News you can use Jan 30, 2023 - Boomer Foster

 Hello friends,

I have great news. Boomer Foster, President, General Brokerage at Long & Foster Real Estate does a weekly video of  Real Estate industry news, particularly the financial / market news. In the past, he has mixed that information with in-house news and events, which would be of no interest to the general public. He has now decided to have his video edited so that there is a video suitable to share with you.

Boomer is a straight talker and is interesting to listen to. He has a very high level, but in depth perspective of the market and industry. The videos are generally a short 4-6 minutes. Since I believe these could be very useful to many of you, I am going to try to post them here every week for your edification. 

Here is this weeks video, with a transcript below.

Enjoy.

Transcript:

Good afternoon, everyone! 

Last week was a big one on Wall Street. The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P were all up due to solid economic growth as well as a better-than-expected GDP from the 4th quarter of last year. The big news that we’re keeping an eye on this week is the Fed’s February meeting and whatever announced raise they have in mind for the Federal Funds rate. Most economists agree that they’ll probably raise it 25 basis points. 30-year fixed rates were down slightly, from 6.15% to 6.13%. The good news about where we are with mortgage rates is that consumers have gotten used to the new normal and, in the grand scheme, rates are lower than historical averages. There’s been a significant change in buyer activity and consumers are back to buying again. The big challenge is still inventory. 

In our industry, we’re starting to see pending sales pick up again, down 18.8% year over year, but up 5.2% week over week. So, we’re beginning to see movement in the right direction. Inventory is up 60% from the same time last year, but only because not as many homes are coming off the market. The big news in our industry is that a federal court ended the DOJ inquiry into the Clear Cooperation policy. The reason that’s big news is that the agreement that was in place under the previous administration is back in effect, which is good news. 

2023 Predictions Real Estate with Boomer Foster

One of the advantages of Working with Long and Foster is that the president of the Brokerage is a great communicator as well as good with the numbers. Boomer talks frequently about what is going on in the industry, and todays post is showcasing what he does best. For your edification, here is a short video of Long and Fosters Real Talk with Boomer providing his predictions for the 2023 Real Estate Market. Below the video, is a brief list of main points.

Boomers Main points

• Market will be dependent on FED Policy
• Mortgage rates 6.5 – 7%
• Inventory – there will be more inventory, but primarily due to longer Days on Market
• Home Values – Still near peak or close to it or moderate decrease
• While Real Estate is a hedge against inflation, investors will not be as active
• Consumer confidence – at or near all time low right now, but may improve later in the year

Planning to buy or sell

Buyer

• if you can get qualified of a loan – good time to buy, not as much competition
• Will pay a fair price - no longer a sellers Marker
• Good time to buy

Seller 

• Prices still at or near high for homes
• Demand still outpaces supply, keeping prices stable

Long and Foster will not only survive, but thrive. We have been in business for 54 years and is the most financial stable Real Estate Company in the industry. We have been through all types of markets and know how to do well, regardless of the market. 

I would love to hear your feedback, please tell me what you think in the comments or reach out to me at or BReynolds@LNF.com.

 

Why Buy? Growing Family Wealth

Like most people, as the new year approaches, I've begun to think about next year. We begin to think about what we're going to do in the new year. Where should we go on vacation? Should I get a new job? Should I buy a new car before this one dies out? What life changes should I make that are best for my family.

These kinds of short-term questions are important, but we also need to be thinking in the next 10, 20 and 30 years down the road. It can be shocking to find out how many people live paycheck to paycheck or are not ready for retirement when the time comes.

Owning your own home can provide at least one foundational leg for growing long term wealth. Research shows the value of homes appreciate over time. In fact, over the past three years, my own home has appreciated 30% in value. And while my home is worth substantially more, my mortgage payment has not changed and will not change.

Unfortunately, this is not the case if I were to be renting my living space. When we rent, we are really paying the landlord’s mortgage payment, insurance payment, property taxes, condo and/or condo fees and possibly parking fees. The rest of the payment is cash for the owner.

In today's market, there is a severe shortage of housing which allows landlords to increase rent to current market value each time the lease is renewed. Rent payments rarely go down.

Most mortgages are paid back over 30 years. Each payment includes interest and principal. At first, you pay much more in interest, but as time goes by, you pay more and more for the balance of the loan until you own it all.

To a large extent, that is what the above graphic is trying to show. Paying the principle on the loan and the appreciation of home value combine for significant growth in family wealth. Meanwhile, the renter not only does not get those benefits, but they are providing them for some else’s family.

 

Why a Blog?

 

Knowledge has the power to reduce stress and improve the experience of a real estate transaction. A person's home is often the largest asset that most people will ever own. Buying or selling a home can be enormously stressful and an emotional event for a client. While assisting a client, I will explain what is happening and what we can expect. However, pre-transaction work is also essential to achieving the best outcome and all too often, by the time I am brought in, the time frame to do that work needs to be considerably compressed or the opportunity is lost altogether.

So, the purpose of this blog is to help people prepare for the purchase or sale of their home and to understand what is happening before, during and after the transaction. We will cover every aspect of a Real Estate Transaction. The posts will be sufficient to understand the issues but be short enough to read in a few minutes. In addition, I expect to do some on camera interviews with various industry partners to glean their expertise for my readers and to keep it interesting. Here is a short list of topic areas to give you an idea of what I will cover:

• Why buy your home, rather than rent
• Preparing to buy a home
• Qualifying for a loan
• Do’s and don’ts while buying a home
• Preparing your home for sale
• The home sale process
• Best home improvements i.e., cost vs value
• Real Estate market reports, nationally, regionally, and especially locally
• Seasonal maintenance

And of course, I hope it can be enjoyable, be entertaining and prompt questions and discussion.

I hope my readers will participate with helpful comments and feel free to share with family, co-workers, and friends.