What does it take to be ready to act in this market? Michelle from New American Funding is here to discuss. Today, I’m here with Michelle Piccinini from New American Funding to talk about market inventory. How can you be offer-ready in this market? According to Michelle, being offer-ready refers to the low amount of inventory we’re seeing in the market. Houses are going fast, and multiple offers are more and more common.  If you’re offer-ready, it means that you’re pre-approved, you have a letter in hand, and you’re ready to go. When you’re offer-ready, you're prepared to take immediat ..read more

What’s been going on in our local market? It’s time to take a look at our latest market update. What’s been going on lately in our Reno/Sparks area real estate market? It’s time for another market update. Last month, there were 439 sales at a median price of $370,000. There are currently 526 homes on the market. This constitutes about 1.25 months’ worth of supply. In other words, if no other homes came on the market it would take 1.25 months for us to run out of listings. "In today’s hot market, buyers and sellers must be strategic." This means buyers and sellers must be strategic. Buyers ..read more

Let’s talk about what’s going on with interest rates today. As always, the subject of interest rates is something that’s on everyone’s minds. So today, we’d like to bring you an update on what’s going on. There has recently been a steady rise in interest rates. When the government shut down in 2013, we actually saw a positive impact on rates. This is because the market is very, very emotional. After chaos happens, people pull money out of stock and put it into bonds. However, this hasn’t been the case since our government shut down earlier this year. The stock market is thriving and bonds ..read more

Today, Michelle from New American Funding will discuss both rates and what items you’ll need in order to get pre-approved to purchase a home. Today I have with me a special guest, Michelle from New American Funding, to talk about rates and the items you’ll need in order to get pre-approved. Michelle, how are the rates? The rates are good! I feel like every time I’m here, I’m always talking about how rates should be going up, but we’re still not seeing that. Rates are still trending in the mid-to-low fours. For a buyer right now, it’s amazing to say that we’re almost to the end of 2017 and ..read more

Interest rates, the new tax plan, inventory levels, and rate increases for both vacancies and rentals will all have a significant impact on our market in 2018. There are a few factors that will impact how our market performs in 2018 that you need to be aware of. The first is interest rates. If the Federal Reserve raises interest rates four times like they’re predicting, it will reduce buyers’ purchasing power and reduce the steady price increases we’ve been seeing. With this reduced affordability among buyers, home values may dip a little bit. The second factor is the tax plan that was ap ..read more

Loan limits are being increased in Washoe County, which is good news for both buyers and sellers. Here’s why. Big changes are happening with loan limits in Washoe County this year. Basically, these changes will give you more of an opportunity to secure an FHA, VA, or conventional loan at higher price points. Currently, the maximum loan limit for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is sitting at $424,100, and they’re increasing that limit to $453,100. Now, you can start looking for homes in the $475,00 price range and still only put 5% down. If you don’t have as much to put down as you like, you’ll ..read more

Today, I’ll be talking about things move-up buyers will need to know when undergoing the process of selling their house in order to buy a new one. The topic I’d like to discuss today is about selling a home in order to buy a home. Realtors call this kind of buyer a move-up buyer. There are a lot of reasons why someone would want to sell their home and immediately buy a new one: growing families, switching school districts, downsizing, and more. You’ll need a real estate professional to assist you in this process because there are a lot of moving parts in the transaction. The first step you ..read more

When buying a new construction home, don’t let the builder’s agent automatically talk you into letting them represent you and using their lender. There are a couple important things you should know about new home construction and the lending process that goes with it.  The agents who represent the builders don’t represent you. If you were to use them, you wouldn’t have anybody looking out for your best interest. This stipulation is actually stated in their contract.  "Don’t just walk into a pretty sales office without representation." The builder’s agent also would prefer you ..read more

New American Funding has just announced an amazing new home loan option designed for first-time homebuyers in the Reno area who don't have as much money for a down payment as they'd like. New American Funding has a new home buying program hot off the press that we wanted to share with you today. This program is designed for first-time homebuyers and those who need some help with a down payment.  The program is a 1% down option for first-time homebuyers here in the Reno area.  Fannie Mae requires a 3% minimum, so what we love about this program is that New American Funding is actu ..read more

It’s time for a market update. But, what do these numbers mean for you? It’s time to take a look at what’s going on in our local market.  To start, Reno/Sparks has about 895 homes for sale right now. This number has closely to do with months of supply, which can greatly influence the market. Last December, 523 homes sold in our area—which translates to about a 1.7 months of supply. Months of supply are important because they signify the amount of time it would take for the market’s supply to totally deplete if no new homes were to come on the market within that time frame.  In o ..read more