RSVP Soon for Our 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Pie Giveaway

Our third annual Thanksgiving pie giveaway will be here before you know it. RSVP before the deadline to receive your free pie.

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In case you haven’t heard, our third annual Thanksgiving pie giveaway is happening on Tuesday, November 22nd from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The deadline to RSVP for your apple or pumpkin pie is Nov. 17th. All you have to do is call us at (734) 315-0555 and place your order.

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This is our way of giving back and saying thanks.

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You can pick up your pie at Laurel Manor at 39000 Schoolcraft Road in Livonia. If you decide to stick around, we’ll also be serving wine, hors d’oeuvres, and a panoply of delicious desserts. There’s no catch—this is just our way of saying thank you to all our colleagues, clients, and friends.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call or email us at your convenience. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on the 22nd!

Don’t Miss Our 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Pie Giveaway

Our third annual Thanksgiving pie giveaway is coming up. Tell us what kind of pie you want and then pick it up on Tuesday, November 22nd from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.!

Buying in Southeast Michigan? Perform a full home search

Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

It’s that time of year! Our third annual Thanksgiving pie giveaway is coming up.

Join us on Tuesday, November 22nd from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m at Laurel Manor. Laurel Manor is located at 39000 Schoolcraft Road in Livonia. Please RSVP by Tuesday, November 17th and let us know if you want an apple or pumpkin pie. RSVP by calling us at 734-315-0555.

This is just our way of thanking you for all of your support over the years. So, tell us what kind of pie you want and come on down. I’m excited to see everyone there!

Where Are Home Prices Headed in Our Area?

Due to a lack of inventory, home prices are increasing again.

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Due to lack of inventory, home prices are increasing again. This year, prices in the Midwest are up 5.7%. They are also up across the board over the entire U.S.

For homes priced under $100,000, sales have dropped by 8.7%. That’s because there aren’t as many short sales and foreclosures as there used to be. Five years ago, short sales and foreclosures made up 40% of the market; now, distressed sales make up less than 8% of the market. In every other price point of the market, though, sales are up.

The latest Case-Shiller report confirms that we are not headed toward another housing bubble and that the numbers remain strong. Every month since last September, prices are 5% higher than they were in 2015. That is a good appreciation rate.

Will prices continue to rise? According to CoreLogic, home values in the state of Michigan should go up 6.4%, while prices across the country will continue to rise.

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Prices across the country should continue to rise.

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However, since home values have been appreciating so well, many home sellers are facing challenges with the appraisal. Compared to homeowner estimates, appraised home values are off by 2% for a $250,000 house. That means appraisals are coming in $5,000 short. This has been a common issue with many of our deals over the past 90 days, so it’s definitely something to be aware of.

If you have any questions about home prices or current market conditions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

An Update on Michigan Real Estate

A lot of great trends are starting to take hold in our market. Days on market is down and home sales are up. That’s great news for sellers.

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We’ve got a short and sweet update for you today on the Michigan real estate market. Here’s what we have been seeing lately.

In terms of the average days on market, most homes in the country are on the market for less than 90 days right now. Here in Michigan, our average is less than 45 days. The listings we have at Kime Realty are selling even faster, usually under 30 days.

Home sales are up this month in every single region but the west, where a lack of inventory is causing this rather than a shortage of buyers.

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We expect 2017 to be even better.

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So far this year, we have exceeded the number of existing home sales in 2015 each month. Yes, 2015 was great, but 2016 has been even better. We expect 2017 to follow suit and improve on these already great numbers.

If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Avoid Undermining Your Home’s Equity

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Currently, our marketplace needs more listings. Inventory is low. Many homeowners don’t realize they’re in a positive equity position. If more people understood this, I think they’re more prone to sell and find their dream home.

Here’s what we like to call PEAR: Professional Equity Analysis Review. How much equity do you have? Reach out by phone or email if you’d like to know. We need to know your what your current mortgage balance is. We’ll conduct a quick CMA with that information. This brings you to understanding what your home is actually worth!

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72.6% of Americans have 20% or more in home equity.

