5 Spring Home Buying Strategies | Realtor Magazine→

Spring has sprung and both buyers and sellers are experiencing a fast-moving market! Inventory is still low, so getting out and seeing homes as soon as they come on the market has become increasingly important for buyers. To be truly prepared, make sure you have chosen a lender who can provide you a pre-approval letter on demand. You'll also want to know which home inspection company you'll use and whether you need a real estate attorney to assist you in understanding any potential legal issues.

A great way to start this process is talking to your favorite Realtor for referrals to all of these professionals and more -- general contractor? local lawn service? -- so you're ready to jump on the right house when you find it. Even if you enter a bidding war, which is pretty common at the moment, you can be more confident knowing you have the support of a knowledgeable team.

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Stage Your Home For A Faster Sale

Putting your home on the market can be tough -- how do you make your home a showplace when you're still living there? My first suggestion is pack and purge: assuming your home sells in three months, pack away the items you won't need during that time, or take this opportunity to rid your home of excess STUFF. You can always ask your favorite Realtor what the average time to sell a home in your neighborhood is and use that time frame as a reference. Spaces with less stuff will always look larger than spaces with more stuff. That's just the truth.

Depersonalization, cleaning, and modernizing basic fixtures can also go a long way to improve the impression your home makes on potential buyers. For a great infographic on this, check out Moshells.com and learn how to get your home ready to sell without breaking the bank. Especially in this time of "dwindling inventory," it may behoove you to get your home on the market faster rather than do lengthy renovation projects!

Want To Buy That $40,000 Home? No. You Don't.

You've all heard the stories -- finding that gem of a foreclosure way below market price that only needs a new furnace and some cosmetic updates, bought by a savvy investor or lucky owner-occupant. Have you been hoping to find the $40,000 property in a $100,000 neighborhood that only needs a new roof, not a new foundation? I'm here to tell you that the likelihood of that happening anymore is very, very small. Infinitesimal. The homes I've been showing in Hamilton, Clermont and Brown counties that are in this price range are not worth fixing up -- you will never ever get your money back. Sounds harsh even to me, but there you have it. That's the bad news.

The good news is this: if you have an income that has been nice and steady for the past two years, average credit, and the will to commit to home ownership, qualifying for a mortgage is probably MUCH easier than you think. Plus, there are plenty of low down payment mortgage options for you to choose from: FHA with 3.5% down and recently lowered mortgage insurance premiums, USDA in many rural areas with 0% down payment, VA loans for veterans of the military with no mortgage insurance premium, the new Freddie Mac Home Possible Advantage with 3% down -- many lenders are even offering 5% down conventional loans.

Will you end up paying more for a house if you make a smaller down payment? Yes, probably. Unless you make extra payments and pay down the principal balance over time. But it still beats renting, and as long as you take good care of your home chances are you will see a return on your investment.

Improved Market Activity In February

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One of several infographics from the February 2015 survey report

The latest REALTORS(c) Confidence Index survey has been released to those who responded to the survey -- like me -- and it has some good news for those looking to buy or sell this year. For those of you unfamiliar with the survey, it is sent by the National Association of REALTORS each month to 50,000 randomly chosen members, as well as to respondents in the previous three surveys who provided an email address.

So, what's the news? February showed increased market activity across the nation, supported by easier mortgage access and the recent decrease in FHA mortgage insurance premiums. Also, REALTORS in every state were very positive about the outlook for single family homes in the next six months. Buyer traffic did continue to outpace seller traffic in February, so it's not just me wondering where all the homes are for my buyers (great time to list, everyone!). Showings were down overall in February, but since this has been the trend for the past two years and it was a snowy winter month for many of us I'm not terribly surprised. REALTORS expect that prices will increase modestly over the next year -- not another bubble, just a gradual increase partly due to high buyer demand and lower inventory. Homes are taking about a week less to sell than reported in January but about the same amount of time as February 2014; over a third of homes sold within 30 days.

There's plenty more information in this report, but those are the highlights. You'll be able to see it for yourself at the NAR website later this week.