Over a decade ago, I set out with a huge dream (and a nearly non-existent budget) to reinvent the entire real estate industry (I’m a “go big or go home” type dreamer). I wanted to turn this game on its stodgy head. I wanted to act not just ethically and integlligently on behalf of my clients, but in a way that adds beauty, interest, and passion to an otherwise mostly-dry profession. Two halves. One brain. Big dream. Still, I take every opportunity to educate myself, most recently at the Inman Real Estate Conference in San Francisco. Speakers included CEOs of Google, Facebook, Zillow, Realtor.com and beyond, and there was so much humanness in the approach for facts that I could not help but feel a sense of pride in this industry that I had not always felt over the years. (Change is coming, people, and it’s awesome.) In the interest of satiating my left and right hemispheres, I wanted to share a few helpful “hot off the press” market insights with all of you.
1. It’s a myth that the market is too expensive for first time home buyers. In fact, 53% of buyers in the last year were first time home buyers. Despite being more expensive, homes are more affordable than they have been in decades. Today, folks are putting roughly 15% of their income toward their mortgages, compared to 30% of their income in the 1980s.
2. It’s a myth that the buying/selling season starts in the spring and lasts an average of 10 weeks. Our own cityhomeCOLLECTIVE research confirms national statistics that folks look for properties throughout the entire year. Fun fact: Christmas day is statistically one of the biggest “home search” days (we imagine it might have something to do with all those new gadgets being unboxed and all those relatives bunking in the den).
3. It’s a myth that you have to be a higher-up in the age spectrum to purchase. In the last 12 months, the average age of home buyers was just 36 (that’s me…and it’s not that old).
Bottom line: this is one of the best times to purchase a home. There are so many great options and programs available that rival years past, and we just so happen to know a few fantastic homes available right now. We know that it takes the skills of many disciplines to make a smooth and successful transaction (and we’ve got agents, brokers, writers, designers, a staging team, and more at our fingertips), but–in this day and age–it takes more than a little tech savvy, as well. According to a 2010 interview with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, society created more information every two days than we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003 (5 billion gigabytes). That’s a lot of info, people–and today, we’re creating that same amount every five minutes–so we figure in order to make it stick, we ought to present it in a way that’s beautiful, authentic, and smart. In a world that’s trending toward the digital, it might be easy to err on the side of robotic. At cityhomeCOLLECTIVE, we’re happily embracing the technological aspects–and doing a damn fine job, if I do say so myself–but we vow to forever strive to exercise our human side. We’ve got the team, we’ve got the experience, and we’ve got the love. The head and the heart. Now get over here, you.
Contact cityhomeCOLLECTIVE today to discuss the purchase of your next home or the sale of your current one. | 801.718.5555
