Tuesday, July 27, 2021 / by Christine Elwood
The real estate market across the country has seen tremendous movement throughout the pandemic making it difficult for buyers to find their next dream home. While it may be more challenging than a year or two ago, finding your next home is still possible! Below we break down the complexities of today's market and what you can do to prepare!
Understanding Goals & Market Conditions
People often ask us about the first step in the homebuying process. No matter what the market looks like, we recommend hiring a realtor you trust and working with them to understand your motivations and establish clear goals. Market conditions heavily impact the decision-making process, so having your goals clear will help you and your realtor navigate the market. As part of your discovery process, you may realize the current market is not for you, and that's okay! We want you to be comfortable and happy with your purchase, so we have outlined some of the market challenges you will need to consider.
Inv! ...
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real estate, strong will real estate, vermont, chittenden county, cole elwood, brian armstrong, michelle peters
Friday, March 23, 2018 / by Cole Elwood
There are many economic variables to consider when selling your home when interest rates are rising. If that’s the only changing economic variable, you’re generally going to see a negative impact on both home sales and home prices. This means as interest rates rise, the buyer pool for your home is going to shrink.
In 2008, the Federal Reserve set rates at 0.25 percent because of the recession and the lack of buyer confidence or demand. Since then, buyer confidence and buyer demand have risen. In December 2015, rates climbed to 0.5 percent and continued to rise to where they are today at 1.5 percent. The Fed has noted rates will rise to 2 percent in 2018 and then 3 percent by 2020.
What Happens to the Ability to Sell Your Home With These Rises in Interest Rates?If interest rates rise 1 percent and all other economic factors remain the same, purchasing power for homebuyers will decrease by just over 11 percent; therefore, every quarter-percent (0.25 percent) rise of interes. ...
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cole elwood, real estate, strong will real estate, vermont, brian armstrong, burlington, chittenden county, michelle peters, first time buyer
Tuesday, October 3, 2017 / by Christine Elwood
FALL APPOINTMENTS
As summer ends, we should start thinking about the cooler weather and the fact that winter is just around the corner. Start making these appointments now as the expert’s schedules will be filling up fast!
Have your Furnace Cleaned and Inspected
Schedule an appointment with a heating and cooling professional to get your heating system checked and cleaned up for the upcoming heating season. An annual maintenance contract ensures you’re at the top of the list for checks and helps so you won’t forget to make your appointment. Change your furnace filters. This is a job you should do more often anyway, but if you haven’t, now’s the time.
Examine your Roof:
Your roof is often forgotten about because it is not at eye level to give you a subtle reminder every time you walk past it. Check for any curling or missing shingles. Check the flashing around your chimney and any openings in the roof, ! ...
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brian armstrong, cole elwood, keller williams, michelle peters, real estate, strong will real estate, vermont, burlington, chittenden county, kelly crawford
Friday, February 24, 2017 / by Christine Elwood
Buying or selling a home can be a complicated and stressful experience. There can be a lot of moving parts involved that may come as a surprise to people who have never been through the process before. Therefore, having a great real estate agent is critical.
Picking the right agent isn’t always easy, but you’ll know if you’ve picked the right one for you. Here are seven signs that you’ve made a great decision in picking your real estate agent:
1. You like being around them
You don’t have to be head over heels in love with your real estate agent, but you need to at least enjoy being around him or her. You will spend a lot of time communicating with your agent, so the relationship needs to be a good one to help make the experience as painless as possible. There’s nothing worse than dealing with a person who you don’t like being around, especially if the going gets rough. If you don’t cringe at the sound of your agent’s voice, then ...
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real estate, vermont, keller williams, cole elwood, michelle peters, brian armstrong, strong will real estate
