The process of buying a home can be overwhelming at times, but you don't need to go through it alone. You may be wondering if now is a good time to buy a home… or if you should continue renting. I put together a free eGuide for you that will answer many of your questions and likely bring up a few things you haven't even thought about yet. Just click the button below to read it now!
Inflation Heating Up Again
Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in August and is up 3.7% for 12 months. Prices driven by rising gasoline and shelter prices.
Oil Prices (West Texas Intermediate crude) Rose 15.3% in the past 30 days from $80.12. to $92.36.
30 Year Mortgage Rates Today Were 7.31% (Mortgage News Daily)
Singles, Condos and Multi-Families:
Month over Month, Prices were mixed, Units Sold rose and Active Listings fell.
Year over Year, Prices Rose over 10%, but Units Sold and Active Listings continue to drop double digit.
Record low housing inventory keeps pricing firm in spite of high mortgage rates.
USA Credit Rating lowered by Fitch from AAA to AA+
30 Year Mortgage Rates Rose to 7.2% but retreated to 7.04 Today
Oil Prices (West Texas Intermediate) Rose 17.2% During July: from $69.79 to $81.80.
Expect inflation to rise in July. Check CPI report on 8/10/2023
Today’s Bottom Line for Singles and Condos and Multi-Families:
Year over Year, Prices Rose. Units Sold, Active Listings and Inventories fell.
Month over Month, Prices Rose. Units Sold and Active Listings fell.
Record low inventory keeps pricing firm in spite of higher mortgage rates.
The Federal Reserve increased the Fed Funds Rate by 0.25% to 5.5% on 7-26-2023.
The 30 Year fixed rate mortgage is now 6.95% per Mortgage News Daily
Inventory remains at record low levels because most homeowners have lower mortgage rates and don't want to trade into a much higher mortgage rate.
91.8 % of homeowners have a mortgage rate below 6%, 82.4 % have a rate below 5%, 62% have a rate below 4%, and 23.5% have a rate below 3%.
Inflation is coming down. Consumer Price Index fell to 3% in June but Core Inflation too high - 4.8%.
Mortgage rates are expected to start declining by the end of this year
Today’s Bottom Line for Singles and Condos and Multi-Families:
Year over year, Units Sales, Active Listings and Inventories continue to fall.
Pricing remains firm in spite of high mortgage rates due to record low inventories.
Month Over Month, unit sales and active listings improved as we moved into the selling season.
CPI Core Inflation remains stubbornly high but is gradually declining and fell from 5.4% in April to 5.3% in May. Happily core inflation for wholesale prices, the Producer Price Index, fell from 3.3% in April to 2.8% in May. The Federal Reserve did not raise rates in June. The current 30 year conforming mortgage rate is 6.94% per Mortgage News Daily. High interest rates will keep inventory low as homeowners with very low mortgage rates are reluctant to move. Commercial Real Estate (CRE) lending is expected to remain tight as Regional Banks which hold 70% of CRE loans struggle to improve profits and liquidity.
Today’s Bottom Line for Singles and Condos:
Unit Sales continued to fall year over year (down 28%+ for both singles and condos). BUT, month over month unit sales rose dramatically as we moved into the Spring Market: + 32.1% for Single Family and + 44.1% for condos - 👠Prices were up both year over year (YOY) and month over month (MOM) 👠: Single Family Prices +1.9% YOY and +7.1% MOM.
Condos Prices +4.6% YOY and +8.3% MOM.
Multi-Families: Units sales fell -8.7% YOY, but rose 1.3% MOM Prices fell 8.7% YOY but rose 1.3% MOM
Core Inflation remains stubbornly high and The Federal Reserve is now expected to raise rates again in June. April Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was 4.9% but CPI Core Inflation (CPI less Food & Energy) was 5.5%. The current 30 year conforming mortgage rate is 6.825% per Mortgage News Daily. Rising / high interest rates will continue to dampen real estate sales. Commercial Real Estate (CRE) lending is expected to remain tight as Regional Banks which hold 70% of CRE loans struggle to improve profits and liquidity.
