Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

The  National Association of Realtors (NAR)  keeps historic data on many aspects of homeownership. One of the data points that has changed dramatically is the median tenure of a family in a home. As the graph below shows, for over twenty years (1985-2008), the median tenure averaged exactly six years. However, since 2008, that average is almost nine years – an increase of almost 50%. Why the dramatic increase? The reasons for this change are plentiful. The top two reasons are: The fall in home prices during the housing crisis left many homeowners in a negative equity situation  (where their home was worth less than the mortgage on the property). The uncertainty of the economy made some homeowners much more fiscally conservative about making a move. However, with home prices rising dramatically over the last several years, over 90% of homes with a mortgage are now in a positive equity situation with 70% of them having at least 20% equity. And, with the ...

Every year at this time, many homeowners decide to wait until after the holidays to put their homes on the market for the first time, while others who already have their homes on the market decide to take them off until after the holidays. Here are six great reasons not to wait: Relocation buyers are out there. Companies are not concerned with holiday time and if the buyers have kids, they want them to get into school after the holidays.   Purchasers that are looking for a home during the holidays are serious buyers and are ready to buy. You can restrict the showings on your home to the times you want it shown. You will remain in control. Homes show better when decorated for the holidays.   There is less competition for you as a seller right now. Let’s take a look at listing inventory as compared to the same time last year: The supply of listings increases substantially after the holidays. Also, in many parts of the country, new construction will conti...

According to the  Census Bureau , millennials have overtaken baby boomers as the largest generation in U.S. History. Millennials, or America's youth born between 1982-2000, now represent more than one quarter of the nation’s population, totaling 83.1 million. There has been a lot of talk about how, as a generation, millennials have  ‘failed to launch’  into adulthood and have delayed moving out of their family’s home. Some experts have even questioned whether or not millennials  want  to move out. The great news is that not only do millennials  want  to move out… they  are  moving out! The  National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released their  2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers  in which they revealed that  61% of all first-time homebuyers were millennials in 2015!    The median age of all first-time buyers in 2015 was 31 years old.   Here is chart showing the breakdown by age: ...

Recently there has been a lot of talk about home prices and if they are accelerating too quickly. In some areas of the country, seller supply (homes for sale) cannot keep up with the number of buyers out looking for a home, which has caused prices to rise. The great news about rising prices, however, is that according to  CoreLogic’s  latest  US Economic Outlook ,  the average American household gained over $11,000 in equity over the course of the last year, largely due to home value increases. The map below was created from  CoreLogic’s  report and shows the average equity gain per mortgaged home from June 2015 to June 2016  (the latest data available) . For those that are worried that we are doomed to repeat 2006 all over again, it is important to note that homeowners are investing their new found equity in their homes and themselves, not in depreciating assets. The added equity is helping families put their children through colleg...