With all the headlines and talk in the media about the shift in the housing market, you might be thinking this is a housing bubble. It’s only natural for those thoughts to creep in that make you think it could be a repeat of what took place in 2008. But the good news is, there’s concrete data to show why this is nothing like the last time.
There’s Still a Shortage of Homes on the Market Today, Not a Surplus
For historical context, there were too many homes for sale during the housing crisis (many of which were short sales and foreclosures), and that caused prices to fall dramatically. Supply has increased since the start of this year, but there’s still a shortage of inventory available overall, primarily due to almost 15 years of underbuilding homes.
The graph below uses data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to show how the months’ supply of homes available now compares to the crash. Today, unsold ...

If you’re thinking about selling your house but wondering if buyers are still out there, know that there are still people who are searching for a home to buy today. And your house may be exactly what they’re looking for.
While the millennial generation has been dubbed the renter generation, that namesake may not be appropriate anymore. Millennials, the largest generation, are actually a significant driving force for buyer demand in the housing market today. Here’s why.
Millennial Homebuying Power
While there’s no denying higher mortgage rates are making it more challenging to afford a home today, many millennials are still eager and able to buy homes – whether it’s their first or they’re moving up. That’s in large part because of the value they place on education.
A recent article from First American says millennials may be the most educated generation in our nation’s history. Be. ...

With this changing market and increased interest rates, many buyers are taking advantage of a rate buy down. Better yet, with the increase of inventory, some sellers are even covering the cost when negotiating! Ultimately a buy down is simply where you pay a fee in order to get a lower interest rate, thus making your monthly payments cheaper. 
This has been a common trend as this is saving buyers more per month in comparison to a price reduction. The reason price reductions have had little effect on affordability is a $10,000 price reduction only saves a buyer around $53 on their mortgage payment at 5.8%. Therefore, sellers are getting creative with being able to offer a credit in lieu of a price reduction, where the lender can utilize those funds to buy down the rate, either permanently or temporarily depending on the plan. This tends to knock off HUNDREDS on the buyer's monthly payment, thus being mutually beneficial to both parties. 
Now the 2/1 buy-down i ...

Why the Forbearance Program Changed the Housing Market


When the pandemic hit in 2020, many experts thought the housing market would crash. They feared job loss and economic uncertainty would lead to a wave of foreclosures similar to when the housing bubble burst over a decade ago. Thankfully, the forbearance program changed that. It provided much-needed relief for homeowners so a foreclosure crisis wouldn’t happen again. Here’s why forbearance worked.

Forbearance enabled nearly five million homeowners to get back on their feet in a time when having the security and protection of a home was more important than ever. Those in need were able to work with their banks and lenders to stay in their homes rather than go into foreclosure. Marina Walsh, Vice President of Industry Analysis at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)


“Most borrowers exiting forbearance are moving into either a loan modification, payment deferral, or a combination of ...

I’m sharing six things you can do to bolster your offer’s appeal.

In today’s market, many buyers are wondering if it’s worth going through all the effort to secure themselves a house with such little inventory available. After all, only one offer per home is accepted, and it can make the process frustrating if you don’t have the right tools at your disposal. Here are a couple of things you can do to make your offer stand out from the competition:
1. Submit a large earnest money deposit. Remember that your earnest money deposit goes toward your down payment at closing and that you can get that money back during various points of the loan process. There’s no risk to you, but to a seller, a larger deposit shows that you have both the resources and backing to make it to the closing table.
2. Get pre-approved with a lender. Before you even submit an offer, you need to speak with a lender. Get educated about the numbers so that you can make the stro ...