With today’s housing environment, you’re going to see a lot of competition when putting in an offer for a purchase. Having all of your metaphorical ducks in a row before you put in your offer should make you ready to make decisions involving purchasing a home.

1. Get your credit score and down payment together. Having a strong credit score will help ensure you qualify for a mortgage for your home purchase and help you receive a more favorable rate. Having your down payment saved will allow you to put more money down on your home and possibly avoid paying PMI.
2. Get preapproved for a mortgage. Knowing what homes are in your price range will eliminate wasting time looking at homes you can’t afford.
3. Choose a great Realtor. Pick an agent who has experience with the market you’re looking in.
4. Understand the mortgage process. While you may not need to know the minor details of the entire process, knowing your timeline and what documents you will need to provide will help save you time and stress worrying you may be forgetting something.

For the fourth month in a row, sales of existing homes have dropped according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. The main factor behind the volume of existing home sales dropping is that the inventory of homes for sale continues to dwindle. This low inventory is causing median existing-home prices to rise (23.6% from May 2020 to May 2021) pricing some buyers out of the market. Region by region. the Midwest saw an increase in existing home sales month-over-month, but the Northeast, South, and West fell by 1.4%, .4%, and 4.1% respectively. Year-over-year each of these regions saw a double digit rise in existing home sales. As home builders rush to build on already purchased lots and materials to build remain tough to find, existing home sales may see a bounce back in the next few months.

New legislation would offer a benefit similar to VA loans to first responders and teachers looking to buy homes. This new bill called the Homes for Every Local Protector Educator and Responder Act was introduced on May 13th. This bill would allow first responders and teachers to finance up to 100% of the price of their home purchase subject to FHA loan limits. Similar to an FHA loan, borrowers would pay an up-front mortgage insurance premium which could also be financed. This would replace the monthly insurance premium. The new program, if passed, would be administered by the Federal Housing Administration. Under this proposed bill public/private school teachers, prison guards, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians would all be eligible for this benefit.

Starting in 1995, if you own a primary residence in the state of Florida, you can apply for a tax benefit called Save Our Homes. This benefit can be applied to all primary residences in the state of Florida and limits the increase in a property’s assessed value to 3% per year. As market values rise, this can help limit the increase in your real estate tax bill. When selling a primary residence, this benefit can be transferred to your new home through a process called portability. If your new residence has a market value higher than your former residence, the portability amount is determined by finding the difference in the assessed value of your former home from its market value. Assume your previous residence has a market value of $500,000 but the assessed value is $300,000. That means that the assessed value of your new home can be reduced by $200,000 for tax purposes due to portability – which can result in big real estate tax savings. The maximum amount that can be ported is $500,000. If you’ve sold a home and did not transfer your prior benefit, you have two years from the time of your sale. For more information on Save our Homes and portability, check with your local property appraiser.

As more and more people begin buying second homes in eventual retirement destinations, there are a few things you should consider to make this decision as easy as possible. 

1. Find the best location: Does the location of your eventual retirement residence coincide with your lifestyle? Do you enjoy activities the area provides?
2. Know what is most important to you: Is it close to family? Is it near airports/trains for easy travel? What factors matter the most to you?
3. Consider medical care facilities: Is it near hospitals, doctors, and specialists?
4. Does the home meet current and future needs: Will you want stairs when you’re retired? Is the house too large to keep clean by yourself?
5. Think about rental income the property can bring: Can you rent in this neighborhood?
6. Do the seasons change drastically: Make sure you want to live in this area year round. Weather that becomes drastic during specific seasons may be a deterring factor.

A recent homebuyer report from Bank of America showed that over half of homebuyers between 18 to 43 highly valued friendly neighbors and a sense of community when deciding where to buy a home. When polling that same question with the homebuyers aged 57-75, only 33% of buyers said community was an important factor to them. Having a sense of belonging and being connected is a major factor in today’s age. In addition, 46% of prospective homebuyers 18 to 43 said that building equity through your home is more important now than ever before. Long term stability is in sight for these buyers by trading in their monthly rent, which could rise at any time, for steady mortgage payments. Knowing these important factors may aid in working with young, first time buyers.

From 2020 to 2021 the median home sale price increased 16% year-over-year. According to Redfin, the median home sale price is currently sitting at $331,590. Offers to buy existing homes are coming in fast and furious, with nearly 40% of homes being sold over asking price. This number is an all-time high and 15% higher year-over-year compared to 2020. Most experts believe that home prices will remain high even after mortgage rates have risen in the last few months because inventory remains extremely low. As building materials can start being produced at higher levels through facility reopening, new homes can be built quicker and the inventory of new homes should level with demand allowing prices to stabilize.

Sales of newly built homes dropped significantly in February because of the higher cost of building materials and subsequent delays. As the delays continued and material prices increased builders in turn raised their prices also creating a lack of affordability for some new home buyers. Overall, sales dropped 18% month-over-month marking the lowest level of new home sales since May of 2020. According to Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, soaring prices in materials, specifically lumber, have added more than $24,000 to the price of a new home. This uptick in price coupled with higher interest rates is pushing the median home prices nationwide to a 5% higher mark year-over-year. Demand remains high despite these factors, but time will tell if prolonged material shortages will price some prospective buyers out of the new home market and towards existing homes.