Heather Lange Homes

Happy New Year!

Is Buying a Home Today a Good Financial Move? There’s no doubt 2020 was a challenging year. A global pandemic coupled with an economic recession has caused heartache for many. However, it has also prompted more Americans to reconsider the meaning of home. This quest for a place better equipped to fulfill our needs, along with record-low mortgage rates, has skyrocketed the demand for home purchases. This increase in demand, on top of the severe shortage of homes for sale, ha...s also caused more bidding wars and thus has home prices appreciating rather dramatically. Some, therefore, have become cautious about buying a home right now. The truth of the matter is, even though homes have appreciated by a whopping 6.7% over the last twelve months, the cost to buy a home has actually dropped. This is largely due to mortgage rates falling by a full percentage point. Let’s take a look at the monthly mortgage payment on a $300,000 house one year ago, and then compare it with that same home today, after it has appreciated by 6.7% to $320,100. Compared to this time last year, you’ll actually save $87 dollars a month by purchasing that home today, which equates to over one thousand dollars a year. But isn’t the economy still in a recession? Yes, it is. That, however, may make it the perfect time to buy your first home or move up to a larger one. Tom Gil, a Harvard trained negotiator and real estate investor, recently explained: When volatile assets are facing recessions, hard assets, such as gold and real estate, thrive. Historically speaking, residential real estate has done better compared to other markets during and after recessions. That thought is substantiated by the fact that homeowners have 40 times the net worth of renters. Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist for First American Financial Corporation, recently said: Despite the risk of volatility in the housing market, numerous studies have demonstrated that homeownership leads to greater wealth accumulation when compared with renting. Renters don’t capture the wealth generated by house price appreciation, nor do they benefit from the equity gains generated by monthly mortgage payments, which become a form of forced savings for homeowners. Bottom Line With home prices still increasing and mortgage rates perhaps poised to begin rising as well, buying your first home, or moving up to a home that better fits your current needs, likely makes a ton of sense. Strategic Planning is EVERYTHING! If you’re thinking about making a move and want diligent, strategic and trustworthy advice, reach out to: [email protected] | 408-207-3130 Buyers Start looking for your dream home the way Realtor’s do: www.LangeHomeSearch.com Sellers - Jump start with Heather’s Strategic Selling Plan: www.LangesFreeHomeSellerCourse.com #HeatherLangeHomes #SanJoseRealEstate #BayAreaRealEstate #SiliconValleyRealtor

Will Mortgage Rates Remain Low in 2021? In 2020, buyers got a big boost in the housing market as mortgage rates dropped throughout the year. According to Freddie Mac, rates hit all-time lows 12 times this year, dipping below 3% for the first time ever while making buying a home more and more attractive as the year progressed (See graph provided) When you continually hear how rates are hitting record lows, you may be wondering: Are they going to keep falling? Should I wait unt...il they get even lower? The Challenge with Waiting The challenge with waiting is that you can easily miss this optimal window of time and then end up paying more in the long run. Last week, mortgage rates ticked up slightly. Sam Khater, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, explains: Mortgage rates jumped this week as a result of positive news about a COVID-19 vaccine. Despite this rise, mortgage rates remain about a percentage point below a year ago. While rates are still lower today than they were one year ago, as the economy continues to get stronger and the pandemic is resolved, there’s a very good chance interest rates will rise again. Several top institutions in the real estate industry are projecting an increase in mortgage rates over the next four quarters (See chart) If you’re planning to wait until, Mike Fratantoni, Chief Economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), forecasts mortgage rates will begin to steadily rise: As a buyer, you need to decide if waiting makes financial sense for you. Bottom Line If you’re planning to buy a home and want to take advantage of today’s low rates, now is the time to do so. Don’t assume they’re going to stay this low forever. Strategic Planning is EVERYTHING! If you’re thinking about making a move and want diligent, strategic and trustworthy advice, reach out to: [email protected] | 408-207-3130 Buyers Start looking for your dream home the way Realtor’s do: www.LangeHomeSearch.com Sellers - Jump start with Heather’s Strategic Selling Plan: www.LangesFreeHomeSellerCourse.com #HeatherLangeHomes #SanJoseRealEstate #BayAreaRealEstate #SiliconValleyRealtor

