall in love with a pre-foreclosed home.

If the homeowner cannot make their payments and the foreclosure falls through, however, it will be available on the market for sale. It will be a traditional sale if they have equity in the home. If not, it will become a short sale. Contact a Realtor to conduct research if you happen to be interested in foreclosure property.

If you have any questions, or if you’re interested in a foreclosure, give us a call or send us an email. We’d be happy to serve your real estate needs in the Tacoma area!