• R&S Premier Homes Blog

    Monday, May 15, 2023   /   by Steve Halen

    The Worst Home Price Declines Are Behind Us

    Some Highlights
    While home prices vary by local area, they’ve already hit their low point nationally, and now they’re starting to rise again.
    Last July, prices started to decline, but around February, they began climbing back up.
    If you put your plans to move on hold waiting to see what would happen with home prices, let’s connect to discuss if now’s the right time to jump back in. ...

    Thursday, May 11, 2023   /   by Steve Halen

    The Best Time To Sell Your House Is When Others Aren’t Selling

    If you’re thinking about selling your house, you should know the number of homes for sale right now is low. That’s because, this season, there are fewer sellers listing their houses for sale than the norm.
    Looking back at every April since 2017, the only year when fewer sellers listed their homes was in April 2020, when the pandemic hit and stalled the housing market (shown in red in the graph below). In more typical years, roughly 500,000 sellers add their homes to the market in April. This year, we saw fewer than 400,000 sellers entering the market in April (see graph below):
    While there are a number of factors contributing to this trend, one thing keeping inventory low right now is that some homeowners are reluctant to move when the mortgage rate they have on their current house is lower than the one they could get today on their next house. It’s called rate lock.
    As a recent survey from Realtor.com explains, 56% of people who are planning to sell in the nex. ...

    Thursday, May 11, 2023   /   by Steve Halen

    The Impact of Inflation on Mortgage Rates

    If you’re reading headlines about inflation or mortgage rates, you may see something about the recent decision from the Federal Reserve (the Fed). But what does it mean for you, the housing market, and your plans to buy a home? Here’s what you need to know.
    Inflation and the Housing Market
    While the Fed’s working hard to lower inflation, the latest data shows that, while the number has improved some, the inflation rate is still higher than the target (2%). That played a role in the Fed's decision to raise the Federal Funds Rate last week. As Bankrate explains:
    “Keeping its inflation-fighting streak alive, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the 10th time in 10 meetings . . . The hikes aimed to cool an economy that was on fire after rebounding from the coronavirus recession of 2020.” 
    While the Fed’s actions don’t directly dictate what happens with mortgage rates, their decisions do have an impact and contributed . ...

    Tuesday, May 9, 2023   /   by Steve Halen

    It May Be Time To Consider a Newly Built Home

    May 8, 2023

    For BuyersHousing Market UpdatesNew Construction

    If you’re looking to buy a house, you may find today’s limited supply of homes available for sale challenging. When housing inventory is as low as it is right now, it can feel like a bit of an uphill battle to find the perfect home for you because there just isn’t that much to choose from. If you need to open up your pool of options, it may be time to consider a newly built home.
     According to the latest data from the U.S. Census, there’s positive news when it comes to new home construction. When you look at the first three months of this year, you’ll find:

    More new homes were completed and are ready to sell. This gives you more move-in-ready options for your search.



    Builders broke ground and started construction on more single-family homes. This means there are more homes intended for one household in the beginning stages ...