Today’s Bottom Line for Singles and Condos:
Unit Sales continued to fall both year over year and month over month.
Single Family Prices fell 1.7% month over month and rose only 1.6% year over year.
Condo prices fell 4.5% both month over month and year over year.
Multi-Families: Units sales fell -41.3% Year Over Year and -14% Month O Month However, Prices did rise +2.4% Year Over Year and +8% Month over Month as Active Listings continued to drop.
Keeping a clean and orderly home is a challenge for many of us. Between busy work schedules, social obligations, and family commitments, it’s tough to keep up with daily chores—let alone larger seasonal tasks.
The effort is worthwhile, however. A sanitary environment can keep you and your family healthier by minimizing your exposure to germs and allergens.1 Plus, researchers have found that organized, uncluttered homes have quantifiable mental health benefits, too, including reduced stress, improved emotional regulation, and increased productivity.2
The reality is, we enjoy our homes more when they are in good order. It’s much easier to relax without piles of unopened mail or a messy kitchen reminding us of work to be done. And don’t we all feel more inclined to entertain family and friends when our homes are well-kept?
That’s why we’ve rounded up our favorite tactics—from overall strategies to little tips and tricks—for keeping things tidy without spending all our spare time cleaning.
Set a Schedule for Daily and Weekly Cleaning
We’ve all been there—you put off vacuuming or mopping your floor for a few days, only to realize that weeks have passed. Creating a cleaning schedule that works for you is the best way to stay on top of things and avoid overwhelm. Here are a few of our favorite strategies:
It may take some trial and error to find the tactics that work best for you. The most important thing is to make a habit of cleaning so that clutter and grime don’t have a chance to build. And if you’d like some professional help, reach out for a referral to one of our favorite cleaning services!
Tackle Bigger Chores Seasonally
Many home care tasks are seasonal by nature and only need to be completed once or twice a year. But when we don’t have a plan to tackle them, it’s all too easy to put them off. Here are a few tips to stay on top of these chores:
Remember—breaking down these larger tasks can make them less overwhelming. If you space them out so that you can handle them one by one, even the most time-consuming chores become a lot more manageable.
And since all your time is valuable, don't hesitate to delegate these larger home care tasks to professionals. Give us a call for a list of our recommended service providers.
Reduce the Barriers to Cleaning
Set yourself up for success by ensuring you have the tools on hand to tackle small tasks with ease. Here are a few ways to make your cleaning supplies more accessible:
By strategically placing your tools and supplies in the locations where you’re most likely to need them, you’ll make cleaning less of a chore and more of a habit.
Stop the Clutter Before It Starts
From coats to shoes to mail, it’s all too easy to find clutter taking over your home. Once these piles start to form, they can feel overwhelming—which only makes it harder to address them.
To avoid this problem, stop the clutter before it starts. Assign every item a home and create storage spaces and “drop zones” in key locations.3 Here are a few ideas to get you started:
It can take a little time to get in the habit of returning items to their assigned space. But once you do, staying on top of clutter will become far more manageable.
Are you considering a larger organizational upgrade, like a custom closet or pantry system? Reach out for a free consultation to find out how the investment could impact the value of your home!
Tackle Small Tasks Right Away
Sometimes, the mental load of thinking about a chore you need to do is worse than the chore itself. Plus, handling small tasks right away can reduce the need for lengthy cleaning sessions.3
Try working these changes into your routine:
If you implement these small changes, your home will stay neater—and you’ll minimize the number of dedicated cleaning sessions you need to take on each week.
Embrace an Evening “Shutdown” Routine
Kitchens can get dirty and cluttered fast. But a few minutes spent cleaning up each evening can prevent the mess from getting out of control.4
Imagine your kitchen is a restaurant and you’re tidying it up before closing down for the night. These simple steps will prepare you for the morning rush:
We all know it can be hard to find the energy for chores in the evening. But if you complete these small tasks each night, you’ll start the next day off right in a tidy, clean kitchen.
Think Outside of the Box When It Comes to Storage
Most of us have limited storage space. Unfortunately, without the right spots to stash our items, it’s easy to become disorganized.
But we’ve found that using household items in innovative ways can help keep mess and clutter under control.5 Here are a few of our favorite swaps:
A little creativity goes a long way when it comes to making the most of your space. Just be sure that you’re creating systems you can stick with and not putting things where you might forget about them later!
WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HOME
Keeping your home clean and organized can be a continuous struggle—there’s no need to feel ashamed of that. But taking the time to implement systems that work for you can make life more pleasant and less stressful in the long run.
Remember, we’re not just here to help you buy or sell a home. We want you to love living in it, too. Reach out if you need referrals for house cleaners, window washers, or other service providers that can help you make the most of your space.
The above references an opinion and is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult the appropriate professionals for advice regarding your individual needs.
Sources:
https://housewifehowtos.com/clean/10-tips-to-keeping-a-clean-house/
https://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/projects/simple-solutions/
The March Banking Crises has subsided and the lingering effect is reduced availability of commercial loans. Inflation continues to decline and the 30 year conforming mortgage rate per Mortgage News Daily, now 6.5%, will likely drift lower particularly if the Federal Reserve tempers its rate increases if we enter a mild recession later this year, likely the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Today’s Bottom Line for Singles and Condos:
Both units sales (+ 35.7%) and prices (+ 9%) surged from February to March as we entered the Spring Market and inventory remained tight. March Year Over Year prices rose +7.3% but units sales fell -9.4% from last year.
Multi-Families: Both units sales (-23.2%) and prices (-7.4%) fell Year Over Year. Prices also fell -1.5% from Feb to March but unit sales rose +10.3%.
Between Friday, March 10 and Monday, March 13, the second and third largest US Bank failures occurred, #2 Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and #3 Signature Bank, arising from the Fed’s rapid rise in interest rates which dramatically reduced the value of all banks long term investment bonds / notes. These bank failures resulted in a flight to safety by investors to US Treasuries and drove down their interest rates. The odd beneficiary was the 30 year fixed rate mortgage which fell from 7% on Friday to 6.57% on Monday. Rates rose Tuesday, March,14, to 6.75% as the banking crises eased ( Mortgagee rates per Mortgage News Daily).
Federal Reserve conundrum: Keep fighting inflation by increasing rates and possibly generating more bank failures or backing off on their rate increases for now. The Consumer Price Index today was up 0.5% in February and 6% for the year. The Federal Reserve’s goal of 2% inflation.
Today’s Bottom Line for Singles, Condos and Multies:
Units Sales and Active Listings continue to fall both year over year and month over month as mortgage rates rise. Prices softened from Jan to Feb.
As the Federal Reserve is trying to slow the economy, it was disappointed that the January Employment Report was much better than expected - 517,000 jobs added, twice the forecast, and the unemployment rate fell from 3.5% to 3.4%. The Federal Reserve increased the Federal Funds Rate by 0.25% to the 4.5% - 4.75% range and indicated it will continue to raise rates to slow inflation by slowing the economy. Wall Street thinks the Fed Funds Rate could rise to 6%. The conforming 30 year mortgage rate rose from 6% on Feb 2 to 6.5% today per Mortgage News Daily
Sales activity continues to slow as the Fed fights inflation by raising rates to slow demand.
January Year over Year Singles and Condos: Sold Prices fell -0.8%, Units Sales fell -33.7%, and the Number of Active Listings barely rose, +0.03%. Months of Inventory rose significantly as Unit Sales fell substantially even though Active Listings barely rose.
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