Homeownership Builds Wealth and Offers Stability | Keeping Current Matters

The most recent Housing Pulse Survey released by the National Association of Realtorsrevealed that the two major reasons Americans prefer owning their own home instead of renting are:

  1. They want the opportunity to build equity.
  2. They want a stable and safe environment.

Building Equity

In a recent article, John Taylor, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, explained that those who lack the opportunity to become homeowners have a weakened ability to reinvest their wealth:

“We traditionally have been huge supporters of homeownership. We see it as a way to provide stability for households but also as an asset-building strategy. If you continue to be a renter, locked out of the homeownership arena, increasingly those…

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Selling Your House? Price It Right From the Start | Keeping Current Matters

In today’s market, where demand is outpacing supply in many regions of the country, pricing a house is one of the biggest challenges real estate professionals face. Sellers often want to price their home higher than recommended, and many agents go along with the idea to keep their clients happy. However, the best agents realize that telling the homeowner the truth is more important than getting the seller to like them.

There is no “later.”

Sellers sometimes think, “If the home doesn’t sell for this price, I can always lower it later.” However, research proves that homes that experience a listing price reduction sit on the market longer, ultimately selling for less than similar homes.

John Knight, recipient of the University Distinguished…

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Where Are Mortgage Rates Headed? This Winter? Next Year? | Keeping Current Matters

The interest rate you pay on your home mortgage has a direct impact on your monthly payment. The higher the rate the greater the payment will be. That is why it is important to look at where rates are headed when deciding to buy now or wait until next year.

Below is a chart created using Freddie Mac’s October 2015 U.S. Economic & Housing Marketing Outlook. As you can see interest rates are projected to increase steadily over the course of the next 12 months.

How Will This Impact Your Mortgage Payment?

Depending on the amount of the loan that you secure, a half of a percent (.5%) increase in interest rate can increase your monthly mortgage payment significantly.

According to CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index, national home prices have…

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Home Values: Where Are They Headed in the Next 5 Years? | Keeping Current Matters

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey.

Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.

The results of their latest survey

  • Home values will appreciate by 4.1% in 2015.
  • The cumulative appreciation will be 18.1% by 2019.
  • That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.4% over the next 5 years.
  • Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative…

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Home Prices Rising! Appraisers say WHOA! | Keeping Current Matters

Each month, Quicken Loans releases their national Home Price Perception Index(HPPI). This month’s report revealed that the difference in appraiser home value opinions as compared to homeowner estimates is continuing to increase. Chief Economist Bob Walters explains:

"Many homeowners around the country are seeing the national headlines about home value increases and they are optimistic about their equity increasing. While some areas are seeing the same level of home appreciation, or even more, there are also some areas that have slower home value increases. This can lead to homeowners and appraisers not quite seeing eye-to-eye.”

Here is a chart showing the increasing difference in opinions:

Though reports of home price increases have…

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Should I Wait to Put Down a Bigger Down Payment? | Keeping Current Matters

Some experts are advising that first time and move-up buyers wait until they save up 20% before they move forward with their decision to purchase a home. One of the main reasons they suggest waiting is that a buyer must purchase private mortgage insurance if they have less than the 20%. That increases the monthly payment the buyer will be responsible for.

In a recent article, Freddie Mac explained what this would mean for a $200,000 house:

However, we must look at other aspects of the purchase to see if it truly makes sense to wait.

Are you actually saving money by waiting?

CoreLogic has recently projected that home values will increase by 4.3% over the next 12 months. Let’s compare the extra cost of PMI against the projected…

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When is it a Good Time to Rent? Definitely NOT Now! | Keeping Current Matters

People often ask whether or not now is a good time to buy a home. No one ever asks when a good time to rent is. However, we want to make certain that everyone understands that today is NOT a good time to rent.

The Census Bureau just released their second quarter median rent numbers. Here is a graph showing rent increases from 1988 until today:

At the same time, a report by Axiometrics revealed:

“The national apartment market’s annual effective rent growth rate of 5.1% in June 2015 represented a 47-month high, and continued a streak of 5.0%-plus rent growth that is now the longest in at least six years, according to apartment market research. The effective rent growth in June 2014 was 3.7%, putting June 2015’s exceptional performance…

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TRAVIS....

This October 2015 there were 04 homes sold in  Travis.The highest selling price was $445,000, while the lowest selling price was $255,000.

Here are  the addresses of  homes sold  in Travis  this October:
  1. 118 Wild Avenue
  2. 129 Alberta Avenue
  3. 78 Towers Lane
  4. 53 Simmons Lane
 As of today, November  6th, 2015, there are 13 active properties in Travis. The highest listing price of these properties is $650,000, while the lowest is $199,000.

Here is a list of all the addresses of the active listings in Travis .

  1. 69 Simmons Lane
  2. 53 Simmons Loop
  3. 8 Leroy Street
  4. 118 Cnnon Avenue
  5. 4117 Victory Boulevard
  6. 17 Watson Avenue
  7. 194 Cannon Avenue
  8. 2 Leroy Street
  9. 84 Shelley Avenue
  10. 75…

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 TOTTENVILLE.....

 

This October 2015 there were 18 homes sold in Tottenville. The highest selling price was $860,000, while the lowest selling price was $287,000.

Here are  the addresses of  homes sold  in Tottenville this October:
  1. 418 Sprague Avenue
  2. 77 Surfside Plaza 
  3. 45 Sandy Lane
  4. 49 Sandy Lane
  5. 276 Brighton Street
  6. 57 Sunset Lane
  7. 129 Pittsville Avenue
  8. 8 Sprague Avenue
  9. 167 Butler Avenue
  10. 138 Camden Avenue
  11. 418 Sleight Avenue
  12. 355 Loretto Street
  13. 23 Meagan Loop
  14. 61 Billop Avenue
  15. 304 Main Street
  16. 300 Chelsea Street
  17. 379 Chelsea Street
  18. 533 Rockaway Street
As of today, November  6th, 2015, there are 73 active properties in Tottenville. The highest listing price of these properties is…

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TODT HILL.....

This October 2015 only  01 home sold in Todt  Hill. 

Here is  the addresses of  the  home sold  in Todt Hill this October:
  1. 10 Denoble Lane
As of today, November  6th, 2015, there are 42 active properties in Todt Hill. The highest listing price of these properties is $4,500,000, while the lowest is $545,000.

Here is a list of all the addresses of the active listings in Todt Hill:

  1. 1359 Richmond Road
  2. 1239 Todt Hill Road 
  3. 122 Norwalk Avenue
  4. 1225 Todt Hill Road
  5. 74 Romer Road 
  6. 200 Coverly Avenue
  7. 15 Bogert Avenue
  8. 400 Ocean Terrace
  9. 24 Cromwell Circle
  10. 653 Ocean Terrace
  11. 61 Portsmouth Avenue
  12. 181 Flagg Place
  13. 586 Ocean Terrace
  14. 258 Flagg Place
  15. 7 Portsmouth Avenue
    16. …

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