SW WAKE COUNTY MARKET UPDATE | 2018 YEAR-END

Happy New Year! Take a look at the 2018 Market Update of our local housing inventory. We saw little or no change in the volume of homes closed in our area of the county as compared to 2017. However, average sales prices were up and average days on market were down. We are still deep in a seller’s market as most markets have less than one month supply for re-sale homes, and a two or three month supply for new construction homes. We expect another robust sales year in 2019, however we may not be seeing a real estate “frenzy” again this year, which in my opinion, is a good thing. Healthy, steady growth will be much more beneficial for all of us. FRONT PORCH REALTY had some exciting changes in 2018. We unveiled our new logo and launched our new website featuring “Our Towns”. We have also added five new real estate agents to our team and upgraded our Holly Springs location. We Live, Eat, Play and SELL Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs! We will be hosting the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event on February 7th at our Fuquay-Varina office, please SAVE the DATE we would love to see you there. We will be kicking off our 10 year Anniversary year-long celebration! We are here to help you, your relatives, co-workers, employees, and neighbors. Please consider Front Porch Realty as YOUR LOCAL real estate professionals! Please LIKE us on Facebook if you haven’t already, we are always posting LOTS of local news and happenings around town!

What does that mean anyway: Real Estate Lingo

Real Estate brokers have sometimes been accused of “shortening our words” or using terms that we think everyone already knows!  So, here’s a little helpful guide, if you have trouble navigating real estate terminology! What it says versus What it means conveys with sale … it will STAY with the home EIK … eat in kitchen SS … stainless steel HDW, HWF, Hdwd ….. hardwood floors WIC …walk-in-closet FDR ….. formal dining room MLS...multiple listing system FSBO ….. for sale by owner Pre-approval …  based on information you are able to provide to the lender.  This will look much better than a pre-qualification to the seller. Pre-qualified ….  based on a 5 minute phone call to the lender and only on what you tell the lender.  This is needed in order to even make an offer on a home. due diligence funds …the funds the buyer gives the seller at time of contract to “buy time” off the market while they do their due diligence due diligence or DD…all of the inspections and loan process, etc a buyer can exercise on a prospective home during their due diligence time period Due diligence money- is non-refundable The good news is the money is typically credited towards the purchase of the home at closing. Earnest money is “good faith” money. The buyer is showing the seller they are serious about buying the home. contingency … a contract on a home that is dependent on you selling your existing home 3 BR/2BA  3 bedrooms and 2 baths *************************************************************************************************************************** I’m sure we’ve missed a few, feel free to leave comments with any you might still be wondering about and we’ll do our best to define them. We are here to help you navigate your real estate needs and ALL the terms that come along with that! Welcome home!

And the Agent of the month is….

Congratulations to Teresa Ennis, Front Porch Realty’s Agent of the Month – July 2017

Teresa has been a Triangle real estate agent for more than 30 years!  She delivers top notch professionalism and service to all of her clients, 100% of the time and this is evident with her booming referral business. 

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Quarterly snapshot shows Triangle shortage!

Real Estate Market Update Here is Front Porch Realty’s quarterly local real estate market snapshot.   Mortgage interest rates and Triangle demographics are still causing a major shortage of homes in the Triangle as well as our end of the county.  Sales prices are up a healthy 6-7 % across the Triangle with our average sales price about $300,000 and average days on market 36 days.  We are still experiencing frustrated buyers in the under $300,000 price range at our end of the county with days on market being reported in hours, not days. Check out our 2nd quarter numbers here:  2nd Quarter 2017  Continue reading

4 Tips For Buying A Home In A Hot Market

When a market is hot, finding and buying a home can feel like an uphill battle. In a seller’s market, homes go quickly. They can be on the market one day and gone the next. And on top of the challenge of finding a home, most homes (especially the desirable ones) have multiple offers, making it harder to get into the home of your dreams. But buying a home in a hot market isn’t impossible! You just have to approach it strategically and stack the deck in your favor to find – and successfully buy – the right home for you and your family. Here are four tips for buying a home in a hot market that will put you a step ahead of the home-buying competition: Continue reading

To Buy Or Not To Buy

This week we have a “Guest Post” written by one of our Mortgage Professionals, Jennifer Miller with Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company.

To Buy or Not to Buy?

  You’ve heard the news reports on the housing market in our lately – low inventory, good prices, quick sales – and maybe you’re wondering where you fit into this latest market swing.

We should probably start with the news reports.  Yes, it’s true that in some price ranges, namely homes priced under $300,000 there is low inventory.  The same cannot be said for higher priced homes, especially those priced above $500,000; there are still plenty of homes available at that price point.  And yes, the appraisals are coming back at reasonable levels; meaning that in many cases the appraised value and the sales price are matching up; although that’s not always the case.  As far as quick sales, well that depends on how you define “quick”.  Most people are closing in the normal 30 to 45 day range.   When you’ve got a home to sell… So, should you pursue your dream home, or the home that’s closer to work so that you can eliminate that 45 minute commute you face twice daily?  Putting your house on the market requires effort, commitment and sometimes, money.