Happy Saturday! Enjoying happy hour before time change.... one more weekend chance before change takes place! Happy weekend everyone

This weeks testimonial! Visit www.langeshappyclients.com to read a full list of testimonials from Lange's Happy Clients! #bayarearealestate #sanjoserealestate #siliconvalleyhomes #realtor #realestate

Homes Across the Country Are Selling Fast. Buyers are actively searching for and purchasing homes at a record-breaking pace. According to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 68% of homes were on the market for less than a month this past month. With homes moving from listing day to pending sale in an average of just 22 days, it’s a great time to sell a house.... Let’s connect today so you can make your move while buyers are scooping homes up faster than they’re coming to market. Strategic Planning is EVERYTHING! If you’re thinking about making a move and want diligent, strategic and trustworthy advice, reach out to: [email protected] | 408-207-3130 Buyers Start looking for your dream home the way Realtor’s do: www.LangeHomeSearch.com Sellers - Jump start with Heather’s Strategic Selling Plan: www.LangesFreeHomeSellerCourse.com #HeatherLangeHomes #SanJoseRealEstate #BayAreaRealEstate #SiliconValleyRealtor

The Surging Real Estate Market Continues to Climb. Earlier this year, realtor.com announced the release of the Housing Recovery Index, a weekly guide showing how the pandemic has impacted the residential real estate market. The index leverages a weighted average of four key components of the housing industry by tracking each of the following: 1. Housing Demand Growth in online search activity... 2. Home Price Growth in asking prices 3. Housing Supply Growth of new listings 4. Pace of Sales Difference in time-on-market The index compares the current status to the January 2020 market trend, as a baseline for pre-COVID market growth. The overall index is set to 100 in this baseline period. The higher a market’s index value, the higher its recovery and vice versa. The graph below charts the index by showing how the real estate market started out strong in early 2020, and then dropped dramatically at the beginning of March when the pandemic paused the economy. It also shows the strength of the recovery since the beginning of May. Today, the index stands at its highest point all year, including the time prior to the economic shutdown. The Momentum Is Still Building Though there is some evidence that the overall economic recovery may be slowing, the housing market is still gaining momentum. Zillow tracks the number of homes that are put into contract on a weekly basis. Their latest report confirms that buyer demand is continuing to dramatically outpace this same time last year, and the percent increase over last year is growing. Clearly, the housing market is not only outperforming the grim forecasts from earlier this year, but it is also eclipsing the actual success of last year. Frank Martell, President and CEO of CoreLogic, explains it best: On an aggregated level, the housing economy remains rock solid despite the shock and awe of the pandemic. Bottom Line Whether you’re considering buying or selling, staying on top of the real estate market over the coming months will be essential to your success. Strategic Planning is EVERYTHING! If you’re thinking about making a move and want diligent, strategic and trustworthy advice, reach out to: [email protected] | 408-207-3130 Buyers Start looking for your dream home the way Realtor’s do: www.LangeHomeSearch.com Sellers - Jump start with Heather’s Strategic Selling Plan: www.LangesFreeHomeSellerCourse.com #HeatherLangeHomes #SanJoseRealEstate #BayAreaRealEstate #SiliconValleyRealtor

