Buying your first home is exciting, but it can also be a little nerve-wrecking because it’s something you’ve never done before. And trying to think of everything you need to do can feel like a lot. But here’s the key. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own. And you don’t have to do it all at once. Just tackle it one thing at a time. Here’s a simple list of 3 main things you should...

You may have seen headlines on social saying the number of buyers backing out of their contracts is on the rise – and has recently reached a high not seen since 2017. That can sound intimidating. But it varies a lot by market. And here’s the key thing to understand if you want to sell. A lot of the time, there’s one common cause. And it’s something you can actually control. Here’s what you can...

Foreclosures are ticking up. And that may make your mind jump straight to thoughts of 2008 – specifically to what happened to the market during the housing crash. So, let’s do exactly what your brain already wants to do, and see if there’s any connection there. The simple truth is foreclosure filings are rising. But they’re nowhere near crisis levels. And that’s not where they’re headed...

Online searches for “can’t sell house” just hit an all-time high according to Google Trends. So, if your house has been sitting on the market without any bites, you’re not the only one. But it's also not the end of the road.  Homes are selling every day, so you can turn this around. You just need to take another look at your approach. If you’re feeling this pain, know this: an online search...

Mortgage rates have already dropped into the upper 5s twice this year. But after just a few days, they ticked back up into the low 6% range. If you saw that and thought, “Great. I missed it,” you’re not the only one. A lot of buyers are treating the 5s like some kind of magic number. As if moving from 6.1% to 5.99% suddenly changes everything. And from a mindset perspective, it does feel...

Homeowners looking to sell usually want three things: plenty of interested buyers, strong offers, and a short timeline. Spring is the season that most often delivers all three. So, if a move has been on your mind this year, this is the window where momentum tends to work in your favor. Here’s what makes this season so powerful for sellers. 1. More Buyers Will Be Looking Typically speaking, in the...

You’ve probably seen posts on social media talking about how “home prices are falling.” And when you see something like that, it’s normal to wonder: Is this the start of a crash? What does this mean for my house? Let’s clear this up right away. This is not a crash. And your home is not suddenly losing a lot of value. The National Story – Prices Are Still Going Up Here’s what often gets left...

What if you didn’t have a mortgage payment on your next house? It may sound a little unrealistic. But for a number of homeowners, it’s actually doable. Nearly 3 in 10 homes purchased today are bought in cash, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That’s far more than the pre-pandemic norm (see graph below): So, how are so many buyers pulling that off? The answer is simple: home...

Let’s be clear: selling your house is absolutely possible right now. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), roughly 11k homes sell every day in this country. And the sellers who are making their moves happen all have one thing in common: they’ve adjusted their strategy to match today’s market. They’re realizing inventory has grown. Homebuyers are more selective. And buyer...

Renting can feel like the easier choice right now. There’s no big down payment. No dealing with surprise repairs. And no long-term commitment. But then your rent goes up again. And again. And suddenly the thing that seemed flexible starts looking… expensive, especially considering you’re not building any equity. And once that happens, it’s easy to feel a little trapped in the cycle. That’s...