6 Reasons to Celebrate National Homeownership Month

Our homes are so much more than the houses we live in. For many, they've also become our workplaces, schools for our children, and safe harbors in which we've weathered the toughest moments of a global pandemic. Today, 65.6% of Americans call their homes their own, a rate that has risen to its highest point in 8 years.

As National Homeownership Month kicks off this June, homeowners have every reason to celebrate. A survey by Gallup just ranked real estate as the best investment you can make for the eighth year in a row. However, unlike other investment options, the benefits of owning a home aren't purely financial. Here are the top ways Americans are winning by owning a home.

Non-Financial Benefits:

1. Civic Participation: Owning a home is owning a part of your neighborhood. Homeowners have a stronger connection to their neighborhoods and are more committed to volunteer work and other ways to get involved.

2. Pride of Ownership: Owning a home is having a space that is uniquely yours. You can customize it to your personal liking and make it reflect your personality and values.

3. A Safe Space: Owning a home gives you a sense of security and privacy two things that have become even more valuable as we've tackled the challenges of the recent health crisis.

Financial Benefits:

1. Forced Savings: Owning a home builds equity. Your equity grows with each payment you make toward your mortgage. This form of forced savings can be used down the road to help you accomplish your biggest financial goals.

2. Appreciation: Owning a home is making an investment that steadily gains value, and experts project home values will continue to rise in the years to come.

3. Stability: Owning a home means having better control over your future housing payments. Over the years, a mortgage stays relatively steady, but rent costs continue to rise.

Bottom Line

If you own your home, take time this June to celebrate the ways homeownership has added value to your life. If you hope to become a homeowner this year, lets connect today to take the first steps toward achieving your goal.

 

What's Motivating People To Move Right Now?

This year, Americans are moving for a variety of reasons. The health crisis has truly reshaped our lifestyles and our needs. Spending so much more time in our current homes has driven many people to reconsider what homeownership means and what they find most valuable in their living spaces.

According to the 2020 Annual National Movers Study:

For customers who cited COVID-19 as an influence on their move in 2020, the top reasons associated with COVID-19 were concerns for personal and family health and wellbeing (60%); desires to be closer to family (59%); 57% moved due to changes in employment status or work arrangement (including the ability to work remotely); and 53% desired a lifestyle change or improvement of quality of life.

With a new perspective on homeownership, here are some of the reasons people are reconsidering where they live and making moves right now.

1. Working from Home

Remote work became the new norm, and for some, its persisting longer than initially expected. Many in the workforce today are discovering they don't need to live so close to the office anymore and they can get more for their money if they move a little further outside the city limits. Apartment List notes:

The COVID pandemic has sparked a rebound in residential migration: survey data suggest that 16 percent of American workers moved between April 2020 and April 2021, up from 14 percent in 2019 and the first increase in migration in over a decade One of the major drivers in this trend is remote work, which expanded greatly in response to COVID and will remain prevalent even after the pandemic wanes. No longer tethered to a physical job site, remote workers were 53 percent more likely to move this past year than on-site workers.

If youve tried to convert your guest room or your dining room into a home office with minimal success, it may be time to find a larger home. The reality is, your current house may not be optimally designed for this kind of space, making remote work very challenging.

2. Room for Fitness & Activities

Staying healthy and active is a top priority for many Americans, and dreams of having space for a home gym are growing stronger. A recent survey of 4,538 active adults from 122 countries noted the three fastest-growing fitness trends amongst active adults:

• At-home fitness equipment (up 50%)
• Personal trainers/nutritionists (up 48%)
• Online fitness courses, classes, and subscriptions (up 17%)

Having room to maintain a healthy lifestyle at home physically and mentally may prompt you to consider a new place to live that includes space for at-home workouts, hobbies, and activities for your household.

3. Outdoor Space

Better Homes & Gardens recently released the outdoor living trends for this year, and three of them are:

• Outdoor Kitchens: 60% of homeowners are looking to add outdoor kitchens.
• Edible Garden: Millions of people began gardening during the pandemic . . . to supplement pantries with homegrown fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
• Secluded Spaces: As outdoor activity increases, so does the need for privacy.

You may not, however, currently have the space you need for these designated areas inside or out.

Bottom Line

If you're clamoring for more room to accommodate your changing needs, making a move may be your best bet, especially while you can take advantage of todays low mortgage rates. Its a great time to get more home for your money, just when you need it most.

 

 

Get Your Ducts in a Row!

Do you ever ponder your floor joists? Or give serious considerations to the cladding under your siding? Of course not! There are parts of your home that just work, and you never have to really do anything about them. Although ductwork seems like one of those out of sight, out of mind things, it’s actually one that you should look into now and again.

Dirty Ducts Spew Dirt Cheap

Sure, you change your furnace filter religiously, as you should, but that doesn’t mean that the dust in your house is taken care of. Over time, ductwork collects dirt too, especially when your vents are on the floor. The filter can only catch the dirt that goes into it; it can’t do much for dirt that settles in ductwork through open vents. Over time your ductwork can get pretty dirty, despite your best efforts.

