3 Home Improvement Projects That Buyers Will Love

To increase your odds of selling in this market, you might want to look at completing a few home improvement projects. These are the three that we recommend.

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As we slowly shift to a buyer's market, it’s time to make some adjustments. For one thing, it's worth looking at some simple home improvement projects that can help ensure you sell your home quickly and at a top price. 

The thing is, when it comes to selling your home, not all home improvements are created equal. That's why I've collected the three top home improvement projects that homebuyers love, according to a report by the National Association of Home Builders:

1. A laundry room. More than anything, homebuyers currently want a separate room for washing, folding, and ironing clothes so they can keep the mess out of their living space. If you have an unused basement, it makes a lot of sense to put the laundry room there because all of the utility lines will be accessible and you probably won't have to demolish anything. A new laundry room could cost as little as $1,000 and could contribute a lot more than that when you look to sell your home.    

90% of buyers want energy-efficient windows in their home.

2. Exterior lighting. Exterior lighting is the most desired outdoor feature by homebuyers, appearing on 92% of wish lists. Your options for exterior lighting include spotlights, walkway lights, and pendant lights. Fixtures range in price between $65 to $132. Exterior lighting will present your home in the best possible light, impressing these potential buyers and increasing overall interest in your home. 

3. Energy-efficient windows. Most homebuyers today care about energy efficiency. Specifically, 90% of them want energy-efficient windows in their new home. A set of energy-efficient windows will drive down the costs for your utilities, improve comfort inside your home, and increase your home's curb appeal.

That's why, whether you are planning on staying in your home for a while or are looking to sell quickly, energy efficient windows are worth considering. In fact, that's true for all of the above projects. If you have any questions about any of these projects or what else you can do to add value to your home before selling, don’t hesitate to give me a call at 703-328-3434 or email me at Janet@TheGreshGroup.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

An Update on Our Fall 2018 Real Estate Market

As we head into fall, we wanted to bring you a closer look at the real estate market. Here’s what you need to know.

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If you've been thinking of selling your home, you'll want to keep listening. Today I’ll show you how to get a significant advantage over a lot of other home sellers in the market today.

First, let me give you a bit of background on the current conditions in the (area) housing market:

1. Mortgage rates have hit a 7-year high. Several weeks ago, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate broke through the 4.6%-mark—the highest level since May 2011. This is part of an ongoing upward trend in mortgage rates, which started over a year ago. In spite of the rate increase, mortgage applications spiked in September. This is a signal that buyers expect rates to go up even more in the near future.

2. Affordability is dropping, and demand might soon follow. For the past several years, home prices have increased at twice the speed of inflation. For a while, this didn't have too much of an effect on the market because there was so much pent-up demand. Affordability is suffering—an estimate from early summer put current home affordability levels at a 10-year low.    

If you’ve been thinking about selling, the time to act is now.

3. More home sellers are reducing prices. Not surprisingly, the combination of sustained high prices, increasing mortgage rates, and a drop in demand is finally starting to have an impact on the real estate market. More than a quarter of homes listed as of September 16 had a price drop. 

What does this all mean for you? In short, if you've been thinking of selling your home, then the time to act is now. In spite of the easing of demand, there are still many hungry buyers on the market and prices remain near all-time highs. This means you can sell your home quickly and for top dollar.

However, all of the reasons I listed earlier mean this situation might not hold very long. Demand might slack off even more and many more homeowners might decide to enter the market, driving down prices and really ushering in a buyer's market. That's why it can make a lot of sense to move early—before this kind of awareness reaches the majority of homeowners. 

If you want specific information about the current Northern Virginia real estate market, or you're mulling over the idea of buying or selling a home, please give me a call at 703-328-3434 or email me at Janet@TheGreshGroup.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Mortgage Rates Are Affecting the Market

The average mortgage rate is at a seven-year high. Is this what’s behind the shift we’re seeing in the market?

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The 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently stands at around 4.77%. That's near a seven-year high, and almost 1% higher than just a year ago. This is the result of a steady rise starting last September and ending this May.

What impact is this having on the real estate market? It's certainly true that affordability is down. In fact, one estimate from June found that home affordability is at a 10-year low. This is translating into fewer home sales, fewer viewings, and fewer mortgage applications.

However, I don't believe that the shifts in the mortgage rate is the primary mover of the changes we're seeing in the real estate market. In fact, even at its current level, the mortgage rate is still historically low.

Instead, the big reason for the changes in the real estate market is the ongoing growth in prices. Over the past several years, home prices have gone up at close to twice the rate of inflation, and have far outstripped the growth of incomes.   

Over the past several years, home prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation.

The price increases, in turn, have been caused by a lack of inventory, which has been shrinking for the past three years. In my opinion, it’s this lack of inventory (and the resulting hike in prices) that explains most of the effects on the real estate market that I listed above.

If you're looking to sell, you should still have no trouble doing so. Demand continues to outstrip supply, and even with dropping affordability, it's very likely that you would find a buyer quickly and at a top price.

If you're looking to buy, the picture is more complex, because it's so hard to predict what the mortgage rate might do in the near term. One thing we do know is that the severe lack of inventory is unlikely to change any time soon.

If you want specific information about the current Northern Virginia real estate market, or you're mulling over the idea of buying or selling a home, please give me a call at 703-328-3434 or email me at Janet@TheGreshGroup.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon.