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Expert Tips for Home Buyers & Sellers

Our mission at The Melissa Thompson Team is to be your best resource for real estate advice. Whether you are a buyer, seller, or investor, our team of professionals can answer any questions you might have about real estate. Subscribe to this blog to get the latest news on local market trends and receive expert tips for buying or selling a home.

Showing posts with label homebuyers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homebuyers. Show all posts

Buying a home can be SCARY…Until you know the FACTS

Some Highlights:

Many potential homebuyers believe they need a 20% down payment and a 780 FICO® score to qualify to buy a home. This stops many people from even trying to jump into homeownership! Here are some facts to help take the fear out of the process:
  • 71% of buyers who purchased homes have put down less than 20%.
  • 78.1% of loan applications were approved last month.
  • In September, the average credit score for approved loans was 737.

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home! 

By: KCM Crew

What You Need to Know About the Mortgage Process

Some Highlights:

  • Many buyers are purchasing homes with down payments as little as 3%.
  • You may already qualify for a loan, even if you don’t have perfect credit.
  • Your local professionals are here to help you determine how much you can afford, so take advantage of the opportunity to learn more.

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home! 

By: KCM Crew

What Is the Cost of Waiting Until Next Year to Buy?

Some Highlights:

  • The “cost of waiting to buy” is defined as the additional funds necessary to buy a home if prices and interest rates were to increase over a period of time.
  • Freddie Mac forecasts interest rates will rise to 3.8% by Q4 2020.
  • CoreLogic predicts home prices will appreciate by 5.4% over the next 12 months.
  • If you’re ready and willing to buy your dream home, now is a great time to buy.

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home! 

By: KCM Crew

6 Graphs Showing the Strength of the Current Housing Market

Some Highlights:

  • Keeping an eye on the current status of the housing market is one of the best ways to make powerful and confident decisions when buying or selling a home.
  • Mortgage rates remaining near historic lows and houses selling in an average of only 29 days are just two key elements driving the strength of today’s market.
  • With the national data shown here, make sure to also determine what’s happening in your local market so you are fully informed when you’re ready to make your next move.

The professional's with The Melissa Thompson Team are here to answer all your home-buying and selling questions! 

Reach us at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com. 

By: KCM Crew

A+ Reasons to Hire a Real Estate Pro

Some Highlights:

  • Hiring a real estate professional to help you buy your dream home or sell your current house is one of the most powerful decisions you can make.
  • A real estate professional has the experience to help you confidently navigate through the entire process.
  • Make sure you work with someone who knows the current market conditions and can simply and effectively explain them to you and your family.

The professional's with The Melissa Thompson Team are here to answer all your home-buying and selling questions! 

Reach us at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com. 

By: KCM Crew

A Latte a Day Keeps Homeownership Away

Some Highlights:

  • The pumpkin spice latte is launching soon, so you may be tempted to spend your extra cash on a daily caffeine fix, but that small expense can add up to a big number – fast!
  • Saving for a down payment takes a little discipline, so limiting your extra purchases (like a latte a day from your favorite coffee shop) will help you get there faster.
  • Depending on where you live, putting away just a small amount each day will get you to the average down payment you may need for homeownership faster than you think.

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home! 

By: KCM Crew

Rent Vs. Own

Some Highlights:

  • Owning your own home vs. renting may lead to some great options, such as locking in your monthly payments and having the freedom to customize your living space.
  • Whether you rent or own, you have to cover someone’s mortgage costs. You may as well be doing so to build your own wealth, rather than that of your landlord.
  • Renting and owning both have up-front fees when you sign your lease or close, respectively. Think about putting that money to work for you!

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home! 

By: KCM Crew

Home Prices Up 5.05% Across the Country

Some Highlights:

  • The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released their latest Quarterly Home Price Index report.
  • In the report, home prices are compared both regionally and by state.
  • Based on the latest numbers, if you plan on relocating to another state, waiting to move may end up costing you more!

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home!

By: KCM Crew

The Cost of Waiting: Interest Rates Edition

Some Highlights:

  • Interest rates are projected to increase steadily heading into 2020.
  • The higher your interest rate, the more money you will end up paying for your home and the higher your monthly payment will be.
  • Rates are still low right now – don’t wait until they hit 5% to start searching for your dream home!

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home!

By: KCM Crew

Is Your First Home Now Within Your Grasp?


Some Highlights:

  • According to the US Census Bureau, “millennials” are defined as 18-36-year-olds.
  • According to NAR’s latest Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the median age of all first-time home buyers is 32.
  • More and more “old millennials” (25-36) are realizing that homeownership is within their grasp now!

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home!

By: KCM Crew

10 Steps to Buying a Home This Summer

Some Highlights:

  • If you are thinking of buying a home, you may not know where to start.
  • Here is a simple list of 10 steps that you will go through to purchase a home.
  • Make sure to ask your agent for details about each step and what else may be required in your area!

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to start the search for your new home!

By: KCM Crew

Americans Rank Real Estate Best Investment for 6 Years Running!

Some Highlights:

  • Real estate has outranked stocks/mutual funds, gold, savings accounts/CDs, and bonds as the best long-term investment among Americans for the last 6 years.
  • Stock owners are more positive about real estate than stocks as an investment.
  • Of the 4 listed, real estate is the only investment you can also live in!
Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com for ALL your Real Estate needs!

By: KCM Crew

What is the Cost of Waiting Until Next Year to Buy?

Some Highlights:

  • The “cost of waiting to buy” is defined as the additional funds necessary to buy a home if prices & interest rates were to increase over a period of time.
  • Freddie Mac forecasts interest rates to rise to 4.5% by the Q4 2020.
  • CoreLogic predicts home prices to appreciate by 4.8% over the next 12 months.
  • If you are ready and willing to buy your dream home, find out if you are able to!

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to find your new home!

By: KCM Crew

The Top Reasons to Own Your Home

Some Highlights:

  • June is National Homeownership Month!
  • Now is a great time to reflect on the many benefits of homeownership that go way beyond the financial.
  • What reasons do you have to own your own home?


Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to find your new home!

By: KCM Crew

What is Really Happening with Home Prices?

Home values have softened over the last twelve months. We are no longer seeing 6-7% annual appreciation levels for the national housing market. The current numbers are closer to 4%. Some have suggested that year-over-year appreciation levels could fall to 3% or less this year.
However, a stronger-than-expected economy and a good spring housing market have changed some opinions. Some analysts are now predicting that home value appreciation may begin to increase as we move forward.

Here are three examples:

Mark Fleming, Chief Economist of First American

“Data on the movement of unadjusted house prices during the early spring home-buying season won’t be available for a few more months, but it’s quite likely that price appreciation will accelerate again.”

CoreLogic’s April “Home Price Insights”

“Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 3.7% in March 2019 compared with March 2018…The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 4.8% on a year-over-year basis from March 2019 to March 2020.”

Pulsenomics’ Quarterly “Home Price Expectation Survey”

  • The 2018 4th Quarter survey called for 3.8% appreciation for 2019.
  • The 2019 1st Quarter survey raised the appreciation projection for this year to 4.3%.

Bottom Line

Price appreciation has slowed over the past year. However, a strong economy and a good housing market have many experts thinking that home values might re-accelerate moderately throughout the rest of this year.

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to find out how much your home is worth! 

By: KCM Crew

A Tale of Two Markets


Some Highlights:

  • An emerging trend for some time now has been the difference between available inventory and demand in the premium and luxury markets and that in the starter and trade-up markets and what those differences are doing to prices!
  • Inventory continues to rise in the luxury and premium home markets which is causing prices to cool.
  • Demand continues to rise with lower-than-normal inventory levels in the starter and trade-up home markets, causing prices to rise on a year-over-year basis for 85 consecutive months.

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com for ALL your Real Estate needs! 

By: KCM Crew

The Cost of Renting vs. Buying This Spring

Some Highlights:

  • Historically, the choice between renting or buying a home has been a tough decision.
  • Looking at the percentage of income needed to rent a median-priced home today (27.7%) vs. the percentage needed to buy a median-priced home (17.5%), the choice becomes obvious.
  • Every market is different. Before you renew your lease again, find out if you can put your housing costs to work by buying this year!

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com for ALL your Real Estate needs! 

By: KCM Crew

Existing Home Sales Slow to Start Spring

Some Highlights:
  • Low inventory levels are still impacting home sales! The current month’s supply of homes for sale is 3.9-months.
  • Median home prices were up 3.8% over last March at $259,400. This marked the 85th consecutive month with year-over-year price gains.

Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com for ALL your Real Estate needs! 


By: KCM Crew

Slaying the Largest Homebuying Myths Today

Some Highlights:

  • The average down payment for first-time homebuyers is only 6%!
  • Mortgage interest rates have been on the decline since November! Hop in now to lock in a low rate!
  • 88% of property managers raised their rents in the last 12 months!
  • The average credit score on approved loans continues to fall across many loan types!
Contact The Melissa Thompson Team at 901-729-9526 or Melissa@YourKeytoMemphis.com to find your new home! 

By: KCM Crew