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Let’s look at the percentage of homes with positive equity, ranked by state. The vast majority of the country experiences great home equity. 30% of homes don’t even have a mortgage. In a graph of the country’s homes with significant equity, we notice home values on the rise compared to just a few years ago.

Sellers can use that equity for a variety of different reasons, but many don’t even know they have it. In a recent study, 37% of Americans believed they had 20% or greater in terms of home equity. In reality, the latest numbers reveal 72.6% of Americans have 20% or more in home equity.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a Southeastern Michigan home, give me a call or send me an email! I’d be happy to help you.

Foot Traffic Is Up in the Southeastern Housing Market

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Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Recently, Freddie Mac said, “Despite the challenges facing the housing market, we expect this to be the best year for housing in a decade. Home sales, housing starts, and house prices will reach their highest level since 2006 . . . Challenges remain, however, with housing supply and declining affordability being a key concern in many markets, but on balance, the housing markets in the U.S. are poised for the best year since 2006.”

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Buyer demand is incredibly high.

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You can see this in the numbers. Home sales are up year over year. The thing that’s probably most exciting right now is the foot traffic report. Foot traffic is a tabulation of how many people are out there right now walking through houses and considering whether or not they are going to purchase.

This year, the February foot traffic numbers skyrocketed past January and December. In fact, buyer demand was 37% higher this February than it was in February of 2016.

That should not surprise anyone. A recent survey shows that Americans see owning a home as a place to raise a family, an investment, and reaching a life milestone. 

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Are We Headed Towards a Housing Bubble?

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Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

People have been asking us a lot lately if we’re headed towards a housing bubble in Southeastern Michigan. It makes sense why people think that, because prices have gone up dramatically, and are predicted to go up over 5.5% in the U.S. in 2016. 

However, just because prices are going up doesn’t mean we are headed towards a bubble. There was a combination of factors that led to the most recent bubble in 2006/2007, including the fact that lending guidelines were very loose. Mortgages aren’t as easy to come by now, and it will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

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There’s an opportunity right now if you choose to take it.

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Another reason people believe we’re headed towards a bubble is because of the increased home values we’re seeing. In reality, a middle-income household doesn’t need to overstretch their budget to buy a typical home. To qualify for a home, you will likely need to make an income of over $40,000, but payments are still well below what they were in 2005 and even 2000.

If you’ve been thinking about buying or selling, now is the time to make a decision. If prices continue to go up, and interest rates go up too, homeownership is only going to get more expensive. There’s an opportunity right now if you choose to take it.

If you have any more questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks to All Who Attended Our Client Appreciation Dinner

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We recently hosted our second annual client appreciation dinner at Laurel Manor in Livonia on April 16th, and we had a great time with all of you. The night was full of food, drinks, great conversation, dancing, and trivia games. We were happy to be able to give away 12 incredible prizes to our valued clients, including a 50” television.

We hosted this event because we are so grateful for the business opportunities, referrals, and repeat business we’ve gotten from all of our clients over the years. There’s nothing more rewarding than being able to give back to those who have been so thoughtful and generous to us. It’s only fair.

Our team looks forward to continuing to serve our clients and their referrals at the highest level in the future. If you have any questions for us or know anyone who’s interested in buying or selling, we’d love to hear from you. If you weren’t able to make this last event, we would also love to see you at the next one! Thanks again, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Home Values Are on the Rise in Southeast Michigan

Buying in Southeast Michigan? Perform a full home search

Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Today, we’re going to talk about increased home values. Currently, these cause appraisal issues in some transactions in the Southeast Michigan real estate market.

According to a recent Case Shiller report, home prices are starting to slide up into that area of over 5% appreciation, which is very uncommon and can lead to challenges in the market. Another report shows that 44% of Americans believe home prices will increase this year, while 47% believe home prices will stay the same. The public feels strongly that home values will continue to rise, as do the experts.

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Prices are increasing quickly right now!

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One challenge here is the appraisal situation. Prices are increasing quickly right now. That means that there is a bigger difference between how an appraiser values the home and how the homeowner values the property. In March, that difference definitely increased. If an appraisal comes in short, it’s not about the house or the buyer. It’s about what’s happening in the market.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What Should You Know about Inventory Levels?

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Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Today we are excited to talk about inventory levels. The numbers for the first 11 months of 2015 are in and when compared to 2014, we see that the demand for homes is way up. However, even though the demand is increasing, supply is decreasing, and we aren’t keeping up, yet. The only thing that could keep 2016 from being the best year since before the recession is our lack of attention to building a strong sellable listing inventory.

Part of the reason for this lack of inventory is the low percentage of distressed property home sales across the country. There are less foreclosures and short sales compared to years past, which is great. However, we need to replace that distressed inventory with non-distressed inventory. In most states, the percentage of inventory that is distressed is less than 1%.

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2016 is poised to be a great year.

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Industry experts also agree, as you'll see in the video above, that the lack of inventory and pent-up buyer demand bode well for sellers who decide to take the leap in the near future. Experts like Doug Duncan, the chief economist at Fannie Mae, and Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors are echoing this sentiment. 

In conclusion, 2016 can be the best year we’ve seen in real estate since 2006, as long as we can build that good listing inventory. If you have any questions, or have been thinking of selling your home, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

Our Second Annual Client Appreciation Event

Buying in Southeast Michigan? Perform a full home search

Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

We’re hosting our second annual Client Appreciation event on April 16th at 6 p.m. at Laurel Manor. We decided to move the event up to April from August. We’ll be giving away prizes, along with lively entertainment for the family. We hope you all had an excellent time last year and hope to see you again for another time around!

If you’re looking to buy a home this year, give us a call or send us an email! We’d be happy to discuss real estate opportunities in Southeastern Michigan.

Real Estate Market Appreciation Predictions for 2016

Buying in Southeast Michigan? Perform a full home search

Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Today we’ll be talking about the Home Price Expectation Survey, which is a nationwide panel of economists, real estate experts, and investment strategists. It’s got a lot of interesting data and I wanted to share some of it with you today. 

Our average annual appreciation since the market crash in 2007 has been a healthy 4% per year. This is a steady increase, and this report expects homes to appreciate by 3.9% this year. Looking into the future we’re going to see more steady appreciation rates around 3% per year. 

Let’s look a little further into the future. What kind of appreciation can we expect by 2020? The bulls are predicting a 30% increase in values, while the bears are predicting a 13% overall increase in values. All projections combined are predicting a 20% increase in home value by 2020. 

Prices are rising, so it’s a great time to be a homeowner. If you’re buying, then right now is a good time to ride out this wave of appreciation. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need help buying or selling in 2016!

What Direction Is the 2016 Market Heading In?

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Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Today we are going to talk about what’s in store for the real estate market in the near future. The latest interest rate projections are in from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Mortgage Banker’s Association, and the National Association of Realtors. 

If we take all of these projections and average them out, you can see that rates are likely to rise a full 1% from where they are now by the end of the year. We’ve been waiting for a while for rates to creep back up, and it looks like 2016 is that year. If you get ahead of that as a buyer or seller, you’ll be in a much better situation.

The people that are most affected by interest rates are first-time buyers, with move-up buyers being the second most affected. If you fall into one of these categories, realize that interest rate increases are coming, and they are going to have a huge impact.

According to Zillow, 70% of buyers are going to continue with their buying plans regardless of whether rates jump or not. The other 30% are going to change their plans if and when rises come. In addition to this, 45% of buyers would consider a smaller home or less expensive community in the event of rate increases. We don’t want you to have to do that.

You need to get out into the market now, when rates are low. If you have any questions for us about how to get your plans in order, give us a call or send us an email. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Announcing Our iPad Giveaway Winner

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Today we are excited to announce the winner of our annual iPad giveaway. We had 45 clients sent our way in 2015, and are so grateful for each and every one of them. All of the names are accounted for and entered into a bag, where we will draw the winner from. 

And the winner is... Melissa Demchumski! Congratulations, Melissa! Melissa sent us 4 different clients in 2015, so thank you again for that!

For all of you who sent us business last year, we are so thankful. We also hope you will keep us in mind in the future when discussing Southeastern Michigan real estate agents with friends or family members. 

If you have any questions for us, or are looking to buy or sell yourself, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!