Susan Potter - NYS Licensed Sales Associate, Hodgkins Home Team

Susan Potter - NYS Licensed Sales Associate, Hodgkins Home Team I'm a full time realtor in Onondaga County, NY waiting to help you sell or buy your home. Inspiring a new & exciting chapter in your life.

06/27/2023

For the first time home buyer, one of the biggest obstacles can be saving for the down payment. The biggest misconception is that you need to put a significant amount of money toward purchasing a home.

A survey from Freddie Mac states: “Nearly a third of prospective homebuyers think they need a down payment of 20% or more to buy a home. This myth remains one of the largest perceived barriers to achieving homeownership.”

The experts report that currently first time homebuyers only are required to put a 6% payment down, and the average down payment for most people (depending on your loan type) is at 14%, it hasn't been over 20% since 2005!

There are over 2000 programs to help homebuyers in the United States mostly with down payments. According to the Down Payment Resource: “You don't have to be a first-time buyer. Over 38% of all programs are for repeat homebuyers who have owned a home in the last 3 years.”

There are also VA loans and USDA loans available with no down payment if you qualify, as well as FHA loans with a down payment as low as 3.5%!

06/26/2023

Did you know that when you buy or sell a home you are helping your local community as well as the economy? Housing is a big job creator and this extends to many industries like real estate, new home construction, mortgage lending, and title insurance just to name a few!

The National Association of Realtors states that the income generated from a typical existing home sale is approximately $57,800.00, and a newly constructed home generates a whopping $120,500.00!

Robert Dietz, Chief Economist at the National Association of Home Builders explains it like this: “The economic impact means housing is a significant job creator.

In fact, for every single-family home built, enough economic activity is generated to sustain three full-time jobs for a year, per NAHB research, and one job for every $100,000 in remodeling spending.”

A Fortune article further explains: “Housing has three direct linkages to economic activity: the construction of new homes, the remodeling of existing homes, and that of housing transactions, consider the activity associated with home sales - think brokers fees, lawyers, etc. -which are a sizable contributor to housing’s GDP footprint.”

It is comforting to know that buying or selling your home not only helps you, but also the community that you live in!

06/25/2023

Home values have been growing at incredible levels for the past 32 years. On average homes have gained 290.2% in appreciation since 1991 and in some areas of the country, over 500%! Let's take a look at some notable states!

Colorado takes top prize for home value growth as homes appreciated 565.0% from 1991-2023, followed closely by Utah at 564.7% and Montana at 563.0%. Oregon and Idaho are not too far behind with home prices appreciating at 505.4% and 503% respectively.

With many people relocating to the south and south western states, Arizona boasts a 435% growth in home prices, and not surprising with the mass influx to Florida, homes have grown in value by 427.8% during the past 32 years.

Other states worth mentioning are Washington at 447.1%, Wyoming at 402.1%, South Dakota at 360.9%, Tennessee at 344.4%, followed by Texas reporting a 330.4% home appreciation growth rate since 1991!

The bottom line is, buy now wherever you currently live and start building equity!!

06/25/2023

Flipping homes used to be a popular choice for short term real estate investors looking to make some fast money. Home buying has gotten much more expensive with mortgage rates steadily increasing for the past year.

As Zillow’s Chief Economist Skylar Olsen explains high mortgage rates and high home prices are making real estate much harder to profit on quickly, she has some suggestions on the best way for investors to move forward in the current climate and that is the Buy, Hold and Build Equity strategy!

She suggests holding onto your home and paying down your mortgage to build equity which will increase the longer you own your home and helps the 40% of homeowners today who secured low mortgage rates of 3-4% during the pandemic years.

Olsen also suggests becoming a landlord which helps on many fronts such as paying down your mortgage, increasing cash flow, and building equity. The rental market is very strong right now and expected to stay that way for some time.

One more thing to consider according to Olsen is real estate investment trusts which are another way to profit from the market. They are publicly traded companies that own apartment buildings, shopping centers and office buildings that produce income through rent. This is paid out to investors as dividends.

06/21/2023

Did you know that 67.6% of homeowners in America have either paid off their mortgage or have at least 50% equity in their home? That tells you how strong our market is today, and some experts believe that the current housing market is the strongest of our lifetime!

The FHA states that as of the end of last year, over 80% of existing mortgages have a rate below 5%, and over 50% of mortgages have a rate below 4%. Only 32.4% of homeowners have a mortgage with less than 50% equity which is amazing and a major reason why the housing market is so robust!

There have been fears of a foreclosure crisis similar to 2008, as inflation has been climbing along with mortgage rates. Many thought this would lead to home price depreciation leading to a lot of distressed homes flooding the market.

Our housing market has a solid foundation today due in large part to the amount of equity people have in their homes. Homes are continuing to appreciate as well, just more slowly than during the pandemic. And due to the low inventory of homes for sale, there is a buyer demand for homes that helps to maintain home values.

06/20/2023

Last year many experts were predicting home prices to crash this year with worries that the real estate market was not stable due to rising mortgage rates which would make homes less affordable, thereby decreasing buyer demand, leading to home price depreciation.

