Category Archives: Buying Tips

Posted on by July 25, 2016

Brexit 1 Month Later: The Impact on Mortgage Rates

Just over a month ago, the United Kingdom decided to withdraw from the European Union in a decision commonly known as Brexit. At that time there was a lot of speculation on how that decision would impact the U.S. residential mortgage market. Today, we want to look at the impact of the first 30 days.

Most believed that the Brexit decision would drive mortgage rates down and keep them down for some time. As CoreLogic reported:

 “First-time buyers can count on continued low mortgage rates to help with affordability issues. Similarly, re-setting adjustable rate loans will have less of a rate shock, and in some cases may even go down.”

What has actually happened?

Initially, rates did fall. However, Freddie Mac has reported that rates have stabilized and have actually increased marginally each of the last two weeks. This prompted Freddie Mac Chief EconomistSean Beckett to say:

“Post-Brexit volatility tapered off over the last two weeks, allowing interest rates to bounce back a bit from their near-record 30-year mortgage rate lows.”

And, Capital Economics Property Economist Matthew Pointon believes rates will continue to increase:

“Given we expect Brexit will have a minimal impact on the U.S. economy, we see no reason to change our forecast for mortgage rates to reach 3.85% by the end of this year, and 5.0% by the middle of 2018.”

For now, it appears that the impact of Brexit on the U.S. housing market was not as dramatic as some thought it could be.

Posted on by July 23, 2016

Slaying Myths About Home Buying [INFOGRAPHIC]

Slaying Myths About Home Buying [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • Interest Rates are still below historic numbers.
  • 88% of property managers raised their rent in the last 12 months!
  • Credit score requirements to be approved for a mortgage continue to fall.
Posted on by July 20, 2016

Rents Skyrocket at Highest Rate in almost a Decade

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was released by the Labor Department last week. An analysis byMarket Watch revealed the cost of rent was 3.8% higher than a year ago for the second straight month in June. That’s the strongest yearly price gain since 2007.

This coincides with a report released earlier this month in which AxioMetrics announced that rents are continuing to increase in 2016. The report revealed:

  • There was a 3.7% increase in effective rents in the second quarter of 2016 as compared to the same period last year.
  • That the effective rent growth this quarter compared to last quarter was 2.3%.
  • Annual effective rent growth was positive in 49 of the top 50 markets, based on number of units. Only Houston was negative, at -1.4%, as the fallout from energy-industry job losses and excess construction continues.

Here is a graph to illustrate the rate of increase over the last several years:

Rent Set to Exceed $535 Billion Paid Last Year | Simplifying The Market

Bottom Line

With rents continuing to rise and mortgage interest rates still at historic lows, let’s meet up today to determine if you could turn your monthly rental cost into a home of your own.

Posted on by July 19, 2016

A Homeowner’s Net Worth is 45x Greater Than a Renter’s!

Every three years, the Federal Reserve conducts a Survey of Consumer Finances in which they collect data across all economic and social groups. The latest survey, which includes data from 2010-2013, reports that a homeowner’s net worth is 36 times greater than that of a renter ($194,500 vs. $5,400).

In a Forbes article, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicts that in 2016 the net worth gap will widen even further to 45 times greater.

The graph below demonstrates the results of the last two Federal Reserve studies and Yun’s prediction:

A Homeowner’s Net Worth is 45x Greater Than a Renter’s! | Simplifying The Market

 

Put Your Housing Cost to Work for You

Simply put, homeownership is a form of ‘forced savings.’ Every time you pay your mortgage, you are contributing to your net worth. Every time you pay your rent, you are contributing to your landlord’s net worth.

The latest National Housing Pulse Survey from NAR reveals that 85% of consumers believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision. Yun comments:

“Though there will always be discussion about whether to buy or rent, or whether the stock market offers a bigger return than real estate, the reality is that homeowners steadily build wealth. The simplest math shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Bottom Line

If you are interested in finding out if you could put your housing cost to work for you by purchasing a home, let’s get together to discuss your next steps.

Posted on by July 18, 2016

3 Questions Every Buyer Should Ask Themselves

Answering the following 3 questions will help you determine if now is actually a good time for you to buy in today’s market.

1. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with money.

For example, a recent survey by Braun showed that over 75% of parents say “their child’s education is an important part of the search for a new home.”

This survey supports a study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University which revealed that the four major reasons why people buy a home have nothing to do with money. They are:

  • A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
  • A place where you and your family feel safe
  • More space for you and your family
  • Control of that space

What does owning a home mean to you? What non-financial benefits will you and your family gain from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the biggest reason you decide to purchase or not. 

2. Where are home values headed?

According to the latest Home Price Index from CoreLogic, home values are projected to increase by 5.3% over the next 12 months. 

What does that mean to you?

Simply put, if you are planning on buying a home that costs $250,000 today, that same home will cost you an additional $13,250 if you wait till next year. Your down payment will need to be higher as well to account for the higher home price.

3. Where are mortgage interest rates headed?

A buyer must be concerned about more than just prices. The ‘long term cost’ of a home can be dramatically impacted by even a small increase in mortgage rates. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the National Association of Realtors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have all projected that mortgage interest rates will increase over the next twelve months as you can see in the chart below:

3 Questions Every Buyer Should Ask Themselves | Simplifying The Market

Bottom Line

Only you and your family will know for certain if now is the right time to purchase a home. Answering these questions will help you make that decision.

Posted on by June 3, 2014

How Does Fed Quantitative Easing Tapering Affect Interest Rates in Utah

This Week our guest Ron Pippin Covers…

      • How mortgage interest rates are determined
      • What the Fed’s quantitative easing actually is and what it does
      • How quantitative easing affects interest rates
      • What we expect interest rates in Utah to do over the next 12 months
      • Much more…

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Video Transcript
Hey, this is Ron Pippin, loan doctor, guaranteedRate mortgage. Now, you may have heard the terms quantitative easing and Fed tapering because they’ve been in the news a lot lately. So what do these terms mean, and how can it affect you? Well, in normal times the Fed will cut interest rates to stimulate the economy. During this recent financial crisis, the Fed was forced to cut rates to basically zero to get the economy going again, but that wasn’t enough, and since they can’t cut rates below zero, the Fed used some new and unusual tools to stimulate the economy.
Now, one of those big tools is called quantitative easing, which is the purchasing of government and mortgage bonds in an effort to keep rates low and help stimulate that market. Now, they’ve been buying bonds at the rate of $85 billion per month. — How much is one billion? A billion months ago the Internet belonged to the dinosaurs. A billion minutes ago the Roman Empire was flourishing.—Which has helped to push interest rates to all-time lows and stock market to all-time highs. Now, recently the Fed started scaling back the buying of their mortgage and treasury bonds by reducing the purchases by $10 billion a month, and this is what they call tapering because they are tapering back their purchases.
Now, how does that affect interest rates? Well, in the past anytime the Fed has stepped back, interest rates actually pushed higher, but then they settled back down. Now, the question remains will interest rates move higher as the Feds taper their purchases? Well, experts believe that interest rates will move higher, and they did when the Feds first started their tapering. However, interest rates have since moved back down. Will they continue to hold? That’s the million-dollar question. Personally, I believe that interest rates will eventually follow the economy and will rise as time goes on. As the economy improves, interest rates are going to go up.
Now, other experts seem to agree that interest rates will be higher towards the end of this year as seen in this chart. Now, if you have questions about home financing, call me. I really can help you. If you have questions about buying or selling a home, now is the time before interest rates move higher. I would suggest calling Joel and Ann Zieve. I have been extremely impressed with their professionalism and how proactive they are compared to so many other agents. Give them a call, really. They will go over all your options with you. This is Ron Pippin with guaranteedRate. You can reach me or text me at 801-628-7667. Make it a great day.
Posted on by June 3, 2014

How To Buy A Home In Utah – Home Buyer’s Guide

This week’s video gives you an overview of what’s in our Home Buyer’s Guide. Call, text or email for the full guide with great tips to help you get find the right home for the best price possible.