What happens when you get dirty ducts? Well, you have a dirty house. All that free-floating dust, pet hair, loose skin cells, and other bits of tiny debris can and do land inside your vents, which allows them to blow even further into your ducts. Not to mention the trash and other objects that can easily slip through a vent grate to be lost forever. The older your home, the more layers of dirt that can pile up in your ventilation system.

Allergens Hiding in Your Ductwork

Knowing someone else’s dirt is blowing back at you from your vents is bad enough, but did you know that layers of allergens can also take up residence in dirty ducts? Sure, the last owner’s cat is long gone, but his dander may still be inside the ductwork, blowing out every time you kick on the heat or air, along with generations of pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and other potential sources of severe allergic reactions. Ducts seem so harmless until you consider that they’re really receptacles. Air moves through them, but there’s no seal to keep other things from moving back inside. They’re a hidden source of dirt and stress for so many homeowners.

What Can I Do About Dirty Ducts?

You have a few options when it comes to dirty ductwork. The first, and easiest, is to get your ducts cleaned by a professional. They use special tools to agitate the ducts and create negative pressure to suck the dirt right out, never to be seen again. When the cleaning is finished, you’ve got ducts that are almost as good as new, and you can continue to maintain them by frequently vacuuming inside your vents and grates to help reduce the dirt that moves deeper into the ductwork.

Your other option would be to go ductless. Although this is kind of a big job, you could switch your HVAC system over to one that has no ductwork, such as something utilizing electric baseboards or ductless mini-split systems, depending on your local climate. An HVAC expert can guide you through what’s involved in eliminating or redesigning the ductwork in your home if your allergies are particularly problematic or your ducts are creating other issues. You can still have climate control without ducts!

Looking for Help with Your Ducts?

Deciding what comes next for your ductwork can be a complicated decision. Cleaning your ducts is by far a less expensive solution than installing a whole new ductless heating and air conditioning system, but it’s a choice you’ll have to repeat again and again if you want to keep those ducts as clean as possible. If you’re on the fence, your best option is to consult with an HVAC expert before you choose. But where can you find one you can trust? Just look in your HomeKeepr community for a recommendation! The community can steer you in the right direction towards either an HVAC installer or an HVAC expert that does duct cleaning – they’re both just a click away!

Dreaming of a Bigger Home? Why Not Buy It This Year?

Are you clamoring for extra rooms or a more functional floorplan in your house? Maybe its time to make a move. If you'll be able to work remotely for the long-term or your overall needs have simply changed, its a great time to sell your house and move up. Why? With mortgage rates in their favor and higher-priced home sales powering more moves across the country, sellers in todays market are finding the space they need (and have always dreamed of) by purchasing a home in the upper end of the housing market.

With so few homes available for sale and high demand from todays homebuyers, sellers are profiting in major ways this season. Bidding wars are gaining traction, driving up the sale price of more and more homes throughout the country. This means sellers are able to leverage extra cash from higher-priced sales while also taking advantage of todays low mortgage rates when they purchase their next home. Its the perfect scenario to move up into a true dream home. According to the April Luxury Market Report from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing:

The Institutes recent analysis of sales in 2020 for homes over 5,000 square feet support the continuing preference for larger homes. The analysis determined that there was a 17% increase in the number of 5,000+ sq ft homes sold when compared to the number of sales in 2019.

Luxury home prices continue to see record highs in the majority of affluent ex-urban communities, as the influence of being able to work from home is still driving buyers away from living in high density areas. Low interest rates also remain in play, allowing buyers to realize the affordability of owning a larger property, which further reinforces this trend.

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), also explains:

The market is hot pretty much everywhere and across all price points . . . The only area where there is sufficient inventory is in 1 million-plus homes . . . .

While this price range certainly doesn't fit every budget, if its in your reach this summer, you may want to make your move sooner rather than later. Today, more homes are available in this segment of the market, but as the report mentions, more buyers are investing here too, so competition may heat up sooner rather than later.

Bottom Line

If you're planning to sell your current home to move into a larger one, lets connect today. Well discuss your current situation and the opportunities in our local market.

 

3 Things To Prioritize When Selling Your House

Todays housing market is full of unprecedented opportunities. High buyer demand paired with record-low housing inventory is creating the ultimate sellers market, which means its a fantastic time to sell your house. However, that doesn't mean sellers are guaranteed success no matter what. There are still some key things to know so you can avoid costly mistakes and win big when you make a move.

1. Price Your House Right

When inventory is low, like it is in the current market, its common to think buyers will pay whatever we ask when setting a listing price. Believe it or not, that's not always true. Even in a sellers market, listing your house for the right price will maximize the number of buyers that see your house. This creates the best environment for bidding wars, which in turn are more likely to increase the final sale price. A real estate professional is the best person to help you set the best price for your house so you can achieve your financial goals.

2. Keep Your Emotions in Check

Today, homeowners are living in their houses for a longer period of time. Since 1985, the average time a homeowner owned their home, or their tenure, has increased from 5 to 10 years(See graph below):This is several years longer than what used to be the historical norm. The side effect, however, is when you stay in one place for so long, you may get even more emotionally attached to your space. If its the first home you purchased or the house where your children grew up, it very likely means something extra special to you. Every room has memories, and its hard to detach from that sentimental value.