This did affect consumer confidence and 37% of Americans polled believed that home prices would fall, which had a chilling effect on potential homebuyers and sellers as they hesitated on making a move. Early this year, home prices did experience a minimal depreciation, they never crashed, and are already bouncing back!

Goldman Sachs recently stated: “The global housing market seems to be stabilizing faster than expected despite months of rising mortgage rates, according to Goldman Sachs Research. House prices are defying expectations and are rising in major economies such as the U.S.”

Much to the experts' surprise, the housing market is healthy and resilient! Home prices are appreciating again, buyer demand is strong, which means that it is a great time to buy or sell your home!

06/19/2023

If you are planning on buying or selling your home, you may be wondering if home prices are on the rise, or are falling. Real estate experts have two ways of measuring home prices.The first is (Y-O-Y) which is year over year, and (M-O-M) which is month over month.

Year over Year compares the change in home price from one year to the next year (during the same month in each year) This is a longer range measurement that usually indicates if the market is appreciating or depreciating.

Month over Month compares the change in a home’s price from one month to the next month. This is a short term measurement that indicates recent changes in housing supply and demand, or other factors such as seasonal trends.

This is important because in 2022, the months of April, May and June were the best on record for home prices in the United States! So far this year, home prices are lower than last year, the Year over Year measurement determines that.

However, the Month over Month prices have recently been on the rise, so this may be a more accurate measurement of what is actually happening in the housing market today. Experts believe that home values hit bottom several months ago and are now on the way back up!

06/16/2023

It is easy to get caught up in recent housing market trends which can influence your decision to sell your home or consider buying a new home.

Existing homes are selling above market value in some areas due to low inventory and fierce competition, this can motivate you to sell knowing you will get top dollar for your home.

However, since mortgage rates have been climbing steadily over the past year, many potential sellers are waiting rather than buy a new house with a higher rate than they currently have.

Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at https://buff.ly/ydIGeP explains:”Homeowners who are locked in a 30 year fixed rate in the 2-3% range don’t necessarily want to give that up in exchange for a rate in the 6-7% range.”

Lifestyle and peace of mind should take precedence over market trends. There is never a perfect time to buy or sell your home, but marriage, relocation, upgrading or downsizing may be the best reasons to make a change sooner rather than later.

06/15/2023

It may surprise you to know that real estate has been voted the best long term investment for the last 11 years, beating investments like gold, stocks and bonds. It's especially true since owning a home is one of the best long term strategies to build wealth in the United States.

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors explains it like this:”Homeownership is a catalyst for building wealth for people from all walks of life. A monthly mortgage payment is often considered a forced savings account that helps homeowners build a net worth about 40 times higher than that of a renter.”

Equity is everything and when you own your home over a long period of time, your net worth grows through home price appreciation, and continues as you pay down your mortgage. So the sooner you get into homeownership, the sooner you start to build your net wealth!

06/13/2023

It can be both exciting and intimidating to be a first time home buyer. There are many challenges to overcome like saving enough for a down payment, closing costs and getting approved for a mortgage. It can be downright scary!

As The National Association of Realtors explains: “Since 2011, the share of first time home buyers has been under the historical norm of 40% as buyers face tight inventory, rising home prices, rising rents and high student debt loads.”

The good news is there are multiple programs available to help first time home buyers which reduce the amount of money needed for a down payment and closing costs. Some programs can help you get a loan with no down payment!

CNET further explains it like this: “A first-time homebuyer program can help make homeownership more affordable and accessible by offering lower mortgage rates, down payment assistance and tax incentives.”

Experts suggest contacting the housing authority in your state to see what programs are offered by your state and local government and check out the site Down Payment Resource for more information.

06/12/2023

Many experts say that homeownership and building equity is good for your financial bottom line, but did you know that owning a home may help your emotional health even more?

Gary Acosta, CEO at the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals explains it like this: “Studies have shown the emotional and psychological benefits that homeownership has on a person’s health and self-esteem..”

Habitat for Humanity further expands upon this: “ Residential stability among homeowners is related to improved life satisfaction, along with better physical and mental health.”

Your home equals joy and happiness! Since you own it, you can customize, renovate, and decorate your little oasis to reflect your style, personality and lifestyle!

Your neighborhood can also add to your sense of happiness and belonging as you engage with people from the same area. And the longer you live in your home, the more active you tend to be in your local community.

06/09/2023

There has been a trend recently toward baby boomers gifting their grown children with real estate. It is reported that more than 53 trillion in assets are being transferred from older parents to their descendants and a large portion of that wealth is in real estate.

As Boyd Rudy, team leader of MiReloTeam Keller Williams Realty Living explains: “By gifting property, you can reduce the size of your estate and avoid taxes, However, it is important to keep in mind that there are limits to how much you can gift without triggering gift taxes.”

The lifetime gift tax exemption allowed by the IRS for 2023 is $12.92 million, so If you gift your home the value over the annual $17,000 limit is subtracted from the value of assets that are allowed to be given tax free over a lifetime.

Address

7650 Highbridge Road
North Syracuse, NY
13104

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Susan Potter - NYS Licensed Sales Associate, Hodgkins Home Team posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Susan Potter - NYS Licensed Sales Associate, Hodgkins Home Team:

Shortcuts

Share

Category