Buying or selling a house can be a stressful event full of uncertainty, chaos, and the occasional glass of wine. With so many factors that go into real estate paired with the history of the real estate market, it is no wonder that many home buyers and sellers look for help wherever they can find it. Granted, the field has experienced significant changes with the introduction of the internet, yet this does not detract from the value gained from realtors and other real estate experts. Here are some trips and tricks to help both home sellers and buyers survive the experience with most of their hair intact!
The State of the Housing Market
Many of us are still shaken from the house bubble burst back in 2008 when trillions of dollars of real estate inflation suddenly became worthless. The significant losses that the nation took from this bubble burst rightfully shook many Americans and played a major role in determining the future of real estate investments. Thankfully, today the housing market has gotten back on its feet with projections showing an increase in the value of real estate. There are now over 115 million housing units across the United States with affordable home prices and competitive mortgage rates suggesting that the housing market will continue on an upward trajectory through the rest of the year and onwards. Forbes estimates that there will need to be around 1.5 million new housing units built every year to accommodate with population growth — this all suggests that the housing market will become stronger than ever as time goes on!
Home Buyers and Sellers
According to statistics, many of today’s homes for sale are not receiving the amount of attention that home sellers would have hoped for. This is due in large part to the internet, where homes can be summarized in a few pictures — this has impacted the housing market in a significant way, as home sellers receive less feedback than they would from open houses given the sheer number of homes available on the web. Everything from beach properties to townhouses can be searched according to set parameters — naturally this can also be an overwhelming experience for home buyers that may not know exactly what they are looking for in a home. First time home buyers in particular may not know what a mortgage entails or how to find a home that suits their budget — for this reason, many people still rely on professional realtors to help them find the home of their dreams at a price they can afford.
Finding Helpful Real Estate Advice
There are nearly 2 million licensed realtors across the nation that specialize in building a network of home buyers and sellers. Since both home buyers and sellers alike defer to real estate services, both parties are able to get in touch with locals to find exactly what they are looking for. In 2014 around 88% of all home buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent; this has been a healthy increase from 2001’s figures of just 69%. Home buyers and sellers alike agree that a real estate agent is a useful source of information on the all-too-confusing housing market with around 98% of buyers stating that they were happy with their real estate agent. Whether looking to buy a home or ensure that your home will get the feedback it needs to sell, count on local real estate agents to satisfy all parties and breathe life into the housing market.