September & 3rd Quarter 2020 Stats for Santa Clara County are here! The number of active homes on market in September decreased by 4% from this time last month falling from 1,044 SFH to 1,004 SFH on market in September. Although inventory remains low, Pending Listings continued to trend up by 7% from August to 1,120 Pending homes and Sold Listings also went up by 3% from August to 1,007 Sold Listings in September continued evidence that the housing market has rebounded s...ignificantly from the Spring when the shelter in place was in effect. The Average Days on Market went up by 1 day from last month, to an average of 20 days on market before homes got into contract. The average sales price for SFH in SCC went up by 4% to $1,762,191 with the List to Sale Price ratio staying the same as last month. The Average Price per SF went up by 2% from August, now resting at $864/SF. As inventory has continued to stay tight with now, only 1 month of inventory available, Buyer demand has continued to stay high due to low interest rates that are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. According to Bankrate at the end of Sept, the 30 year fixed mortgage rate dropped 3% from last month to 3.05% As September finished off the 3rd Quarter of 2020, let’s get some perspective on where we stand this time of year compared to 3rd Quarter of last year. If you recall, the 30 year fixed rate was 22% higher than it is now, resting closer to the 4% mark. We had just a bit over 2 months’ worth of inventory in Q3 of 2019 but averaged only 1 months’ worth of inventory in Q3 of this year. This makes for a perfect recipe for the 15% increase in the average sales price, of $1,507,840 from Q3 of 2019 to an average sale price of $1,728,869 in Quarter 3 of 2020 and an 8% increase in the average sales price per square foot from Q3 2019 to Q3 of 2020. Earlier this year there was concern by many, about what the shutdown would mean for the real estate market; specifically wondering if home values would begin to decrease after so many years of rising home prices; we are actually seeing very little negative impact on the housing market. Instead, recent data shows that housing is leading the overall economic recovery with a V shaped curve, and overall, 2020 home sales are on track to beat 2019 levels. The market continues to remain hot and fast for single family homes and is expected to remain this way through the Fall and Holiday Season this year. If you’re thinking of making a move now is a great time to reach out to get diligent, strategic and trustworthy advice and service. Message me or reach out to [email protected] | 408-207-3130. Sellers - Jump start with Heather’s Strategic Selling Plan: www.LangesFreeHomeSellerCourse.com Buyers Start looking for your dream home the way Realtor’s do: www.LangeHomeSearch.com #HeatherLangeHomes #SiliconValleyRealEstate #SanJoseRealEstate #SaratogaRealEstate

Excellent work day! Showed houses this morning and enjoying the afternoon with social distanced concert in the park - Quartet staring Patte Jo on the cello

How Low Inventory May Impact the Housing Market This Fall. Real estate continues to be called the ‘bright spot’ in the current economy, but there’s one thing that may hold the housing market back from achieving its full potential this year: the lack of homes for sale. Buyers are actively searching for and purchasing homes, looking to capitalize on today’s historically low interest rates, but there just aren’t enough houses for sale to meet that growing need. Sam Khater, Chief...Continue reading

Sellers - here’s a great reason to do your inspections up front and before you come to market ... close that loophole with FULL disclosure of your property. It will save you money in the long run! #heatherlangehomes #SantaClaraCountyRealEstate #bayarearealestate #siliconvalleyrealestate #homeimprovement

AUGUST 2020 | Real Estate Market Update | Santa Clara County | Heather Lange Homes August 2020 Stats for Santa Clara County are here! The number of active homes on market in August DECREASED by 9% from this time last month, down from 1,069 Single Family Homes in July to 975 Single Family Homes in August. Pending sales went down 3% from July with 1,041 SFH in contract for August and Sold listings recording at 931, down 12% from July. ...Continue reading

It’s a great time for Buyers wanting to get into the Condo/Town Home market! So excited for my clients - Congratulations on winning acceptance from the Sellers! #heatherlangehomes #siliconvalley #siliconvalleyrealtor #siliconvalleyrealestate

5386 Sayre Ave now Pending! Pending Sales are keeping this market hot and likely to extend our selling season strong into the Fall - Inventory is down 3% from this time last month. Is a good time to sell! Reach out and I’ll help you strategically sell your home too! #heatherlangehomes #siliconvalleyrealestate #bayarearealestate #bayareaseller