The effort and money come in once you’ve had a Realtor to your home for a preliminary meeting.  The first order of business is deciding whether you feel comfortable listing your home at a price comparable to what other homes in your area are selling for.  If the answer is yes, then it’s likely that your Realtor will want you to change or improve your home in a few areas.  You may need to “de-clutter” and pack away your belongings that you’re not using every day to make the home appear larger.  You may be asked to paint, install new carpet or work on the landscaping to improve the homes’ curb appeal.  Depending on how handy you are; you may be able to do some, or all of those things yourself; without having to pay a professional.  Certainly, that is the least expensive way to go.  If you can’t do these things on your own or if you’re too busy to attempt them you may find yourself shelling out up to $2,500.00 to cover these costs.   This is where the commitment component kicks in: if you’re not really committed to selling your home, chances are that you’re not going to be very motivated to get all this work done.  Realtors are fairly savvy these days when it comes to assessing their clients’ needs and wants.  If you want a nicer home but you don’t really need one your Realtor may decide that you’re not the right client for them.   What if you’re not currently a home owner? Maybe you’re a young professional who’s never owned a home before, or maybe you owned a home previously in another state or at a different time in your life.  If you’re wondering whether a good time to buy is now, the short answer is yes! As I said at the beginning there is some low inventory with homes priced under $300,000.00; however, if you don’t look for a home then you surely won’t fine one, and there are homes to be found even in that price range.  So what else do you need to consider in a home purchase?  First, do you have enough money to buy a home?     The Price Tag….. There are several loan programs available that will get you into a home for zero or a very low down payment with reasonable interest rates.  But you will need to have some cash to cover expenses like the appraisal ($450) which is paid upfront and out-of-pocket in the home buying process.  You will also need money for closing costs, which come due on the day you sign the promissory note at closing.   If you don’t have enough cash to cover the closing costs, talk to your realtor about negotiating these into the sales contract.  There is an easy way to handle this scenario.  Let’s say that you want to purchase a home that’s listed at $187,500.00.  You would like to pay $185,000 for the house and you know that you need $5,000 to help cover closing costs.  Simply ask your Realtor to write the offer to purchase for $190,000 with the seller paying $5,000 in closing costs.   Show me the Money… But how do you know how much closing costs are going to be?  And, how do you know if you earn enough money to be able to qualify for a mortgage loan to begin with?  Now we come to the crux of the matter.  The best way to answer these questions is to call me and start the application process.  With just a little information, I can quickly see if you can be prequalified for a mortgage loan.  I can also make sure that you’re taking advantage of the best loan programs available.

Home-ownership is part of the American dream; and with interest rates still at historically low levels now is a great time to explore your options.  Call me today and let’s get started on getting you into the home of your dreams!           Jenny Miller Loan Officer NMLS: 1054076 Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company 6736 Falls of Neuse Road Suite 120 Raleigh, NC 27615 Phone: 919-448-5355 Email: Jenny.Miller@spmc.com   Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company, Inc. NMLS # 1788. Licensed in North Carolina L-127865. Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company, Inc. is not affiliated with the Real Estate Agent and/or Brokerage identified in this advertisement, you are not required to use Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company, Inc. to obtain mortgage financing. This advertisement is provided for informational purpose only. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Not all borrowers will qualify. This is not a commitment to lend. [Insert and program and/or additional disclaimers]. Equal Housing Lender.      

Importance of hiring a BUYER’S AGENT

Who needs a Buyers Agent Anyway? I just want someone to show me a house! Do I really need an agent “on my side”?

The answer is ABSOLUTELY!!!

Buyer's agent Kim, assisted Brooks and Linsey with the purchase of their new home!

Buyer’s agent Kim, assisted Brooks and Linsey with the purchase of their new home!

Thankfully, for the homeowners and perspective homeowners of NC, the NC Real Estate Commission has given us AGENCY.  This means when a consumer wants to buy and/or sell real property in our state, they can be represented in various ways by a real estate broker.

Working with Real Estate Agents in North Carolina

Did you know that having a buyer’s agent represent you is 100% FREE. Meaning for anyone entering into a Buyer’s Agency Agreement with a Front Porch Realty Broker, we don’t charge a single fee!   That’s right, you can have a professional agent working for ONLY YOU when you purchase a home for absolutely no cost. And we highly recommend hiring one, here’s why: Not only is your Buyer’s Agent going to assist you in finding the perfect home for you, they are also going to help you make an informed offer and strategically negotiate that offer because we know what it takes in our current competitive seller’s market of today to get YOUR offer accepted. Once you are under contract for your new home, we are seasoned in getting you through the entire due diligence process and on to closing.  

A recent Front Porch Realty Buyer client, Molly explains “…when buying a home, it is very important to have an agent on your side because they are able to guide you and inform you of all of the possible situations that are important to investigate about a possible property.  If we didn’t have a Buyer’s Agent with our last home we wouldn’t have ever taken the extra steps in researching the property… because we just didn’t know what we didn’t know!”

  Interested in buying a home? Contact FRONT PORCH REALTY today and let us work for YOU!