Neighborhood or House? How to Set Your Priorities

from realtor.com In a perfect world, every buyer could afford the house of their dreams in a neighborhood they adore. In reality, most buyers need to compromise on something when they buy a home, particularly their first home. A REALTOR® can give you expert advice on home values and often can show you homes in communities that you didn’t know about or that you hadn’t considered. In the end, though, you need to set your priorities so you can decide which home to buy. Start With a List At the first buyer consultation, your REALTOR® should ask you to make a list of everything you’re looking for in a home — including such things as the number of bedrooms and baths, the placement of the kitchen, the size of the yard, and your preferred location near a particular school, your job, your favorite restaurants or public transportation. If you’re buying with a spouse or partner, you should each make a separate list and then compare notes. Avid watchers of HGTV programs know that both partners rarely agree on every feature, so step two is to talk about which features are mandatory and which are optional. As soon as you’ve met with a lender and established your comfort level with a budget you can start matching your wish list with what’s actually available in your area. Which Comes First, the Community or the Property? If, like most buyers, you’re not finding the perfect home in your ideal neighborhood, you’ll have to decide whether it’s more important to be in a particular location or a particular size and type of home. If you decide that location matters more but you can’t afford to buy in your preferred area, you have several options: ◾Look for a smaller home or a smaller lot. If you can live in two bedrooms instead of three, or forgo a large back yard, you may find something affordable. ◾Switch to a different home type. If single-family homes in the area are too pricey, you might find a town home with similar living space that’s less costly. You can consider a condominium, but don’t forget to factor in the condo association fees to see how that fits into your budget. ◾Look for a home in less-than-perfect condition. While you need to be careful about how much cash is required to renovate a property, a home that needs some minor repairs or has flaws that you can live with for a few years can be affordable. You can also look into financing renovations with an FHA 203k loan. ◾Rent a little longer while you save for a home. If you can take on a second job to build up a larger down payment, this could be a good decision, but be aware that home prices could rise more before you’re ready to buy and could still be out-of-reach. ◾Look for a lease-to-own arrangement. Some homeowners may be willing to negotiate a lease-purchase agreement so that some of your rent is credited as a down payment. If you decide that the type of home is more important than a particular neighborhood, you should work with a REALTOR® with expertise in your local market who can help you identify other communities where you might find affordable homes. An experienced REALTOR® not only can show you different locations but can also talk to you about why some communities have higher home values than others, such as being near commuter routes or a having a reputation for excellent schools. It’s important to make an educated decision about where you buy a home so that you maximize your potential for continued property value.

Not Enough Homes for Sale-Listings Needed-Colorado housing markets slowed sharply in fourth quarter

from Denver Post.com Housing markets across Colorado hit the brakes hard in the fourth quarter, according to a report Thursday from the Colorado Association of Realtors. Colder weather and the holidays typically cause activity to slow in the final three months of the year. But the rate of deceleration as 2013 ended was enough to raise concerns for 2014. "Our biggest challenge is not having enough inventory to meet the needs of all the buyers wanting to be in the market. Many people end up disappointed," Duane Duggan, a broker with Re/Max of Boulder, said in a statement. New listings of attached and detached homes for sale statewide rose 11.3 percent to 127,069 last year compared with 2012. But new listings rose 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter from the same period in 2012. Statewide home resales, which were up 15.5 percent to 96,071 in 2013, rose 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter. The median price of homes sold in the state rose 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter, down from an 8.6 percent pace across all of 2013. Housing activity was weakest in the state's mountain-resort counties, which suffered a 15.3 percent drop in listings and a 14.7 percent drop in sales in the fourth quarter. The region was the only one to see overall declines in activity in all of 2013 versus 2012, according to CAR. The northwest region, which covers Grand Junction, Craig, Delta and Montrose, saw the only other drop in fourth-quarter home sales: a 5.8 percent decline. Fourth-quarter home sales were rising at the fastest pace, 9.9 percent, in the northeast region, which includes Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont and Logan and Morgan counties. The biggest mismatch between expectations and reality was found in the southwest region, where listings rose 15.4 percent but sales rose 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter versus a year earlier. Metro Denver, the state's largest housing market, saw home sales rise 4.1 percent and listings rise 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter versus the same period in 2012. For all of 2013, there was a 16.8 percent gain in sales and a 12.8 percent rise in listings versus 2012.

Key considerations for unwed couples buying a home

interesting article from Denver Post.com Married couples represent the majority of homebuyers, but more couples are teaming up to buy a home before they get hitched. If they ever do. Some tips unwed couples should follow when they commit to buying a home: Swap financial history: Before considering buying a home with your significant other, share all of your key financial statements. That includes bank accounts, credit cards, student loans, retirement accounts, credit reports and FICO scores. Agree on what you can afford: Before you hit the first open house, determine how much each person can contribute, especially if you apply for a home loan together. Bankrate offers online calculators to help estimate how much you can afford based on your income and expenses. One rule of thumb: a house payment shouldn't be more than 28 percent to 30 percent of a buyer's monthly income. Sign a contract: Even if a falling-out seems unimaginable, couples should enlist an attorney and draw up a purchase contract before buying a home. Such a pact should outline details of how much each person is contributing, whether it's money, taking on a loan or paying to cover maintenance and other costs. The pact also can set how the couple wants to split any equity gained in the home, for example.

Study Shows States Where Americans Moved in 2013

from realtor.com Among the customers of one of the nation’s top moving companies in 2013, Oregon had the highest percentage of people moving in, while New Jersey once again saw more people moving away. “We’ve been tracking the number of inbound and outbound domestic moves for nearly 40 years, and through our study are able to identify the states that are attracting or losing residents,” said Carl Walter, vice president of United Van Lines. The 37th Annual Migration Study, which tracks the states the company’s customers move to and from during the course of the year, found that 61 percent of Oregon moves were inbound. South Carolina and North Carolina followed in second and third place, with 60 percent and 58 percent of moves, respectively, being inbound. On the flip side, the Garden State had the ignominious distinction of leading the list of outbound migration states for the third time in the last four years, with 64 percent of moves going bye-bye. Illinois continued to share in the exodus experience, finishing in the number two spot for the second straight year with 61 percent of moves headed elsewhere. “Business incentives, industrial growth and relatively lower costs of living are attracting jobs and people to the Southeastern and Western states such as South Dakota, Colorado and Texas,” said Michael Stoll, economist, professor and chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We’re also seeing continued migration to the Pacific Northwest as young professionals and retirees are drawn to amenities including public transit, green space and the local arts and entertainment scene.” Michigan finally had good news from the study. After 16 consecutive years at or near the top of the outbound list, the Great Lakes State appeared in the “balanced” category for 2013, with roughly the same number of people moving in as moving out. “After 16 years with a migration deficit, Michigan has joined the balanced category due to improvement in its economy over the past two years,” Stoll said. “Despite having an unemployment rate higher than the national average, home sales and home prices are up, showing an increased demand for housing, the state’s per capita income is up, and automakers in Detroit have rebounded and are hiring.” Here are the rankings from the United Van Lines study: Moving In 1.Oregon 2.South Carolina 3.North Carolina 4.District of Columbia 5.South Dakota 6.Nevada 7.Texas 8.Colorado Moving Out 1.New Jersey 2.Illinois 3.New York 4.West Virginia 5.Connecticut 6.Utah 7.Kentucky 8.Massachusetts 9.New Mexico Balanced Several states gained approximately the same number of residents as they lost. Those states include Nebraska, Tennessee, Iowa, Alabama, Louisiana, Indiana and Michigan.

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