Over these last few weeks, I guess some virus has interrupted our personal lives, our work lives, our outlook on life even! Undoubtedly, you’ve heard ALL the different theories about when states will reopen, economies will resume, and this “new normal” will start. They’re all theories, for now. That’s not my realm, my realm is real estate!
Our team has had countless conversations over the last month with homebuyers who are scared, concerned, confused, and even excited! For those who have yet to begin your home search in our “new normal” this bud’s for you!
Here’s what we do know — in April 2020 [time stamp]. Also, this is all personal perspective for our team at Welcome Home NW.
- What is Your Budget: We work closely with Kandi (my mom!) over at Movement Mortgage. Movement Mortgage’s “claim to fame” is that when you Apply for your Mortgage Loan”, they’ll have you pre-approved to buy a home within 24 hours! Above the quick pre-approval though, our #1 priority is to STICK TO YOUR BUDGET!
- What is Your Timeline: It’s generally taken our clients anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months to find the right home and then another 3-4 weeks to close on that home.
- Save For the Journey: Much smaller point to make here but keep in mind it costs approx. $400-$450 for a home inspection, and another $500-600 for your appraisal, in addition to the earnest money deposit you’ll make.
- How is COVID-19 screwing all this up? The easy answer is social distancing. It has no doubt kept some sellers (and rightfully so) from putting their home on the market, causing one of those painful hiccups you get right after finishing a burger. Unemployment is going to be the lasting effect (post-vaccine) if the economy doesn’t bounce back as we all hope it will. Fear and panic is the immediate and noticeable effect we have felt, understandably so!! The last and largest factor to our housing market is: recession. Forecasts are ranging from a few months and a quick bounce back to several YEARS and a deep recession rivaling the Great Depression from the 1930’s. That’s all for now, lets think happy thoughts.
- How is COVID-19 helping me/us out? Interest rates are INSANELY low. If you’ve been keeping up with the Fed rates, you’ve seen that they are at and near 0%. I believe interest rates are going to trend downward in the coming months (theory*)!One of the other cool components we are experiencing is that contingent (need to sell in order to buy) offers are being accepted! Just this month, we’ve had 3 families get contingent offers accepted without having to seriously overpay or waive other important aspects of the offer. This has been a real breath of fresh air! The last component that is likely really going to help, we may (theory again**) see inventory start to creep up to stabilize the real estate market here in the Pacific Northwest!
So if you’re renting your home, when do we start? Taking into account all the unknown right now, we definitely recommend starting the conversation and going over your needs and wants in a home purchase at least 6 months ahead of your lease expiring.
If you own a home and you’re looking to take advantage of the hiccup in the market, we should start the conversation at least 6 months ahead of wanting to close on your forever home!
The good news is, the current crisis has nothing to do with housing whereas the last one... well ya know... maybe another blog entry. Thanks for reading!
