What to Expect From the 2018 Real Estate Market

How is the Birmingham real estate market? I’ll go over market conditions and what to expect from the 2018 market today.

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Let’s take a look at the state of the market and what those market conditions mean for real estate in 2018.

Inventory reflects the number of homes on the market. Here are the inventory levels for December 31 over the course of the last five years: 

• 2013 - 7,439 homes
• 2014 - 6,568 homes
• 2015 - 6,677 homes
• 2016 - 6,190 homes
• 2017 - 5,304 homes

As you can see, inventory dropped significantly from December 31, 2016, to December 31, 2017. That means there has been a significant drop in the number of homes available for sale. 

If you are a seller, now may be a good time to put your home on the market. Homes are selling quickly if they are priced and positioned properly in the market.

Of those 5,304 homes, 1,000 of them are under contract in some form or fashion. 

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Now is a great time to enter the market as a buyer or a seller.

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Another major factor in the real estate market is mortgage rates. Interest rates continue to skyrocket. As rates go up, your buying power goes down. Rates have gone up three-eighths of a point over the last 20 days, which would significantly impact your mortgage payment and your buying power in the real estate market. Check out this attachment for more.

If you are a seller, that means that your buyer pool may be dwindling.

That said, now is a great time to enter the real estate market as a buyer or a seller. If you have any questions, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

3 Things You Can Do to Prepare for Your 2018 Home Search

What can you do now to prepare for your 2018 home search? I have three steps to help you be a strong buyer in the new year.

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As we head into the new year, people are talking about resolutions and their future plans. Some of you may be planning on buying your first home or selling your current home to move into a new one. 

As we look forward to your 2018 real estate goals, there are a few things you can do now in order to get your home search off to a great start. 

1. Get connected with a local lender. They will help you find out what your credit score is and what your buying power will be. They’ll also help you better position yourself in the market and start the pre-approval process. Being pre-approved makes you a strong buyer. 

2. Sit down with a real estate consultant who’s going to take the time to identify your needs and match you with the right mortgage consultant. They will make sure that you don’t miss out on any opportunities in the market. It’s a great time to purchase a home. It’s a little busy because of the holidays, but sellers who are on the market now are highly motivated to sell. They are taking advantage of the low inventory to make their house jump out to you, and there are a lot of ways to approach that.

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Don’t do anything that would negatively impact your ability to purchase a home.

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3. Make sure that you don’t do anything to negatively affect your purchasing power, especially during the holidays. Don’t take out new credit lines or new credit cards. Be careful how much you spend on frivolous things, and try not to overspend on gifts. Don’t do anything that would affect your ability to purchase a home. 

These three steps will put you in a strong position to purchase a home. If you have any other questions about buying a home in 2018, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Giving Thanks in Light of the Holiday Season

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I thought it would be a good time to talk about what we’re thankful for.

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If you’re anything like me, this past Thanksgiving was an amazing time to slow down and do something we hopefully try to do every day, which is think about the things we’re thankful for. 

One of the things I’m thankful for is you, for taking the time to watch our videos. Whether you’re a past client, future client, referral partner, or otherwise, you’re what allows our team to serve our clients at a high level.

We’re thankful for you and the opportunity to be a small part of your life. We hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving, and we hope you have a very merry Christmas.

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We’re thankful for you and the opportunity to be a small part of your life.

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If you have any questions for us or there’s anything we can do to help you, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’d be happy to speak with you.