REAL ESTATE SERVICES by JOHN RICE REALTOR 616-951-4663 BHHSMI MICHIGAN REAL ESTATE

Top 4 Renovations for the Greatest Return on Investment! [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some Highlights:

• If you are planning on listing your house for sale this year, these four home improvement projects will net you the most Return on Investment (ROI).
• Minor renovations can go a long way toward improving the quality of your everyday life and/or impressing potential buyers.
• Whether you plan to stay in your house for a long time or just a few years, it’s smart to know which home renovations add the most value.

Not every home needs a renovation before listing. Often times a few small changes go a long way.  To know the best approach – let’s talk on the best way to have the market work in your favor.

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates

Time for Your Dream Home, Gen X!

During the housing market crash, Gen X homeowners lost more wealth than other generations. However, things are changing now! A strong economy, increasing home prices, and the recovery of the housing market are helping this generation to regain their lost wealth.

According to Pew Research Center,

“Their fortunes have rebounded more than those of other generations during the post-recession economic expansion and as home and stock prices have risen. Since 2010, the median net worth of Gen X households has risen 115%. In fact, in 2016, the most recent year with available data, the net worth of a typical Gen X household had surpassed what it was in 2007 ($84,200 vs. $63,400)”.

The same report also mentioned,

“15% of Gen X’s homeowners were ‘underwater’ on their homes in 2010 (meaning they owed more than they owned). By 2016 only 3% were underwater.”

As a result of homes regaining market value and their increasing net worth, many Gen Xers are presented with the opportunity of selling their current home in order to move up to the house they always dreamed of!

According to the 2019 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report by the National Associations of Realtors, in 2018 Gen Xers made up the second largest share of home buyers by generation at 24%.

The report also provided some highlights about their purchase:

• Greatest share that purchased a multi-generational home (16%).
• Largest share that purchased a detached single-family home (88%).
• Highest median household income ($111,100).
• Bought the most expensive homes of all the generations.
• Job-related relocation was identified as the primary reason to buy.

But this generation is not only buying- they are selling too!

• Largest share of home sellers (25%).
• Highest median household income among sellers ($123,6000).
• Tenure in the previous home was a median of 9 years.
• House too small was indicated as the primary reason to sell.
• 91% sold the home using a real estate professional.

Bottom Line

If you are a Gen Xer who would like to know exactly how much your house is worth today so you can move up to the home of your dreams, let’s get together to analyze your current circumstances.

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates

What is Important to Boomers when Selling their House?

If you are a “baby boomer” (born between 1946 and 1964), you may be thinking about selling your current home. Your children may have finally moved out. Your large, four-bedroom house with three bathrooms no longer fits the bill. Taxes are too high. Utilities are too expensive. Cleaning and repair are too difficult. You may be ready to move into a home that better fits your current lifestyle. Many fellow boomers have already made the move you may be considering.

The National Association of Realtors recently released their 2019 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Report. The report revealed many interesting tidbits about both categories of baby boomers: younger boomers (ages 54 to 63) and older boomers (64 to72). Here are a few of the more interesting topics.

Percentage of Buyers who Looked Online First

• All Buyers: 44%
• Younger Boomers: 46%
• Older Boomers: 44%

Where Boomers Found the Home They Purchased

The two major ways buyers found the home they purchased:

• All buyers: 50% on the internet, 28% through a real estate agent
• Younger Boomers: 46% on the internet, 33% through a real estate agent
• Older Boomers: 36% on the internet, 35% through a real estate agent

Distance Seller Moved

The distance between the home they purchased and the home they recently sold was much greater for boomers than the average seller.

• All sellers: 20 miles
• Younger Boomers: 27 miles
• Older Boomers: 50 miles

Tenure in Previous Home of Seller

The percentage of older boomers who lived in their previous home for more than 20 years was almost twice the amount of the average seller.

• All sellers: 16%
• Younger Boomers: 20%
• Older Boomers: 31%

Primary Reason to Sell their Previous Home

• Want to move closer to friends or family
• Home too large
• Retirement

View of Homeownership as a Financial Investment

• 83% of Younger Boomers see homeownership as a good investment
• 82% of Older Boomers see homeownership as a good investment

Bottom Line

If you are a boomer and thinking about selling, now might be the time to contact us to help determine your options.

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates

The Top Reasons to Own Your Home [INFOGRAPHIC]

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?

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates

The Ultimate Truth about Housing Affordability

There have been many headlines decrying an “affordability crisis” in the residential real estate market. While it is true that buying a home is less affordable than it had been over the last ten years, we need to understand why and what that means.

On a monthly basis, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), produces a Housing Affordability Index. According to NAR, the index…

“…measures whether or not a typical family earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical home at the national and regional levels based on the most recent price and income data.”

Their methodology states:

“To interpret the indices, a value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home. An index above 100 signifies that family earning the median income has more than enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment.”

So, the higher the index, the more affordable it is to purchase a home. Here is a graph of the index going back to 1990:

It is true that the index is lower today than any year from 2009 to 2017. However, we must realize the main reason homes were more affordable. That period of time immediately followed a housing crash and there were large numbers of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales). Those properties were sold at large discounts.

Today, the index is higher than any year from 1990 to 2008. Based on historic home affordability data, that means homes are more affordable right now than any other time besides the time following the housing crisis.

With mortgage rates remaining low and wages finally increasing, we can see that it is MORE AFFORDABLE to purchase a home today than it was last year!

Bottom Line

With wages increasing, price appreciation moderating, and mortgage rates remaining near all-time lows, purchasing a home is a great move based on historic affordability numbers.

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates