Top 8 Real Estate Questions: Some Have Answers!
Like almost everyone else in Monrovia who spends time online, I often come across lists. Headlines that list the “Top 10” or “Top 5” of almost anything usually catch my eye—especially the ones with “real estate” in the title. I’ve trained myself to just glance at the items and move on if they don’t add to the day’s useful information.
Checking through the most recent crop of Monrovia real estate lists yielded, “Top 10 Issues Affecting Real Estate,” “Top 8 Ideas for Real Estate Investing”, “5 Best Real Estate Investment Books”, etc.. This week there were a lot of lists of “Top Real Estate Questions”—which got me to thinking. What would a seriously thoughtful list of Real Estate Questions for Monrovia consist of? I came up with my own top 8 list of real estate questions for Monrovia residents:
- Do I intend to buy a home in 2018?
- Do I intend to sell a home in 2018:
- Do I intend to sell and buy a home in 2018?
- Will 2018 prove to be a better year to buy or sell a home than 2019 will be?
- Will Monrovia homes be more expensive to buy if I wait?
- Will I have a harder time selling my Monrovia home if I wait?
- Who is the best agent to help me sell my Monrovia home?
- Who is the best agent to help me buy Monrovia homes?
The first three questions are the most consequential. Monrovia is now past the midpoint of 2018, so if you don’t already have definite answers in hand, you need to decide, pronto. If that isn’t possible, the answer to 1, 2, and 3 is, “no!”
Questions 4,5, and 6 are the truly unanswerable ones. We had a hint last week that the answers are likely to be a qualified “yes,” because the Fed left interest rates unchanged—which means Monrovia’s rates remain near bargain basement levels. That usually makes for financially favorable deal-making. True, it’s always possible that next year will bring more of the same, but that’s not the likeliest scenario. Most experts believe that home loan rates will rise, probably moderately.
The last two questions have the most predictable answers based on where they appear: here. Give me a call for a detailed rundown on how I will work to prove that the correct answer to both is “me!”
Monrovia Home Loan Rates Likely to Stay Low—for the Moment
Last week, Monrovia residents who found themselves at any stage of preparing to buy or sell Monrovia homes had to have been motivated by what came out of Washington. Last Wednesday was the day the Federal Reserve officials were set to announce their new target for the benchmark federal funds rate. That’s the key trigger for future Monrovia home loan rates, which largely determine how attractive (or not) upcoming loan packages offers will be.
Since any rise in rates raises monthly payment amounts—even if the underlying size of the loan remains the same—potential buyers and sellers have reason to watch what the Fed does with varying degrees of apprehension. Lately, strong economic performance has made it increasingly likely that rate rises will be forthcoming—and in its announcement, phrases like, “the economy is growing at a strong pace” were included. Earlier pronouncements have strongly indicated that three or four target raises are likely this year. So far, there have been two.
The news was encouraging for those with homes currently on the market, or soon to list—as well as for those looking to buy. Not only did the Open Market Committee announce that the target rate would remain unchanged; they also indicated a raise would likely be forthcoming soon. In other words, Monrovia’s current historically low home loan rates won’t be nudged upward by the Fed, but only for the moment.
It’s the real estate equivalent of one of those “Hurry before the sale ends!” furniture ads on TV—or the weekly grocery store specials insert with an end-of-the-week expiration date.
Unlike either of those, buying or selling a home is such a major purchase that the Monrovia home loan rate is only one element of what makes a decision that will be seen as a fortuitous one over the years and decades to come. I hope you’ll call me to lay out Monrovia’s current offerings as well as the level of activity sellers can expect in the weeks and months to come!