Is It Possible to Find the Right Home in Today's Hot Market?

It’s hard to find the right home in today’s hot market. Here are a few ways I go above and beyond to help you do just that.

Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search
 Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

How do we go above and beyond to find the right property for buyers? This is especially difficult right now in today’s hot market. Offers come in fast and homes move quickly off the market.

For this reason, there are a few extra steps we take to ensure we’re doing the most we can for our clients.

First of all, we search sources outside of just the MLS. This includes looking at Zillow, Craigslist, foreclosure and off-market properties, and For Sale By Owner properties, as well.

By looking in these places, we’re able to find homes outside of the ones everyone else on the market is already seeing.

Additionally, we preview properties for buyers. Listing photos are meant to look good. However, not every home out there is as good as it appears. I’d say between half to ¾ of all homes on the market simply aren’t what they may seem.

My goal is to help you find the right home.

To avoid wasting time on homes like these, I will preview properties that fit your criteria and select the ones I think will be the best fits for you.

This way, we can find the right property and make an offer before it’s too late. My goal is to help you find the right home.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The Hampton Roads Summer Market Is on Fire

Why is the Hampton Roads real estate market so competitive this summer? I’ll explain today.

Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search
 Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

What’s happening in the Hampton Roads real estate market this summer? 

There are a few main points to pay attention to. 

First of all, interest rates are still very low. Right now, they’re hovering around 4%, which is great news for any buyers in the market. 

Inventory levels are also extremely low. 

If you are thinking of selling your home, the market is on fire. Now is a great time to put your home on the market. 

Low inventory does make things a little more difficult for buyers, as there are fewer options available on the market. Plus, great deals and awesome properties are being snatched up quickly. 

Remember, markets can change at any time.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, don’t get too cocky. Remember, markets can change at any time. What goes up eventually must come down, so take advantage of the increased prices in the market now. 

If you’re buying a home, I recommend working with a top agent who’s looking at properties every day. That way, you’ll know the minute a home you’re interested in hits the market. 

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the market in your specific neighborhood, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How Will the New President Affect Real Estate?

How will the new administration affect the Hampton Roads market and the national market as a whole? We have to look to the economy as whole to find out.

Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search
 Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

How will the Trump administration affect the real estate market here in Hampton Roads and across the nation? The bigger question is how it will affect the economy.

Basically, the administration is using a lot of economic regulations and talking about cutting taxes. The reason is that without government easement like we saw during the Obama administration with quantitative easement, our population is in a huge lull until around 2023 or 2025 when millennials come into their peak spending years.

So if the government did nothing, our stock market would have crashed and stayed there. The real estate market would have crashed until the mid-2020s. That's why we're seeing low interest rates and all the economic incentives for businesses and stimulation.

The new administration's goal will be to ride out the tide and continue to create new stimulation.

The new administration's goal will be to ride out the tide and continue to create new stimulation until millennials can pick up the slack from the declining baby boomer generation.

For the next year to 18 months, I predict we'll see a very strong real estate market and stock market. We'll also see a stronger economy in general because of all the incentives and government stimulation happening. There's a lot of excitement because it's new and there's a new administration. After that, we don't know whether the economy will remain strong heading into the 2020s.

If you have any questions about how this affects you or our local market, I'm happy to help.

What’s Happening in the Hampton Roads Real Estate Market?

A lot of people have been asking me how the local market is doing. Are we in a buyer’s market or seller’s market? What can we expect to see going forward?

It really depends on what area you are in. Areas with better school districts such as Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Suffolk are all in strong seller’s markets. Multiple offer situations are common and home prices are up. Houses are selling for top dollar in a matter of days.

On the other hand, parts of Portsmouth, Norfolk, and other outlying areas are in more of a neutral market. Some areas are even leaning towards a buyer’s market.

Overall, inventory is much lower than it has been in the past five years. In fact, we’re on track for a record number of sales. So far, this year mirrors 2007, the highest year on record for our area. 2016 might actually break that record. The good news is that buyers still have options; inventory is low, but things haven’t gotten to the point where you can't find a home.

The good news for buyers is that interest rates are at an all-time low. I expect we will continue to have low interest rates for the next six months, maybe even for the next year. There are no real signs that interest rates will change anytime soon. Even as our area moves more into a seller’s market, interest rates will remain low.

Interest rates are still at historic lows!

If you have been thinking of buying a home, now is the time to get serious about it. Don’t wait and get priced out of the market. If you’ve been thinking about selling your home, make sure you stage it and get everything in good condition before you put it on the market. That way, you can set yourself up for a successful sale.

If you have any other questions about the real estate market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!