For some homeowners, that connection makes it even harder to separate the emotional value of the house from the fair market price. That's why you need a real estate professional to help you with the negotiations along the way.

3. Stage Your House Properly

Were generally quite proud of our décor and how we've customized our houses to make them our own unique homes. However, not all buyers will feel the same way about your design and personal touches. That's why its so important to make sure you stage your house with the buyer in mind.

Buyers want to envision themselves in the space so it truly feels like it could be their own. They need to see themselves inside with their furniture and keepsakes not your pictures and decorations. Stage, clean, and declutter so they can visualize their own dreams as they walk through each room. A real estate professional can help you with tips to get your home ready to stage and sell.

Bottom Line

Todays sellers market might be your best chance to make a move. If you're considering selling your house, lets connect today so you have the expert guidance you need to navigate through the process and prioritize these key elements.

 

Where Do Experts Say the Housing Market Is Heading?

As we enter the middle of 2021, many are wondering if well see big changes in the housing market during the second half of this year. Here's a look at what some experts have to say about key factors that will drive the industry and the economy forward in the months to come.

realtor.com

. . . homes continue to sell quickly in what's normally the fastest-moving time of the year. This is in contrast with 2020 when homes sold slower in the spring and fastest in September and October. While we expect fall to be competitive, this years seasonal pattern is likely to be more normal, with homes selling fastest from roughly now until mid-summer.

National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Sellers who have been hesitant to list homes as part of their personal health safety precautions may be more encouraged to list and show their homes with a population mostly vaccinated by the mid-year.

Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com

Surveys showed that seller confidence continued to rise in April. Extra confidence plus our recent survey finding that more homeowners than normal are planning to list their homes for sale in the next 12 months suggest that while we may not see an end to the sellers market, we might see the intensity of the competition diminish as buyers have more options to choose from.

Freddie Mac

We forecast that mortgage rates will continue to rise through the end of next year. We estimate the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will average 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2021, rising to 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Bottom Line

Experts are optimistic about the second half of the year. Lets connect today to talk more about the conditions in our local market.

 

 

How Big is Your Ceiling Fan?

As the heat of summer approaches, having ways to stay cool at home is especially important. Installing new air conditioners or HVAC units can be expensive and may add significantly to your ongoing cooling costs as well. In many cases, a major cooling system upgrade isn’t even needed; simple things like the right curtains and ceiling fans in your rooms can go a long way towards keeping things cool even in the heat of summer. You just need to make sure that you’ve got the right fan for the space you’ve installed it in.

How Big Your Fan Should Be

To get the most out of a ceiling fan, it’s important that you choose a fan that is the right size for the room it’s going to be used in. If you’re underwhelmed by the effect that a ceiling fan has in one of your rooms, most of the time the problem is that the fan is simply too small for the space that you have it installed in. To make sure that you get the right fan for your rooms, it’s important that you know each room’s square footage; you can calculate this by measuring the length of the room, measuring its width, and then multiplying those numbers together.

Once you know the square footage you can figure out what size of a fan you need. If you have a smaller room that’s less than 144 square feet, you can get away with a fan with a diameter as small as 42 inches and not have any problems with it. If it’s more than that but less than 255 square feet, increase the size slightly to around 44 inches or so. If you’re trying to cool a room larger than 255 square feet, you’ll likely need to jump to a 52-inch fan to get the job done. Depending on the space, you may even have to install more than one fan (this is common in rooms larger than 300 square feet).

Positioning a Ceiling Fan

In most cases, ceiling fans are placed in the center of a room. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, however, and there may be situations where you’re better off placing the fan elsewhere. If airflow is blocked by something near the center of the room, you’ll want your ceiling fan to be placed where it can take advantage of the better airflow.
Another frequently overlooked issue with positioning a ceiling fan is choosing the vertical height of the fan. For ceilings that are lower than 8 feet, ceiling fans are typically mounted right to the ceiling itself. For 9-foot and taller ceilings, however, downrods are used in conjunction with ceiling mounts to ensure that the fan is in the optimal position for cooling. Most downrods that homeowners will encounter are around 12 or 18 inches long, but those with A-frame houses or otherwise very tall ceilings may need downrods that are 24 or 36 inches or possibly even longer.

Ceiling Fan Installation

Installing a ceiling fan may seem like a big job, and admittedly is might not be for the weak of heart. When it comes down to it, though, the entire process is likely easier than you’re expecting. You’ll have to install a box for the fan and a brace that connects to the framing in the ceiling. Once that’s secure, you’ll need to run wiring to the fan and attach a hanger bracket. Once that’s complete all that’s left to do is assemble and hang the fan itself.

If you’re confident in your abilities but you aren’t sure if you’re THAT confident, you always have the option of hiring a pro who can get your fan taken care of in no time. Fortunately, HomeKeepr can help with that. Sign up for a free account today to connect with pros in your area that can meet your every need.