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Video Transcript
Hi everyone! This is Ann Zieve with the Northern Utah Home Team and Keller Williams Success Realty here to give you my weekly market update, and today I have a real treat for you because we’re going to talk about smart tips for buying homes. If you’re thinking about buying a home, you might be asking, “Am I ready to buy? Where can I find help to find the right home? And how’s the market?”
Well, we’re going to answer all these and more questions today. We have bought over 170 homes since 2002. In that time, we’ve learned how to successfully navigate the home buying process. Today we’ll hit some of the highlights of our experience, and at the end we’ll tell you how you can get the whole, informative home buying guide that we referred to in this blog. Owning your own home is still one of the top American dreams. It’s a statement of personal freedom and financial strength. In fact for many, buying a home is the most significant investment of their lifetime.
So why buy now? Well, mortgage rates remain low. However they won’t stay that way forever. This is the only thing outside your control. You can increase your income by working more. You can even affect your debt levels by what you choose to pay off and what you buy, and the price of the home based on where you buy and the condition of the home you buy, but interest rates is the one thing you cannot control, and every one percent change in the interest rate is a 10% change in your home price.
Now we all understand that inflation has caused the cost of things to go up. However, the principle and interest payment on a mortgage still remains close to what it was back in 1989, making a home a very affordable thing for most people. So where do you start? You start by figuring out how much you can afford. The best way is to talk to a lender and get pre-approved. This is smart and easy because it’s often just a quick phone call to a lender to get the process rolling. It costs you no money and helps you to learn up front the issues that may need to be addressed before you can finance a home.
Being pre-approved also allows you to move quicker when you find the home that you love, and also makes the seller take your offer more serious when you make one. We can send you a list of recommended lenders. Many of these also offer credit repair services if you need help with that. Now that you know what you can afford to buy, it’s time to figure out what you want and what you need. There’s lots of factors to consider, and we’re happy to sit down with you and figure out what is going to be right for you based on your goals. We know everybody’s goals are different and then the house that’s going to meet those goals is also different. So that’s why sit down and individually come up with a plan for you.
You see you don’t have to buy a home alone. We can help. Your job is to see how the home stacks up to your wants and needs, and our job is to help you find the home and let you know how it compares to the competition. I can provide information on the market and answer questions so you get the right home at the right price. Our job is also to get you the best deal possible. Our buyer average 5% savings compared to working with the average agent. Buying a home is about more than looking at homes on the Internet or even walking through them. I can help you make the offer at the right price. I can advise you to make an offer they can’t refuse. I can advise you on what to ask in the offer such as a home warranty and what to do if you end up in a multiple offer situation.
Did you know that most transactions take one to two months to close? Wouldn’t you like to have someone to help you through those days and with all the many steps that are involved?
I can help with appraisals and inspections and all the other steps in the home buying process, and in case you didn’t know, our help costs you nothing because the seller pays us. So you get our negotiating skills for your benefit for free. If you work with the agent who has the home listed, that agent’s job is to get the highest price for the seller. Wouldn’t you rather have someone working for you? Working with us also minimizes the chance that you would buy the wrong home. We take the risk out of the home buying process by our love it or leave it program that allows you to sell your house within the first three months with us for free. You see our main job is to protect you and educate you, not just sell you a home. This overview is a start. Contact us for the complete report and to get started on buying your next home. You can call, email, or text us and we’re here to help you. Until next time, keep living smart.

To learn more about these No Money Down loan programs for active military & veterans, watch this Video


This cool “video scribe” video shows you with pictures and drawings how simple and easy it can be to get a zero down (that’s no money down) VA loan. Learn the basics plus learn how to make sure the home you want will quality for a VA loan. In many cases you can even find a home with almost no money out of your pocket. This is better than an FHA loan. Watch and learn, then contact REALTOR Ann Zieve, Keller Williams, Ogden Utah, 801-695-7787.

The Home Buying Process Explained Ogden Valley Real Estate

Posted on by June 3, 2014

The Home Buying Process Explained Ogden Valley Real Estate #1 – Get Pre-Approved and Meet with your REALTOR Meet with a loan officer in Utah; by sharing income and other financial information, you will know the price range of a Utah mortgage for which … Continue reading →