Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

  Are big investors really buying up all the  homes  today? If you’re trying to find a  house to buy , this may be something you’re wondering about. Maybe you’ve read about it or seen reels on social media saying investors buying all the homes is making it even harder to find what the average buyer is looking for. But spoiler alert – there’s a lot of misinformation out there. To clear things up, here's the scoop on what's really happening. A lot of the big investor activity is actually in the rearview mirror already. The  Wall Street Journal  (WSJ)  explains : “Investors of all sizes spent billions of dollars buying homes during the pandemic. At the 2022 peak, they bought more than one in every four single-family homes sold, though  more recently their activity has slowed as interest rates rose and supply became tighter .” The key here is investor activity has slowed significantly, and even during the peak of investor buying, 3 out of every 4 sing...

  Are You a Homebuyer Worried About Climate Risks? For Buyers First Time Home Buyers Move-Up Buyers Housing Market Updates Demographics Buying Myths The increasing effects of natural disasters are leading to new obstacles in residential real estate. As a recent article from  CoreLogic   explains :   “As the specter of climate change looms large, the world braces for unprecedented challenges.  In the world of real estate, one of those challenges will be the effects of natural catastrophes on property portfolios, homeowners, and communities. ”  That may be why,  according  to  Zillow , more and more Americans now consider how climate risks and natural disasters can impact their homeownership plans ( see below ):   This study goes on to explain that climate risks affect where many people look for a home. That’s because homebuyers are interested in finding out if the house they want will be exposed to things like floods, extreme heat, and wi...

Inflation devalues the purchasing power of money and the interest earned on savings is almost always less than inflation.   Tangible assets like your home consistently become more valuable over time.   In inflationary periods, a home is a good investment and a hedge against inflation. Borrowing money at fixed rates during times of inflation can be very advantageous...like buying a home.   The rate stays the same over the term of the mortgage and so does the payment instead of going up at the rate of inflation. In September 2022, rents rose by 7.2% according to NAR Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun and "rents are accelerating to higher figures with each passing month."   The annualized rate for this year is 10.6%.   Buying a home allows you to avoid rent increases while enjoying property appreciation. The housing shortage that is fueling the price appreciation, as well as increases in rent, is something that has existed for over ten years, yet...