Category: In the News

From finding an inspector to dealing with surprises — this is your guide to getting a house checked out.

The first thing you need to know about a home inspection: You’ll feel all the feels. There’s the excitement — the inspection could be the longest time you’re in the house, after the showing. Right behind that comes anxiety. What if the inspector finds something wrong — so wrong you can’t buy the house? Then there’s impatience. Seriously, is this whole home buying process over yet?

Not yet. But you’re close. So, take a deep breath. Because here’s the most important thing to know about a home inspection: It’s just too good for you, as a buyer, to skip. 

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What to expect, when to negotiate, and how to deal when things don’t go your way.

Most people have deeply personal reasons for wanting to buy a home. Maybe it’s the bathroom that feels like a dreamy, modern spa. Or that two-tiered deck just made for parties.

Your lender doesn’t care about the freestanding tub. Or the built-in outdoor fire pit. Their only concern is that the house you buy is worth as much as the value of your mortgage.

To them, a house isn’t a home. It’s collateral. (Harsh, but true.) If someday, for some reason, you can’t make your mortgage payments, the lender can foreclose on the home and sell it to recoup all or some of its costs. (Even harsher, but also true.)

For that reason, a home must be valued at, or above, the agreed-upon purchase price, and this has to happen before you can close on a house. That’s where a home appraiser comes in. 

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We all know that buying a home isn’t the same as shopping for a jacket and paying for it by whipping out your debit card. But does it have to be so hard? Actually, no, it doesn’t. Not that it’s super easy to find and buy a home, but you’ll skip a lot of headaches (or a huge financial mistake!) if you know how to get the right advice along the way. Because, really, buying a home is about having the right relationships. This guide helps ensure that — so your dream of buying a home suddenly becomes very real.

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Choosing the right stove is more complicated. Get the pros and cons of gas, electric, and induction.

Oh, for the good old days when choosing a stove meant comparing brands, features, and prices. Today, the decision-making process includes a thorny issue: whether to go with a gas or electric stove or an induction cooktop, which is a type of electric range. The question stems from growing concerns about the health, safety, and environmental aspects of gas stoves.

Professional and home chefs in the U.S. have long preferred gas ranges, says Melissa Haber, senior vice president at EuroChef USA, based in Edgewood, N.Y. Seventy-six percent of restaurants across the country use gas in their kitchens, according to a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association in 2022. Cooks in various settings say gas stoves heat up more quickly and offer better temperature control than most electric stoves. But evidence is growing that gas stoves can be harmful to humans and the environment.

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Find out where homeowners are likely to face the steepest premium hikes before the end of the year.

Homeowners are facing rising insurance and increasingly limited options for carriers in some locales, and the problem is likely to worsen, warns a new report from Insurify, a virtual insurance company. The report blames severe weather, inflation and rising homebuilding costs.

The average insurance rate is $2,377 annually, but homeowners nationwide are expected to see a 6% uptick in average premiums by the end of the year. That’s on top of a 20% increase over the two years prior. Also, some coastal areas and inland locales could see double-digit percentage rises this year, according to Insurify’s 2024 Insuring the American Homeowner(link is external) report. Places like Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma are expected to see the highest annual spikes in the country. The report further warns that weather forecasters are predicting a lively hurricane season, which likely will lead to additional rate increases into 2025 in many coastal areas.

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WASHINGTON (March 29, 2023) – Pending home sales grew in February for the third consecutive month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Three U.S. regions posted monthly gains, while the West declined. All four regions saw year-over-year decreases in transactions.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* — a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings — improved 0.8% to 83.2 in February. Year-over-year, pending transactions dropped by 21.1%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.

“After nearly a year, the housing sector’s contraction is coming to an end,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Existing-home sales, pending contracts and new-home construction pending contracts have turned the corner and climbed for the past three months.”

Read More: https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/pending-home-sales-grew-for-third-straight-month-up-0-8-in-february

WASHINGTON (March 30, 2023) – Nearly half of seller’s agents (48%) reported that staging a home decreased its time on market, according to a new report by the National Association of Realtors®. For both buyers’ and sellers’ agents, one in five (20%) said home staging increased the offer price by between 1% and 5% compared to similar homes on the market that weren’t staged.

NAR’s 2023 Profile of Home Staging reveals the role home staging plays in the real estate transaction, including the perspectives of buyers’ and sellers’ agents, the impact of television shows and buyer expectations.

“As days on market has lengthened for home sellers, it is not a surprise to see the return of home staging as a tool to attract potential buyers,” said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “Buyers want to easily envision themselves within a new home and home staging is a way to showcase the property in its best light.”

Four out of five buyers’ agents (81%) said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. Staging the living room was found to be most important for buyers (39%), followed by the primary bedroom (36%) and the kitchen (30%).

Read more here: https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nearly-half-of-sellers-agents-said-staging-a-home-reduced-its-time-on-market-nar-report-finds