West Main Homes

🛠️💰 Why Fixing Up Your House Can Help It Sell Faster If you’re thinking about selling your house, you should know there are buyers who are ready and able to pay today’s high prices. But they want a home that’s move-in ready. A recent press release from Redfin explains: “Buyers are still out there and they’re willing to pay today’s high prices, but only if the house is in really good shape. They don’t want to spend extra money on paint or new appliances.” It makes sense when you think about it. They’re having to pay a lot of money for a house in today’s market. That means they may not be able to easily afford upgrades after they move in. So, if your home is outdated or needs some work, buyers might pass it by or offer a lower price than you were hoping for. And there are a lot of homes that need upgrades right now. Millions are entering their prime remodel years, meaning they’re between 20 and 39 years old. Maybe yours is one of them. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gzxpBJ8h

🔓 Unlocking Homebuyer Opportunities in 2024 There’s no arguing this past year has been difficult for homebuyers. And if you’re someone who has started the process of searching for a home, maybe you put your search on hold because the challenges in today’s market felt like too much to tackle. You’re not alone in that. A Bright MLS study found some of the top reasons buyers paused their search in late 2023 and early 2024 were: ⭐ They couldn’t find anything in their price range ⭐ They didn’t have any successful offers or had difficulty competing ⭐ They couldn’t find the right home If any of these sound like why you stopped looking, here’s what you need to know. The housing market is in a transition in the second half of 2024. Here are four reasons why this may be your chance to jump back in. https://lnkd.in/g6xhziDw

🌿🌺 The Houseplant Styling Tip I Had Never Considered Before You need color variation to encourage the eye to move around a room, and Kate Berry includes houseplants as part of that equation. “They’re like another material!” she tells me. A sea of similar greens, whether plants or fabric, can read flat, and we’re going for layered. In the end, a burgundy-tinged calathea rattlesnake brought nuance to my setup, but that’s just the beginning of the plant rainbow that has since been discovered… Check out the nine paths to a well-rounded plant corner at https://lnkd.in/g3eyscSy

🏠📉 Mortgage refinance demand jumps to a 2-year high, as interest rates drop Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level since March last week, sparking swift demand in refinancing. Homebuyers, however, seemed unimpressed. Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 15% last week, compared with the previous week, to the highest level since August 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Demand was 37% higher than the same week one year ago when mortgage rates were exactly the same. Get all the details at https://lnkd.in/gVVVxNdw

⏰✨ The Price of Perfection: Don’t Wait for the Perfect Home In life, patience is a virtue – but in the world of homebuying, waiting too long in hopes of finding the perfect home actually isn’t wise. That’s because the pursuit of perfection comes at a cost. And in this case, that cost may be delaying your dream of homeownership. Nothing in life is ever perfect – and that’s true when you search for a home too. Unless you’re building a brand-new home from the ground up, chances are there are going to be some features or finishes you wouldn’t have picked yourself. It may be as simple as paint colors, a light fixture, or the tile in the bathrooms or kitchen. Or even that the backyard isn’t fenced in. It could also be that the home itself is great, but it’s not the ideal location you were hoping for. But here’s the trade-off you’d be making without even realizing it. In all that time you’d spend searching for the perfect place, you’d overlook a lot of homes that would’ve worked for you. Get all the details at https://lnkd.in/g_9zMSSc

🌹🌷🌻 “Chaos Gardening” Is the Low-Stakes, Low-Effort Hack You Need to Try This Weekend I am, by my own admission, a pretty lazy gardener. While I love having a yard full of beautiful flowers and plants, I am not actually that interested in constantly tending to them. I’ll put the sweat equity into my veggie garden, which I plant in my raised garden bed every year, but the rest of the plants? You’re on your own, friends. That’s why I was immediately intrigued when I saw the term “chaos gardening” being thrown around on social media. By the sounds of it, this was a low-effort gardening method practically tailor-made for lazy gardeners like me. The premise is simple: You gather a bunch of seeds (bonus points for native plants), mix them up, then toss them around your garden. That’s it! No planning, digging, organizing. No order. It is, in a word, chaos — and the results can be fabulous. Read on at https://lnkd.in/gC2QNPhC

🏘️ It suddenly looks like there are too many homes for sale. Here’s why that’s not quite right Anyone out shopping for a home today knows there is still precious little for sale. The housing market is just beginning to come out of its leanest few years in history. Inventory of both new and existing homes is finally rising, but there is something suddenly strange in the numbers: The supply of newly built homes appears to be way too high. The numbers, however, are deceiving due to the unprecedented dynamics of today’s housing market, which can be traced back two decades to another unprecedented time in housing, the subprime mortgage boom. All of it is precisely why home prices, which usually cool off when supply is high, just continue to rise. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gcaPSg4v

🌷🔨 Ideas for Freshening Up Your Home’s Exterior It's highly likely you take a lot of pride in your property and, therefore, want it to look its best, whether that be for guests or potential buyers. One of the most important ways to put your home's best foot forward is to make sure the exterior is at it's best, which can be achieved with simple updates here and there during your time living there. If you feel it's time for your home to get a makeover, or you think there are areas of your home's exterior that could improve, below is a list of areas to get you started. 🔨 Update Your Windows 🌷 Add Some Color 🔨 Upgrade Your Exterior 🌷 Enhance Your Curb Appeal 🔨 Install Outdoor Features Read on at https://lnkd.in/gBwZ_z8y

✂️ Inflation Drops Again in June, Clearing the Path to a Fed Rate Cut This Fall—and Relief for Homebuyers Annual inflation in the U.S. dropped to its lowest level in more than three years last month, increasing the odds of a September interest rate cut that would bring relief to mortgage markets. In the 12 months through June, the consumer price index rose 3%, according to data released by the Department of Labor on Thursday. It was the lowest annual increase in prices since March 2021. On a monthly basis, overall prices dropped 0.1% in June from May, the first monthly decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. Costs for energy and vehicles dropped on both a monthly and annual basis, offsetting rising housing prices. Prices for shelter, which make up more than a third of the index, continued to rise last month under the Labor Department’s method of calculating housing costs. Rent rose 5.2% from a year ago, while owner’s equivalent rent, a measure of what homeowners would pay to rent their own residence, was up 5.4%. For potential homebuyers, the overall cooling of inflation toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target could mean incoming relief from higher mortgage rates. The central bank is now viewed as extremely likely to slash a quarter point from its current benchmark rate of 5.3% when policymakers meet in September. Get all the details at https://lnkd.in/gxAsJvZX

🏡🤔 What To Do When Your House Didn’t Sell If your listing expired and your house didn’t sell, it’s totally natural to feel a mix of frustration and disappointment. And as you’re working through that, you’re probably also wondering what went wrong and what you should do next. If you still need to move and want to get it back on the market, here are some things to consider as you look back. 🏡 Was It Priced for Today’s Market? 🏡 Was It Easy for Buyers To Tour? 🏡 Was It Set Up To Make the Best Impression on Buyers? 🏡 Were You Willing To Negotiate? 🏡 Did You Listen To Your Agent? Read on at https://lnkd.in/gq3yB7HG